Cleaning Parts in the Livingroom

More Pieces Off the Cummins

Finished up replacing the insulation on the bottom of the the saloon and galley floor boards.



Continued pulling parts off the engine today.  The Cummins wire harness will be replaced as the wire's insulation is getting stiff and brittle.  To do this will require reverse engineering the existing wiring schematic.

Thanks to a recommendation by John Olsen, S/V Daydreamer, we'll be prepping the engine with POR-15.  Daydreamer's engine remained rust free for at least 10 years--I'm good with that ;-)

I finally was able to get the raw water pump off the engine; there was some silicone gasket material that was really sticking well.  I can see why others recommended changing the impeller by first taking the pump off; it's a breeze removing the remaining three bolts holding the pump housing together.

Yet more things come off the engine...

Removed the crankshaft pulley.  Used the emergency tiller as a cheater bar.  To keep the pulley from turning I put a 10mm socket and extender through of the holes in the pulley and onto one of the gear cover's 10 bolt heads.  Between the tiller and the socket with extender, the four pulley bolts came out fairly easily.

Engine Disassembly (Continued)

More parts came off the engine today.  It's hard to focus just on the mechanical when electrical wires are running all over the place. 

It's an ugly picture.  But, that's why we're tackling this big job.

Out it comes...

There's a lot more room in Nellie's engine room now...

To paint the engine we have to remove half of it!  Completely missing from this picture is the raw water cooling system.  Note the new white paint on the engine mount.  Funny how one job cascades into others.  Now we'll also plan to:

- Paint the bilge.
- All (most) the engine's rubber hoses and hose clamps will be replaced. 
- The heat exchanger will de-calcified.
- All the electrical lines on the floor of the engine's starboard side will be rerouted and de-rat-nested.
- Replace some of the Cummins' wiring harness--the wires have become brittle.
- etc.
- etc.

The heat exchanger has a lot of scale on it.  In researching how to descale it I came across this excellent posting in the Wooden Boat Forum. Bottom line, use osphoric acid.  

Here's the posting:

Karl Denninger [ email ] 
Date: 30 June, 2004 03:49 PM 
Viewed: 417 times 
Ok, I've been refining this process now for a couple of years, and am ready to share it with the forum... 
This works for ANY heat exchanger that can be isolated - genset, engine primary, transmission, and your AC system! 

You will need: 

1. Inexpensive 500gph bilge pump with a 3/4" outlet. 20 feet of 16ga wire and a lighter plug (or suitable means to connect it to ship's 12V power) 

2. About 15' of 3/4" hose. 

3. A 5 gallon bucket. 

4. 1 gallon of Ph-Ospho-RIC (from Home Depot, found in the paint department - about $13) This is phosphoric acid and a detergent. 

5. Chemical resistant gloves and safety goggles are highly recommended. 

To clean the H/E: 

1. Close the seacock going to the H/E you intend to clean. 

2. Remove the hose connections to the H/E. If it is a genset or A/C unit, there is a good chance the connection is 3/4" hose. If so, you're in like Flynn. Mains will have a larger hose inlet typically; 2" is popular. 

3. If the inlet is up to 1", you can get nylon hose-barb adapters at most hardware stores to adapt 3/4" to up to 1". Buy the ones you need for your specific H/Es once. If the inlet is LARGER (e.g. 2") take one of the hoses to Home Depot or Lowes and come up with the PVC fittings to make up an adapter; 2" hose, for example, uses a 1-1/2" PVC coupler, a 1-1/2 to 3/4" threaded adapter, and a 3/4" hose barb to MIP nylon adapter. Fit up the pieces dry in the store and buy what you need. PVC fittings require PVC cement. Make up the fittings you need to adapt to the hose sizes in question. 

4. Connect the output of the bilge pump to the OUTLET of the H/E using the adapter if necessary and half the 3/4" hose. Take the other half and connect it to the INLET, and run the hose back into the bucket. Place the bilge pump in the bucket. THE BUCKET MUST BE ABOVE THE H/E YOU ARE CLEANING TO INSURE THAT ALL AIR WILL BE EXPELLED. 

5. IMPORTANT: Remove all zincs from their plugs, and reinstall the BARE PLUGS. DO NOT LEAVE THE ZINCS IN THE HEAT EXCHANGER! 

5. Add roughly 2.5 gallons of clean water (half full). Turn on the pump and insure that the pump retains prime while circulating the water. 

6. Add approximately 1/2 to 3/4 gallon of the Ph-Ospho-Ric to the bucket. 

Allow the acid to circulate through the H/E until the foam and bubbling on the surface of the bucket's liquid STOPS. The amount of time this will require depends on how badly fouled the H/E is; it is not uncommon for this to take an hour or two. Phosphoric acid will "parkerize" steel and iron along with removing all the rust (a good thing!), and will ignore the cupero-nickel used in heat exchanger bundles. It will dissolve the organic, mineral and salt deposits, which is what you want. The solution will turn dark as it works. This is normal. 

