Passivating, electropolishing?---- come on guys this is a boat fitting not a high purity micro chip or pharamaceutical application.

JonJahn;
Is the 1-1/4 the exact outside diameter and are you just looking for a sweep elbow or what. Maybe I can help you with something local and cheap. Actually, brass or copper sweat fittings will work well with hose.

OK, electropoilshing is a bit over the top, but passivating a stainless part is the best way to go. It will clean the exposed surfaces of iron and will stop surface rust. In just about all our military applications a stainless part will go through a passivation process.

Iggy, I'm sure all of that would be great, but I'm a guy with a boat and a shop and a TIG welder, not Orange County Choppers with too much money and not enough to spend it on.

Jim, 1 1/4" is the OD of the thru transom fitting and the inlet to the sea water pump. Westbrook Metals has 304 stainless pretty reasonably so as soon as I've got some time to work on the boat I'm gonna build these inline do-dads, fix up the cooling system and get the old girl back in the water.

Iggy,
Lets not steal this guys thread, and I don't want to get in a pissing match, but I am the Quality Control Manager for a major pipe fabricator in the Detroit Area. Last year we shipped out 501 Tons of pipe fab, with 20% of that being stainless steel. Customers include the big three automotives, (their factory paint systems) chemical plants, Michigan Department of Transportation etc, etc, etc. None of this pipe was passivated, and it is fabricated to specifications. Now, if you want to passivate a SS fitting for flushing a boat, have at it!

Check this Safety Seacock Conversion Kit for flush system out at West--I'm sure there are other sources--

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...70&storeNum=11

You may want to look at this ebay item also---Item number: 4363923964--hose manifold--I used this to connect garden hose tp both maine engines, genset, and A/C so I could flush all from single hose

Whiteknuckle, I never insisted he had to perform any prep before using a stainless part. No pissing contest.
If you see my first post here, I said he may see some sufrace rust but it wouldn't hurt a thing. I was only commenting on the posts by CigDaze and yourself. Sorry if I came across differently.

BTW I too work in Quality Assurance. Have been an inspector for 12+ years. The company I work for builds some of the finest training simulators produced. Before that I was a Machinst (Journeyman), Certified Welder (pipe, TIG, MIG, and stick), Calibration Technician, and a few other things. I've also designed most of the tooling and fixtures used in my department.
Check us out www.cubic.com .

Iggy you ever get over to Melboring (Melbourne, FL) with boat?

John, have you thought of just putting in a brass or stainless tee with a ball valve on the drive side of the tee? Close the valve for using the garden hose and open for normal operation when boating. This way no water will run out the end of drive and prevent sucking any air from the drive as well. This also would in-able you to now pressurize your water pump. I have similar set up on my boat as well. Just a thought. Propwash.

Not yet, but hope to do it this year.
How bad are the manatee zones? It'd be a b*tch to have all that water and be stuck running at idle.