[C38] Heat Exchanger

[Max Soto]

My bracket broke in two about three years ago, it was already heavily
corroded so instead of welding it, I just  made one out of a 1/8" stainless
steel sheet with the same flat desing as the original, and of course that
was it. No problems since!




Regards,

Max

2009/8/19 Charles <charles at finn.ws>

> I had a new, larger heat exchanger installed on Mighty Quinn this spring.
>  The boat yard that did the work did not bother to make a new bracket that
> would fit the larger diameter and just clamped it in the old bracket.  The
> wear on the exchanger due to the bad fit put a hole in it that started as a
> slow coolant leak and finally failed when I was in a canal lock.  The hole
> looks just like the ones we used to put in beer cans before "poptops."
> This all happened as I was sailing back east through the Great Lakes this
> summer (about 2500 miles) when most of the time I had no access to repair
> facilities.  Right now, the patched exchanger is lying on a towel on top of
> the bracket in my motor.  The boat yard which is 800 miles away has agreed
> to buy a new exchanger and to waive the last $135 bill I owe them (they
> charged $700 for the clown mechanic to do this (heat exchanger was another
> $400)). So for some good news.  I am 6' 5", 230 lbs, with two knee
> replacements that don't let me get near the heat exchanger even though I
> have cut out the walls of the port lazzarette.  Turns out you can reach
> three of the four hoses as well as the clamps through the starboard access
> in the pilot's berth.  There is enough room to get the hose clamps off and
> you can then pull the exchanger close enough to remove the hoses.  The
> fourth hose runs to the front of the motor on the port side, below the
> generator, which is a pretty easy position to get at.  It took me less than
> an hour to remove the exchanger and maybe 1.5 hours to put it back  (the
> patch was another matter, but it has worked will over the last 100 miles of
> motoring with the mast on the deck through the canals to Lake Champlain). So
> now I have to make a bracket for the replacement exchanger.  I am thinking
> of using 3"  pipe hangers and suspending it from the engine compartment
> ceiling.   Any ideas?
>
> Thanks,
> Charles Finn
> Mighty Quinn #114
> Great Lakes
>
>    Hi Steve,
>>
>>  Yes when I bought my 38 a few years ago I had the same problem, the
>> previous owner said it had broken off a  year or so before he sold it and it
>> did rest on the tranny area. After a few years of bouncing around it
>> developed a crack where the bracket broke off and I had to replace the heat
>> exchanger all together. I tried everything to fix the bracket before the
>> crack was noticed. The only thing I did not do was pull it and have a weld
>> shop tack a new bracket on. Good luck
>>
>> Brett Cureton
>>
>> Jazz #313
>>
>> Annapolis, MD
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Steve Smolinske" <SSmolinske at rainierrubber.com>
>> To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 1:40:07 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
>> Subject: [C38] Heat Exchanger
>>
>> Our heat exchanger bracket broke and the unit now rest on top of the
>> transmission, I have tried using hose clamps unsuccessfully to hold it up.
>>  Has anyone else had this problem?  How did you fix it? Thanks.
>>  Steve
>>
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>
>
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