We Are Looking Forward To “2009”!

It’s time to bring everyone up to date and also think about the New Year at MER Equipment! 

Chris Clonch has joined the MER Sales Department and is now working closely with General Manager Mike Hoyt and Sales Manager Dave Walker. Tiffany Condon has joined accounting where she and Kathy Hoyt are keeping the books up to date.

Mike Hoyt, our GM, celebrated his 65th birthday this year and is retiring in “09” after 24 years with MER.  His lovely wife Kathy has only been with us for 18 years but she said if Mike isn’t going to work anymore, “I’m not either”  Kathy and Mike are firing up the motor home and taking off to see the world.  We will miss them both, but they have promised to keep in touch.

You will notice as you read this article, that we have put a huge effort into our web log-MERPOWER Technical Support. It’s for you!  Let us hear from you and tell us what you’d like to see covered.

Shawn Fox and Andrew Scott have recently joined the production and fabricating teams. They move back and forth from production to fabricating as needed. 

And speaking of welding, Tyler and Ron have recently added a new heavy-duty Miller AC or DC TIG welding machine to the shop, as well as constructing a larger, second welding area ventilation and air exhaust system, complete with a variable-speed fan to pull welding smoke and fumes from the new curtained welding hood.  Ron and Tyler also design and build one-off items such as marine manifolds for the old Pisces Marine Engines, as needed. If they don’t happen to have a template for your cracked or corroded marine manifold-just bring yours in to get a firm quote on a custom MER replacement manifold.

Besides regular production, we have been developing a number of great new products that  will make your marine equipment last longer and cost less.

 First up is the MER Fuzz-Buster transmission magnet system for the small aluminum case ZF (formerly Hurth) transmissions. The Fuzz-Buster resides on top of the transmission fluid filter and collects any steel particles that are normally circulating in the transmission fluid. This filter improvement will extend transmission life.  Abrasive particles generate more particles as the transmission works, the quicker they are removed from the fluid, the less wear on gear surfaces. We are excited about the Fuzz-Buster because it gives you a quick visual check of your transmission.  Just remove the lid from the filter cavity to inspect for “Fuzz”.  Don’t see any Fuzz, you’re in great shape to run up the coast over the July 4 holiday!  If you do spot more fuzz than seems normal, It’s an early indicator of a larger problem.  A quick call to MER Service Manager Herb Knight, and he will ask Stevie to schedule Bobby or Karl to inspect your transmission & shifting linkage.  The Fuzz-Buster is an visual early-warning to avoid a premature transmission failure.  

Next is the MER Accu-Luber, which does two very important things to extend the life of your engine, or pressure lubricated transmission. The Accu-Luber has a pre-luber function that lubes your engine before every start with filtered oil. This reduces engine wear dramatically by floating metal surfaces on a film of oil before the starter motor engages. Second, the Accu-Luber is an accumulator, similar to those used in racing applications. It holds reserve oil and pumps filtered engine oil into the main oil galley if there is ever a pressure drop in the lube system. Think of it as an easy way to have a larger oil pan.

We designed the Accu-Luber to pre-lubricate metal surfaces before start up, and work as an accumulator with filtered oil. We don’t know of any other pre-lubers on the market that use filtered oil in such an ingenious fashion. Since 90% of the wear on engine bearing surfaces takes place in the first 30 seconds of engine start, we are confident the Accu-Luber will yield dramatic improvements to engine life expectancy.

Ever have a hard time priming your fuel system?  We have found that many of the new HPCR electronic engines can be difficult to prime and restart after running out of fuel or developing air leaks in the fuel delivery system. With a solution in mind we designed and built the MER Diesel-Prime  system making it a breeze to re-prime the fuel system after changing fuel filters, or quickly prime and remove all air from the system after running a tank dry or developing an air leak in the fuel delivery system.  Like the Accu-Luber, the Diesel Prime system is plate mounted for convenient on engine, or remote installation.

Watch for more new products in MER development!  We are currently working on a New Engine Intake Silencer design that will drastically reduce turbo intake whine & make life on your boat much more pleasant.

We’re also developing a Magnetic Filter  to protect, and extend the life of speed sensors, and magnetic pick-ups!  This will enhance the trouble-free operation of your electronic engine.

Keep in touch…