Thanks everyone for the insights! Bruce Whitmore 1994 C&C 37/40+ "Astralis" Madeira Beach, FL (847) 404-5092
On Wed, Jan 13, 2021, 12:49 PM Dennis C. via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Here's a good article on heat exchanger maintenance. > > https://pbase.com/mainecruising/heat_exchanger > > Touche' has a Universal 25XPB diesel. I remove the end caps every 2-3 > years, flush and inspect. I have observed the remnants of zincs as shown > on the above site. > > If necessary I would "rod out" the tubes. So far they've been clean. On > my 35-1 there is very little room between the end caps and bulkheads. A > dowel isn't practical. To clean the tubes, I have a length of old lifeline > cable but have not had the need to use it so far. It will bend in the > space between the bulkhead and the end of the exchanger. > > I install NEW gaskets. Don't try to re-use the old ones, they will most > likely leak. I keep spare end cap gaskets on board. > > In layman's language, the raw water is on the "tube side" and the > antifreeze is on the "shell side". The shell side is likely to be clean > because of the anti-fouling additives in the antifreeze. The tube side is > more likely to be fouled because it's raw water and subject to any scaling > potential of that water. The scaling occurs as the raw water becomes > heated at the water/tube interface and minerals adhere to the tubes. > (Yeah, I be a engineer. Chemical engineer by education and 30 years > working in chemical manufacturing plants. I've seen a lot of scaled up > heat exchangers.) > > Marine growth is less likely, in my opinion, if you use the engine often. > Marine critters don't like hot surfaces. > > If your exchanger is scaled badly, take it to a radiator shop. They > descale radiators all the time. Your heat exchanger is probably more > robust than the radiators they de-scale. They can probably also pressure > test it. > > While you're at it, don't forget to inspect or change the cap on your > coolant system. Keep a spare on board! > -- > Dennis C. > Touche' 35-1 #83 > Mandeville, LA > Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with > the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use > PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks > - Stu
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
