New Prop for a Salt

[jasun]

Im going to pull the trigger this year and buy a new prop for the Saltare.

I had called last year at the beginning of the season and the guys at (the name is escaping me) the place everyone goes to but I forget what they recommended.

We normally just cruise and wake board. have not done any surfing. What are all you other Salt guys running? Im not looking for top speed.

[Ptownkid]

You might be thinking of Nettles props...the common one that many people seem to run is the Acme 913.

[cadunkle]

I run a Acme 541 13x12 3 blade CNC .080" cup. Not pleased with top speed. It's alright overall but I kind of wish I went with a 13 x 13 431 as I think the 454 can push that fine for my needs. I'm not running thousands of pounds of ballast.

541 gets me:
4700 RPM WOT 43 MPH - No ballast, driver only, tank mostly full
2500 RPM 22 MPH

With factory OJ 14x13 I was just shy of 50 MPH and I forget exact riding speed RPM but I want to say about 2200 at 22 MPH. The 541 definitely has more bite and more surface area and I believe despite the RPM increase fuel consumption may have decreased slightly... Probably mostly from less slip than the original prop.

[jasun]

I run a Acme 541 13x12 3 blade CNC .080" cup. Not pleased with top speed. It's alright overall but I kind of wish I went with a 13 x 13 431 as I think the 454 can push that fine for my needs. I'm not running thousands of pounds of ballast.

541 gets me:
4700 RPM WOT 43 MPH - No ballast, driver only, tank mostly full
2500 RPM 22 MPH

With factory OJ 14x13 I was just shy of 50 MPH and I forget exact riding speed RPM but I want to say about 2200 at 22 MPH. The 541 definitely has more bite and more surface area and I believe despite the RPM increase fuel consumption may have decreased slightly... Probably mostly from less slip than the original prop.

How does that do for the hole shot? I pulled my brother up last year on 1 ski and he is ~230 lbs. Seemed to cavitate and stuggle a little to get him not. Not sure If it is a tired engine or a prop issue. I did a compression check last year and was at 138-140 in each cylinder. Would the 541 help with this?

[cadunkle]

Under 2 seconds to 20 MPH, she's on plane real quick and I don't notice any cavitation. Seemed like the old 14x13 hand made OJ slipped more and definitely had less surface area. My engine was supposedly rebuilt in 2007, no idea what's inside but it has a China aluminum intake and an 800 double pumper. Probably puts out a little more than stock. Mine never struggled to pull anyone up.

What prop are you running now? If 541 is less pitch it will help get on plane more quickly. A 913 is a 13x10.5, that's a stump puller for running very heavy or at high altitude. If you slalom you may not be happy as 28 MPH is ~3500 RPM and 36 MPH is 4500 RPM... Figured with 19.5% slip which is about what calculators say for the 541 I'm running. I'm no prop guy guy so don't take anything I say as gospel, just trying to give an idea of how the 541 runs for me and how a 913 might run. Look in the prop thread sticky, one guy there has a 913 running at high altitude. It will give you an idea of RPM to MPH but your WOT should be more as in IN I'd expect you to be much closer to sea level.

[jasun]

I appreciate the help. I will call Nettles and see what they recommend. I have a stock prop right now and here in IN we are at about 800'

[TitanTn]

I'm running the same as Cadunkle. He gave you more technical details than I can, but my outcome is about the same as his. The holeshot is great, but I think the top end suffers. It doesn't bother me since I'm never racing anyone, so I'm very happy with the 541.