I know muffs are cheap but is it OK to start an outboard without any water if it's only to make sure it starts and then run it for about 5 seconds?

Get a barrel and fill it with water.

 

I wouldn't even try my old '67 Evinrude 40 I had on the runabout without some kind of water source feeding the intake...not even for a starter test.

I wouldn't, but I also wouldn't do drugs and a lot of people do them, so there's that.

Impellers are cheap. The labor to replace them, not so much.

You need to start it in water. You don't want to get on the water and find out your motor isn't pumping water.

Heck, I don’t think it would even run for 5 seconds without water, would it?

 

Outboards are water cooled. I think modern outboards shut off on their own if they don’t receive water due to over heating.

1 hour ago, slonezp said:

Impellers are cheap. The labor to replace them, not so much.

 

Five seconds is not going to cause the motor to overheat but running the water pump without water which lubricates it could cause a problem.  

Don’t.

Don't do it.Impeller must be wet when spun or it will be damaged.

A-Jay

Thanks.  I'll get a set of muffs.

My buddies always start my motor with the foot trimmed up out of the water, bunch of rookies! I always holler cut it off loudly to scare them half to death , usually no more than one second 

The only part running dry a few seconds that may break is the water pump impeller if it’s been sitting for months dry.

The power head doesn’t get any water until the engine is warm enough to open the thermostat.

Tom

Have my first etec.  Made me so nervous to thread the hose into the fitting instead of using muffs.  Almost makes me want to pre-emptively change the impeller, lol

ALWAYS have the motor in water so that those slots are covered with water. A prop removed. And in a Home Depot 5 gallon pail that covers the slots allows for a safe slow check out.  Check the water temp every minute or so if getting too hot. 19 86 9.9 still has original pump.

Just covering the intake ports is not adequate.  The Water pump can be several inches above the intake ports and is sitting there in the air, in cavitation, and can take several seconds to start pumping and is possible it may not at all.  The motor needs to be at least a couple of inches below the seam where the water lower unit bolts to the midsection.  At a 1,000 rpm, those dry impeller blades can start melting pretty darn quick.  

I was watching an episode of Lone Star Law the other day and the lady jumps in the boat and fires up that 250 Merc and then they back it into the water.  I'm thinking, what and idiot, they sure didn't teach here anything about operating a boat. 

21 hours ago, Way2slow said:

Just covering the intake ports is not adequate.  The Water pump can be several inches above the intake ports and is sitting there in the air, in cavitation, and can take several seconds to start pumping and is possible it may not at all.  The motor needs to be at least a couple of inches below the seam where the water lower unit bolts to the midsection.  At a 1,000 rpm, those dry impeller blades can start melting pretty darn quick.  

I was watching an episode of Lone Star Law the other day and the lady jumps in the boat and fires up that 250 Merc and then they back it into the water.  I'm thinking, what and idiot, they sure didn't teach here anything about operating a boat. 

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink

 

i can’t count how many times I’ve told my buddies not to do it, but they still do it 

I got the repair bill for my stupidity of placing the engine in a bucket...Didn't work out to well for me. 

3 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

I got the repair bill for my stupidity of placing the engine in a bucket...Didn't work out to well for me. 

Mine has never messed up, I guess I yell at them quick enough haha

31 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Mine has never messed up, I guess I yell at them quick enough haha

I yelled at me, but I was like my kids and didn't listen.