Boating is a great past time. There is no better feeling that the wind blowing through your hair as you cruise along on the open water leaving a wake of frothy water. But while you are enjoying yourself as you speed along, have you ever stopped to wonder how the engine that is powering your boat works. Sure it is similar to the engines in your car, lawn mower, and portable generator, but how is it different. So if you are interested in learning about how marine engines work, read on.

At the basic level, the outboard motor on your boat works by burning fuel to turn a propeller, which pushes against the water and propels your boat forward. Now of course any child can understand that description so what else is going on here. Marine motors work like any other internal combustion engine. These work by taking a fuel, usually a fossil fuel such as diesel or gasoline and mixing it with air. The air and fuel mixture is then compressed into a cylinder. Then, while under compression, the fuel air mixture is combusted either from the compression itself or from a spark. The resulting explosion pushes the piston in the cylinder which turns a shaft which is ultimately connected to the wheels or propeller or whatever else is being turned. The power generated can also be used to charge batteries as well. This requires an alternator which turns mechanical energy, such as that created by an internal combustion engine, into electrical energy, which can be stored in batteries.

So now that you know how all motors work, you can learn how a marine engine differs from the rest. The main difference is in how the cooling systems work. Regular motors such as those in cars cool by using a radiator, coolant, and ambient air. There are two different systems that can be used to cool a marine engine. One is a raw water system and the other is an enclosed system.

The raw water system is the most basic and it is usually found on outboard motors and small boats with inboard engines. This system works by pumping water from the lake directly and using it to cool the engine. The water is then put back into the lake. This system works well and the water pump is good at pumping the water in and out. Of course this type of system is for fresh water only, as sea water is a bit more difficult to deal with.

For bigger boats or sea vessels, the enclosed system is used. This system works more like a car engine. There is a radiator on the boat that pumps coolant through the engine and another pump takes in salt water and uses it to cool off the radiator. Of course you have to be wary of the system being blocked by salt buildup.

So now that you understand how it works, you can enjoy your marine engine more and will be more informed when it comes time to order marine engine parts for your boat. This will keep your vessel running smoothly for years to come. For more information about Power Generation Equipment and Industrial Engines, thereâEUR(TM)s great information online.