Does the engine need to be at 185 to use Barnacle Buster?

J

jswhal

Active member
Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Messages
43
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Non-Fluid Motion Model
Cutwater 28
Vessel Name
Sea Glass
I want to flush my C28 Volvo engine. Do I need to bring it up to 185 so the thermostat is open to get the liquid through the heat exchanger? I suspect it's dirty as I go from 185 to 196 above about 3200 RPM. Not sure why it makes that same jump every time.
 
Yes. Barnacle buster needs to flow thru and “pickle” in the entire cooling system to get the best results.
 
Maybe a bit of disagreement. The barnacle buster is intended to get rid of mineral or marine growth in the seawater side of the system. The raw water pump runs full blast any time the engine is running. The engine thermostat controls flow of clean fresh water/antifreeze through the engine and fresh water side of the heat exchanger. That side should always be perfectly clean That said, the barnacle buster probably works better if it is hot. You can make it that way by doing your flushing by catching discharge from the exhaust and leading it back to the seawater inlet side of things. It will gradually get hotter and maybe work better.

Larry
 
Not certain that is accurate Captn Karl.

My understanding is that the two cooling systems, the raw water and the engine cooling loop are two separate systems. Regardless if the thermostat in the engine system is open or closed (open at 185 degrees), water entering the raw water system still circulates through the impeller, through the heat exchanger, and out the exhaust.

Very open to deeper understanding. Additionally, I was told by the factory that the water heater is still heating water before the thermostat is open. Haven't been able to figure that one out...

Gary
 
Flushing Barnacle Buster through a cold engine will not give you the best results. That was my point.
 
Let me add that thermostats, by design, do not block all of the cooling flow when closed, just a major part of it. Cooling fluids still flow, but at a reduced rate, allowing the engine to reach operating temperature slowly. This is true on cars/trucks as well. If there was no outlet for the water pump, then it would be pumping into a dead head, but this is avoid by allowing for an small alternate flow path. Some thermostat actually have a (~1/4") hole in them for this purpose, if there isn't another path in the design.

PS. Having never used this product, is it used straight out of the container, or mixed with water first?
 
Simple answer... no, the engine doesn't need to be at 185. Pickle the engine over a course of hours if you want. Works great cleaning out your AC raw water system (never above ambient temp).
 
Barnacle Buster does not need 185. Works for air con very well. Good for generator too.
 
The copy and paste info below is from a VP manual. It does not deal with the question in the original post but I've shared it as info on the other comments about the cooling system or how it works. It may not deal with the specific engine in question but the general principle would be the same,,,,I think.

Design and function
Group: 26 Cooling system
Group 26 Cooling system
General
The engine is fresh water cooled and has a sealed cooling system with expansion tank. The system is subdivided into two circuits.
In the inner circuit, the fresh water system, the coolant is circulated by a coolant pump which is driven via a belt from the crankshaft pulley.
The fresh water circuit operates under a certain amount of excess pressure, which reduces the risk of boiling if the temperature rises too high. If the pres- sure becomes higher than normal, a pressure valve opens in the filler cap on the expansion tank.
The coolant temperature is regulated by a thermostat. When the engine is cold, a thermostat directs the coolant round an internal circuit in the engine. When operating temperature begins to be reached, the cool- ant is progressively directed out through the entire heat exchanger, where the surplus heat is removed.
In the outer circuit, the sea water system, sea water is forced through by a gear-wheel driven pump with rubber impeller.
The sea water system cools the engine’s heat ex- changer. The sea water is returned together with the exhaust gas, via a connection in the exhaust bend.

Group: 26 Cooling system
Design and function
Thermostat
The engine is equipped with a thermostat whose sensor body contains wax.
When the engine is cold, the thermostat keeps the path to the heat exchanger closed. Coolant then passes through a by-pass pipe, back directly to the suction side of the pump. As the engine warms up, the volume of the wax increases and the thermostat progressively opens the passage to the heat exchanger, at the same time as the by pass channel is closed.
Please refer to the “Technical Data” chapter for opening temperatures.
The thermostat is located in a housing which is inte- grated in the heat exchanger and exhaust manifold.
Coolant pump
The coolant pump is mounted on the engine block and is driven by the crankshaft by means of a drive belt.
Sea water pump
The sea water pump is a rubber impeller type pump, and is mounted on the front of the engine. The pump is driven from the engine’s timing gear system and forces cooling water out to the heat exchanger on the engine.
The impeller (pump wheel) is made of rubber, and is replaceable.
NOTE! The impeller will be damaged if the pump is run dry.
Heat exchanger
The heat exchanger is located in a housing which is integrated with the exhaust manifold and thermostat.
Sea water passes through the heat exchanger matrix and transfers heat from the internal cooling circuit in the engine (fresh water system) to the outer circuit (sea water). When the thermostat has not yet opened, the coolant is lead through a short, uncooled passage in the heat exchanger and back to the engine.
 
Will the one gallon of concentrated Barnacle Buster be enough to flush through the engine, generator and ac lines to let sit for a few hours before fresh water flush?
 
If you follow the procedure in the thread below you can control the concentration per the Barnacle Buster (or Rydlyme or Salt Away) instructions and get a continuous flow of the solution through the system using your raw water pump. Works great! I warm the engine up first but it is nowhere near 185 because it is done in Neutral gear. As stated above you are not flushing through the the coolant system so the thermostat does not need to be open.

http://www.tugnuts.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7353&p=52109&hilit=Rydlyme+flush#p52109

Curt
 
Jfrano":eme9rdub said:
Will the one gallon of concentrated Barnacle Buster be enough to flush through the engine, generator and ac lines to let sit for a few hours before fresh water flush?
Click to expand...

If you follow the directions one gallon may not be enough. Look at the container of barnacle buster they sell if either concentrate or diluted. One gallon of concentrate may do it. Keep in mind though that your other systems are separate from each other so you need to do those separately and I would devise a way to be able to circulate the fluid. However if you do not have considerable scale and no issues getting the product in and being able to keep it in for a period of time may work.
 
I’m thinking of just introducing into the strainers until it discharges for the engine, generator and AC lines and let it sit for 3-4 hours before flushing. The loop connection seems too involved for my skills.
 
Found Utube Video where a totally encrusted Heat Manifold was placed in a plastic container of Barnacle Buster solution for several hours using the pickling method and was astonished at the remarkable outcome.

https://youtu.be/u4bGiv2MD74
 
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