Just got new boat and has a 2012 Merc 250 optimax. When I bought it, guy gave me 3 gallons of Mercury DI oil. Fixing to buy more oil and was just wondering is that what I should run or is there a better alternative, either price wise or performance wise? Always owned OMC and used their oil.

Also, I got a bottle of mercury quickkleen and wondered how often anyone uses that? Is it necessary or beneficial?

Thank you guys for all your help!

First of all congrats !!! now where are the pics?

As for the oil ALWAYS run what the manufacture suggests, do not compromise especially if it is still under a manufactures warranty.

The quick kleen is both necessary and beneficial to your boat engines performance and durability, read the instructions and follow them to the T.

Star Tron / Star Brite is also another really good product if you can't find the quick kleen.

Good luck and be safe !!!

my last two engines were opti's. I run nothing but the Merc oil for Opti's. more expensive (50.00 per gal. around here), but you can have warranty problems if you use anything else.

Thank you to you both! I will continue to use the merc oil then. Found a pretty good deal on it so it doesn't hurt too bad, plus it doesn't seem to burn much.

Nitro, as soon as all this rain quits, I will post a couple pics on here.

Cool we look forward to it !!!

yes!!! run the merc oil and keep your empty containers. Some places will refill your old container at discount from their bulk stock. Well worth calling around.

$35 per gallon from bulk.

I refuse to run Merc oil in my 225 2005 Opti. I've been running Cabelas semi-synthetic for 3 years with no probs. It has been regualrly sale priced below $15 a gallon. As long as its TCW 3, Merc will not void a warranty either. I have read that nearly all boat motor oils are nearly identical in composition with very minor changes in additives which allow companies to trademark each as their own. Reminds me of the old days when Grandpa would only buy Shell gasoline. Most major Opti engine probs are caused by improper warm ups in Opti engines.

Hope this worked. This is my new ride. 2012 HP Elite with 250 Optimax. Lockers are all open cause it rained and had to dry them out after fishing.

Hope this worked. This is my new ride. 2012 HP Elite with 250 Optimax. Lockers are all open cause it rained and had to dry them out after fishing.

If you "park" your car in a garage or some type of shelter, it's not a bad idea to keep your hatches open to prevent mold and mildew, not to mention the gases given off during battery charging. That's assuming the boat's shelter provides security. That was suggested to me by the dealer when I bought my first bass boat, when he found out it would be garaged when not in use.

Here's another helpful hint. When the carpet gets soaked from rain or spray, a wet or dry shop vac is great for removing just about all of the moisture. I've removed over three gallons of water from the deck carpet on my boat when it got soaked by a downpour. The carpet is barely damp when finished with the vac. Do it in the sun, and it's totally dry just a few minutes later.