seacock placement

[mourinor9177]

My c26 2014 is not getting enough water to cool engine at high rpm and was planning to replace multiport strainer with 2 separate strainers one for engine 1 1/4 " and the original 1" for the toilet and wash down. Would it be ok to add new seacock just in front of old seacock or locate it on the port side. and reduce all of the bends in the intake hose. If better to put it on the port side can you suggest places to make a new hole.
Thanks

 

[BB marine]

I agree the 1" is to small. Volvo spec is 1 1/4". I'm not sure why Cutwater/Ranger uses 1". The water flow thru 1" is marginal for the raw water pump capacity and cooling capacity of the engine. It works but the slightest restriction or fouling the engine will run warm at WOT or high cruise. The factory installed sea strainer has 1 1/4 fittings on it. There are internal threads for 1" pipe threads that the factory uses but there is an external 1 1/4" hose barb casted with the housing. Before installing an extra thru hull I would make modifications by installing a 1 1/4" thru hull and resize the hose from from thru hull to strainer to 1 1/4 along with removing the 1" barb /pipe fitting out of the strainer. Use the strainers external cast barb fitting to attach the 1 1/4 hose. Doing this upgraded the system flow to match Volvo's spec. Next I would confirm that the check valve between the strainer and the head is working properly. If this is not sealing properly you may be sucking air reducing water flow. I would also install a ball valve between the stainer and the wash down pump. Keep it closed unless you are using it. This eliminates the chance of air leaks from the pump and hoses from this system. I removed the raw water head flush and installed fresh water flush. This helps reduce head odors and reduces the chance of air leaks in the engine raw water cooling. The reverse gear cooler is notorious for getting fouled. Have you removed the hoses off the reverse gear cooler and inspected for debris? I would also do a vinegar and water flush of the raw water system. Mix up a couple of 5 gallon pails of 25% vinegar and 75% water, close the sea cock and run the mixture thru. Shut down and let that sit in the raw water cooling system for a few hours, open the seacock and start the engine flush the mixture out. Now see if you still need to add another strainer. If you add another thru hull and strainer for the head and wash down you can use the original 1" that you removed. Placement should not be in front of the engine thru hull, and should be in-between lifting strakes. If you have a trailer make sure that the location does not interfere with the trailer bunks and that the location does not line up where the lifting straps would be if a travel lift is used for hauling the boat out of the water. Good Luck.

 

[mourinor9177]

Thanks for the input.
I was considering using the existing 1 inch Seacock for the toilet and wash down using a very small strainer (their own or non at all) . I would never attach the toilet to my fresh water supply. Wash down ok but not the toilet. The new Seacock 1 1/4 would be for the engine only Using a Groco strainer (it has an adapter for flushing, the screen is much finer and larger size). The Multiport strainer would be removed. The idea was to install the new 1 1/4 Seacock in front of the old one or on the port side of boat if not enough room in front of the old 1 inch. If I have to put the new Seacock on the port side I would run all the engine hose on that side of the boat and eliminate the sharp bend just before the Reverse oil cooler. The reverse oil cooler inspection is on my list for checking.
The main reason for a separate strainer for the engine is I never liked the idea of mixing the input to both an engine and other components. Too many things can go wrong. On my other boats, the engine always had its own.
Again Thanks for the input .

 

[Levitation]

A Seacock that is seaworthy needs a bit more to the installation than blasting a hole, sticking it through and tightening the collar. I will skip my usual lengthy blather and merely mention that one can do a bit of research on the backing block, NPT fittings, etc.
Fluid Motion does not do those things, but then their Tugs don't seem to be going to the bottom unexpectedly.
I'll be quiet now.

 

[dclagett]

Once I converted my RT25SC clam shell hull strainer to a GROCO APHS Series hull strainer with screen and increased the size of the thru hull to 1.25 inches I have not any issues with overheating. With the new configuration the engine runs about 5 degrees cooler overall and WOT only increases the temperature about 7 degrees. In addition in the last 2 years since I put the GROCO hull strainer on I have not had any debris in either the large sea strainer or the transmission oil cooler where I would get clogs. I did not change the large multi port sea strainer configuration and still have the toilet and raw water wash down connected without any problems.

Denny-O

On my RT25SC the factory did not use a standard seacock, they utilized a thru hull and ball valve ( a lot less expensive) for the engine, A/C and generator raw water intake. IMO this is not as stable as a standard seacock and may also have some serious issues if the boat remains in the water during freezing conditions since there is no way to winterize the thru hull up to the ball valve. I am not an experienced boat builder, however if you look and the picture in my album of the hole in the hull, the hull is quite thick where the thru hull penetrates. I am not sure how much additional backing would be required.

 

[Levitation]

dclagett - Since you asked:
https://marinehowto.com/replacing-thru- ... -seacocks/

Cheers, Denny

 

[dclagett]

Denny,

Thanks, I am very familiar with flanged seacocks. If my memory serves me correctly this is the first boat I have had without flanged seacocks. My comment was really about additional blocking.

 

[mourinor9177]

Thank you all
I decided to do what DCLAGERT did. New seacock 1.25 to Groco strainer with south bay hull strainer. and eliminated all of the short 180 degree turns in the 1.25 hoses. Left the toilet and wash down alone with their original separate hoses and strainer. Since I do not have a generator my seacock was placed where the generator seacock would have been. Engine now runs about 7 degrees cooler than it did. I still need to have my heat exchanger flushed but that is for the fall.