frustrated by costs?

Frustrated by the price difference between marine and automotive parts?

Read on, and don’t cheap out.

When shopping for replacement parts for your boat's engine, you might notice a frustrating price difference between "marine" parts and standard automotive parts. This discrepancy arises from specific, crucial modifications.

For marine applications, components like starters, alternators, distributors, starter solenoids, and all electrical motors must be ignition-protected. This means they are sealed to prevent sparks, which can occur during normal operation. In cars, the constant airflow prevents flammable vapors from accumulating, making sparks under the hood less of a concern. However, in the confined space of a boat's bilge, even one spark near gasoline fumes can lead to disaster.

Additionally, some automotive carburetors and fuel pumps are designed to leak, featuring vents that release small amounts of gasoline if the carburetor float chamber overflows or if there's an internal leak in the fuel pump. In cars, gas simply drips out. In contrast, marine carburetors have vents that direct overflow back into the carburetor throat, ensuring that any excess fuel is consumed by the engine. Marine fuel pumps are designed to prevent external leaks altogether.

Key take away, Automotive and Marine parts are different!