2017 Mercury 30hp EFI water pump question

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Recently purchased boat with a 2017 Merc 30 hp. Had it out the other day and noticed it was not peeing water. No alarm was going off and engine seemed to be running fine. Brought it home and thought there was something in the the tube to the pee hole. Cleaned tube, put the muffs on it and it pee'ed strong. Backed the boat in the water, started it and it still pee'ed strong.

Today I changed oil and ran it to fill the filter. I ran it a couple minutes and no pee stream. Shut off engine. Turned up hose pressure, started again, and this time got a pee stream after a couple seconds.

Should I get a pee stream anytime the engine is running?
Can the engine be getting cooling water even if there is no pee stream?
Does the water pump work better in the lake than with the muffs?

Appreciate the help.

 

[Lewis]

Recently purchased boat with a 2017 Merc 30 hp. Had it out the other day and noticed it was not peeing water. No alarm was going off and engine seemed to be running fine. Brought it home and thought there was something in the the tube to the pee hole. Cleaned tube, put the muffs on it and it pee'ed strong. Backed the boat in the water, started it and it still pee'ed strong.

Today I changed oil and ran it to fill the filter. I ran it a couple minutes and no pee stream. Shut off engine. Turned up hose pressure, started again, and this time got a pee stream after a couple seconds.

Should I get a pee stream anytime the engine is running?
Can the engine be getting cooling water even if there is no pee stream?
Does the water pump work better in the lake than with the muffs?

Appreciate the help.

I'm certainly not the most expert person on this forum, but I think I help with that last question. Muffs are useful sometimes, but I have several motors that will not pee at all on muffs, even though they do fine in the lake or in a barrel. It depends on the muffs themselves as well as the shape of the motor's intake on how tightly they fit. It is well worth your while to figure out a set up with a cut-down barrel or a storage tub that allows you to submerge the lower unit to a level above the intake. You can fill it up and siphon it out with a hose with not a lot more effort than hooking up the muffs.
As to the other questions: I believe some motors don't start peeing until a certain temperature is reached, which might take longer than a couple of seconds. I don't think that would apply to a 30HP, but don't know for sure. In any event, it may take a couple of seconds (but not much more) for water to be drawn up from the intake, circulate, and then exit the telltale. Except for these brief delays, I don't think the motor will be getting adequately cooled if no water is exiting the telltale.
Lewis