Boat heat exchanger installation

Facebook Twitter. Ed Sherman is a regular contributor to boats. He also is the curriculum director for the American Boat and Yacht Council. Boat Reviews. Boating Guides. Boat Buyer's Guide. Boat Seller's Guide. Spring Commissioning for Your Boat. Popular Articles Related Articles 1. Five Affordable Trawlers Under 40 Feet. The temperature of the coolant as it leaves the engine on its way to the water heater is high, too high for safely making domestic hot water.

There are two ways this potential safety hazard may be dealt with, both of which offer the same point-of-source approach. The first involves using a mixing or tempering valve. Therefore, regardless of the temperature of the water in the water heater or the coolant running through the heat exchanger, the output temperature remains constant. Some water heaters come equipped with mixing valves, those from both Indel, www. These are offered with water heaters, also as an option, manufactured by Kuuma Products Formerly Force 10 www.

Quick reacting anti-scald valves are, of course, desirable, particularly for showers and sinks; however, it may not be practical or economical to equip every fixture aboard with one of these, particularly after a vessel is built. Finally, many water heaters are installed using a check valve on the cold water supply, which serves two purposes.

One, it prevents water from running out of the water heater, potentially damaging the element. Unless it includes protection that prevents it from operating while dry, water heater elements must be submerged while operating. If exposed, their lifespan can be measured in seconds. Two, the check valve minimizes convective heat loss, and comingling of hot and cold water, which also hastens heat loss. Sign in. Remove the raw water supply hose at the lowest point which most easily drains the above accessories.

Make sure you replace the neoprene gaskets before putting the boat back in service. Check the pump and replace the impeller if it is worn or over two years old. All cooling systems depend upon a steady and reliable flow of water. When you check the strainer be sure there is a basket or screen securely in place.

Only then will there be no adverse effects from operating with raw water cooling. Adding a freshwater cooling system will not repair the damage already existing from operation with raw water, and will require some additional maintenance as your engine flushes out rust and scale which have built up on the internal cooling passages.

Ultimately, whether the extension of life of your engine is worth the cost of the freshwater cooling system will depend on the condition of the engine. A lot of boats operate that way. Following are some of the problems created with raw water cooling:. All raw water contains impurities. Even if you only run your boat in fresh water lakes, that water contains biologic organisms and probably suspended solids mud, sand and sediment.

If the engine ever operates in shallow water like at a boat ramp it will pick up even more sediment. This material tends to stick to the hot metal of the block and manifold, and will not be fully removed with further operation or vigorous flushing although these help. Dissolved solids, like salt, will also deposit on the hot walls. These deposits insulate the engine from the cooling water, reducing the effectiveness of the cooling water, create hot spots in the engine and restrict the flow of cooling water.

Raw water cooled engines run cold. In order to reduce the deposition problem see 2 above raw water cooled engines are generally fitted with a lower temperature thermostat than the engine was designed for.

This reduces engine efficiency, which decreases with decreasing temperature the hotter the better, within its design limits. To place an order please call or email sales orcamarine.

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Stock Designs. Expansion Tanks. Marine Cooling System Accessories. Customer Log In. We do customer heat exchangers all the time. It is usually built and shipped out in a week or less. For more information about a specific product click on the appropriate link below. To place an order please use our secure online ordering, send us an email or give us a call. Accessories and Parts. Albin Heat Exchangers. Albin Marine Heat Exchanger.

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