When the bubbling stops, turn off the pump. Drain the solution back into the source bucket. 

Reconnect the original hoses and immediately start the engine or other device, allowing it to run, to flush any remaining residue out of the system. 

Make sure to flush the hoses and pump with clean water when you're finished, and reinstall the zincs in the plugs. 

You're done. 

The solution can be reused several times. When done with it, you can use Baking Soda to neutralize the acid before disposal. 

NOTE: Phosphoric acid contains phosphorus, and should NOT be dumped in the water as it is an algae nutrient, even after being neutralized with baking soda. 

This procedure has several advantages over the other possibilities: 

1. Its quick. I can do both mains, the genset, and the AC system in a day, and during most of that I can be doing other things as its all pump work time. Dismounting H/Es or disassembling bundles is quite a bit more work and in many cases requires draining the freshwater side of the system. 

2. It is a LOT safer than the DD-recommended Muriatic/Oxalic acid solution. Muriatic acid is a MAJOR hazard if it spills - especially on you. Phosphoric acid is much less dangerous to handle. In addition, Muriatic acid causes hydrogen embrittlement of metals over time, which Phosphoric acid (mostly) avoids. If you leave the Detroit solution in too long, it will do damage. This is much less likely with the Ph-Oshop-Ric. 

3. It works just as well as the DD recommended solution, if not better. You can confirm this with a flashlight - and your temperature gauge - after doing the deed. 

Once you've made up the adapters, this is a very quick and easy maintenance procedure to do annually, which will keep you from having overheating problems during the season.

RuleMate 1100 Bilge Pump

There's a RuleMate 1100 pump is in the main bilge.  The pump was on the maintenance list as its automatic switch didn't seem to be working.  It turns out that it works just fine.  I just wasn't letting the water level get high enough, around 2-1/8", to activate the switch.

We've decided it's time to paint the engine.  The muffler is already out.  A lot more parts will follow it.

Speaking of the muffler.  After griding away the area of the leak I found a large void (air pocket) under the fiberglass band connecting the muffler's top and bottom halves.  Epoxy was poured into the void and then a three layer fiberglass patch was applied.  The muffler was repainted white.

This void, and others found in secondary layups, has me suspicious that the yard wasn't diligent in their roller use.



Replaced the 11' long, 3/4" id, raw water hose from the engine room to the intermediate bearing.  I used a reinforced vinyl tubing in lieu of the exhaust hose that was there.  Certainly the latter is better, but I don't believe it's necessary.

Leaking Water Lift Muffler

While cruising to St. Petersburg last week I found saltwater emerging from under the starboard side water tank.  A puddle of water under the muffler and products of combustion in the water made me suspicious of the muffler.

The hardest part of removing the muffler is getting the two 3" exhaust hoses disconnected.

The muffler's small leak.

Leak close up.

With the muffler out it was obvious the leak was from its starboard side.  The staining means it has been leaking for awhile.  The muffler was made in two parts: top and bottom.  The two parts were then mated with a band of fiberglass.  The leak was found at the bottom of the mating band.  

The 11' x 3/4" (id) raw water hose from the engine room to the PSS and intermediate bearing was removed.  It needs to be replaced.

The rudder packing gland was tightened.  It'll need to be checked while we're underway, only then, with the stern squatting a bit, does it leak.

Fwd: Slurpee Installed

I got Nellie's Slurpee in today.  Her bilges have never been so dry!

The 3.5 gallon/minute ShurFlo pump is under the floor board just outside the head.  1" PVC nipples, with 1/2" FIP threads, were screwed onto the ShurFlo.  Then the 1/2" MIP end, of a 1/4" hose fitting, was screwed into the bushing. 

The effluent is pumped into the drain line of the head's sink.  To accomplish this the opposing ends of 1" PVC tee are hose clamped into the cut drain line.  After a bushing (1" to 1/2" FIP) was glued into the tee, the 1/2" MIP end, of a 1/4" hose fitting, was screwed into the bushing. 

The programmable controller, with manual on/off switch, is under the galley's floor board.  Visible just to the right of the controller is a vacuum line connector.  It's here that either the forward or aft bilge pickup is plugged in.

Here's the strum box for the under-engine bilge.  The strum box in the aft bilge is all the way back under the stern tube.

Hmm...

Started up the outboard today. No water flow. Notice anything wrong with
the Yamaha's impeller?  Hint: the vanes are supposed to be attached to the impeller, not lying beside it ;-)