New 15hp 4stroke - please help

I just purchased a new 15hp 4stroke from Bass Pro Shop. I was running the motor in a barrel and everything was running fine. I walked away for a minute and when I came back water was not pumping due to what i thought was the water level had dropped in barrel. Motor was idling and it couldn't have ran for more than 2 minutes although it could have only been a few seconds. I immediately shut it off and filled barrel with more water and fired motor back up. A bit more exhaust came out for a few seconds. I didn't notice an overheat smell or any excessive temps coming from motor. Everything seems to be running fine...water pump works, motor sounds fine.

I really don't know if I messed up badly or if I didn't do anything at all. Can these motors run for a bit without water? Water was in system and was idling before hand, is there stored water in motors to keep em cool for a few seconds? What if someone is running full throttle on the water and a blockage occurs, where is the protection? How tough are these motors?

What should I do? Should I check anything out to prevent further damage?

You probably didn't do any damage to the motor itself but you may have caused early wear to the impeller. The impeller is what pumps the water. Without water the impeller is not lubricated and can heat up and be damaged. OB should not be run without water even for a sec. Make sure it's pumping water good.

Did the overheat alarm go off?

I would stop running it in a barrel unless for test reasons.. don't ever leave it unattended if running.

I would say if it is running fine and pumping water you should be fine. Take it out to a lake and follow the correct break in procedure that came with it or the break in procedure you were told to do, i highly doubt running it in a barrel was part of the correct procedure.

I also agree with the guy Ant-Knee who replied to your thread on Iboats..

Captain Ahab said:

Did the overheat alarm go off?

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No overheat alarm did not go off. I after I fired it back up the second time I put my hand over the water outlet and it wasnt too hot. It was warm. Would it have been hot as hell if motor was overheated?

Canoeman said:

I would stop running it in a barrel unless for test reasons.. don't ever leave it unattended if running.

I would say if it is running fine and pumping water you should be fine. Take it out to a lake and follow the correct break in procedure that came with it or the break in procedure you were told to do, i highly doubt running it in a barrel was part of the correct procedure.

I also agree with the guy Ant-Knee who replied to your thread on Iboats..

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Will do, I ran in barrel to make sure everything would run properly before I got to the lake.

Jay415 said:

You probably didn't do any damage to the motor itself but you may have caused early wear to the impeller. The impeller is what pumps the water. Without water the impeller is not lubricated and can heat up and be damaged. OB should be run without water even for a sec. Make sure it's pumping water good.

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Thanks for the response....she is pumpin water good.

From past experience on an older two stroke, if it overheated, the motor would stop running and you wouldn't be able to put your hand on the motor's head. As previously stated, most new motors have an overheat alarm.

Jay415 said:

OB should be run without water even for a sec.

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just realized I forgot a word. That should say "should NOT be run"