Generator leaking

[Boatagain]

It was an extraordinarily hot and humid day today on the Chesapeake. Took a 2 1/2 hour cruise to the Eastern Shore and anchored in a pretty cove to swim. The genny and the A/C were running the whole way and both were doing fine. As we were swimming around the boat I noticed the aft bilge pump working overtime and expelling quite a bit of water.
Investigating I found somewhere between a trickle and a gush of water that seemed to be coming from the raw water coolant line where it enters the genny. I didn’t have time to look deeper. I hope it’s just a loose clamp.

Any thoughts?

 

[Kevin Lamont]

It was an extraordinarily hot and humid day today on the Chesapeake. Took a 2 1/2 hour cruise to the Eastern Shore and anchored in a pretty cove to swim. The genny and the A/C were running the whole way and both were doing fine. As we were swimming around the boat I noticed the aft bilge pump working overtime and expelling quite a bit of water.
Investigating I found somewhere between a trickle and a gush of water that seemed to be coming from the raw water coolant line where it enters the genny. I didn’t have time to look deeper. I hope it’s just a loose clamp.

Any thoughts?

Hello,

Without actually opening up the cover to inspect more it is hard to tell. You should be able to check the raw water clamps on the outside if it is a diesel generator, gas generators the connections are inside the cover. It would be a good start however to tighten the hose clamps on the generator and raw water hoses just to ensure that is not the problem. Hope this helps and if you need more help please feel free to email me at the address below.

Thanks,
Kevin Lamont

 

[Boatagain]

I finally was able to get down to the boat after a couple of weeks of pesky responsibility. The hoses and clamps all looked good. Took the front cover off of the genny and found the leak to be coming from just behind the raw water pump pulley. It’s a pretty substantial steam. I’ve got a mechanic coming down to check it out next week. Any ideas what I’m dealing with?

 

[AZtoVA]

I sounds like the impeller broke up. When you were going across the Bay was the genny on? How fast were you going?

 

[Boatagain]

Yes, the genny was on and we were doing about 13 knots.

Not enough raw water input causing impeller to fail? Would that show as a gushing leak around the water pump?

 

[AZtoVA]

Not sure. Gushing water sounds like a hose leak. Even if impeller broke, with good hoses should not leak. If you kept speed under 14 kts you should have been ok with water flow. Let us know what you find

 

[Bobby P.]

I had this exact genset on my last boat and had a major leak. At first glance, seemed to be coming from the water pump. After getting into it a bit more, I found that one of the hoses had gotten chaffed by the water pump pulley, creating a leak that was spraying onto the water pump. Had to have the genset running to figure this out. I replaced the hose and re-routed it just a bit with zip tie. These 5 EQD gensets are otherwise outstanding little machines.

Feel free to contact me if you want me to walk you through working on it. I've done all the maintenance a few times over and know the engine pretty well.
Best,
Bobby
410-294-9998

 

[Boatagain]

Tech checked it out today and found the source of the leak to be a bad seal(s) around the waterpump shaft. He said it would be too costly, @ $100/hour, to rebuild. Ordered a new pump - $290.99. With labor this will likely be a $500-$600 bill when all is said and done.

This on a three year old unit. Aggravating, but likely only the beginning as the boat ages.

 

[AZtoVA]

Dang. Sorry.

 

[Boatagain]

Bobby, thank you for the offer. I may yet take you up on it. Btw, what’s a 5EQD genset?

Ed, thanks for your empathy!

 

[Bobby P.]

I meant 5QD. Onan classifies this generator as its 5 kilowatt "Quiet Diesel" generator. Should you need parts, the proper name is "Onan 5 kw QD (MDKBH) series". Last boat show I attended, the Onan rep kept referring to my genset as a 5QD.

There are a lot of things that make this little machine great. For one, it toggles back and forth between 4 and 5 kilowatts, depending upon the load. That changes the fuel consumption by .2 litre per hour. It is very economical and compact, making it a perfect fit for the rangers, up to 31 feet. My last one ran constantly on our 36 Albin with 2 ac units. The only time it would kick off would be when a/c compressors and microwave would all pull at the same time. I ran that unit for about 10 years (that is when it first came out). Only had the one problem with the water pump hose. Other than that, oil changes and impellers every 2 years (sometime much longer on the impeller). Any problems and a code would flash on the start button screen. Usually that would happen if we had poor water flow due to an impeller going bad or sucking up a jelly fish. Parts are easily accessible, too! West marine even has a cross over number for the impeller.

I was very happy to see that my 2017 31CB was outfitted with this machine.

Best,
Bobbby