[C38] Water Heater Plumbing

Thu Aug 20 13:49:28 EDT 2009

Tom do you know the Kubota model number? 

-----Original Message-----
From: listserve-bounces at catalina38.org
[mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org] On Behalf Of Tom T.
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 8:57 AM
To: Catalina 38 Listserve
Subject: Re: [C38] Water Heater Plumbing

With all the conversation of the cooling system, I want to add one more
cooling tidbit from my own experience.

I took a trip in 2002 from Tampa Bay to Key West and back.  Before the
trip we checked everything as well as we could and the engine fresh
water pump felt good with no sign of leakage or slack in the bearing.
It felt like a new pump so I was not concerned about it.

500 miles later we were trying to go directly upwind in 40 mile winds
against breaking waves as we tried to enter through the Skyway bridge to
Tampa Bay at 3am in the morning and tired from the rough seas as we
tried to make it to our marina.

We needed to use the motor to assist us in sailing double reefed to
windward through the bridge opening when the engine started to make
noise and overheat.  We made it past the bridge so we could sail without
the engine and I went below to check on the engine.  The fresh water
pump, which had seemed like new, had failed and frozen up causing the
v-belt to fail also.

We sailed up Tampa Bay to within a hundred yards of the dock and only
then cranked the engine to assist in docking in the still heavy winds
early in the morning with no one awake on the dock to assist us.

The reason for the pump failure was age, not wear.  The Universal pumps
use sealed bearings and are not water lubricated like most automotive
pumps. 
This makes our pumps more expensive and more reliable UNTIL the grease
in the unserviceable bearings gets old.  We don't put enough hours on
our pumps to wear them out so they get old from age as the grease in the
bearings hardens up.

I replaced the pump with a Kubota pump which is identical to the
Universal pump except for the price.

If you are still running the original pump, be aware that it can fail
even though it may appear to be perfect.

The pumps are supposedly not seviceable but if I had had the time when
my pump failed, I think I would have at least tried to press the old
pump apart to see if I could find bearings to rebuild it with.  My boat
is several hundred miles from my home so I bought a new pump for
expediency instead of trying to repair the old pump.  Even the Kubota
pump is very expen$ive but a quick fix.

Tom Troncalli

> [Original Message]
> From: <david at dlrfilms.com>
> To: Catalina 38 Listserve <listserve at catalina38.org>
> Date: 8/20/2009 11:30:56 AM
> Subject: Re: [C38] Water Heater Plumbing
>
> My engine appears to be a bit of a frankenstein's monster, and I'm not

> sure if I have the butterfly valve, but I will be looking for it this 
> afternoon when I go though the below procedure! Also, for clarity, I 
> wan't talking about the raw water impeller, but the impeller on the 
> recirculating pump. But having tried to open that up (it's glued shut 
> with all manner of sealant) and much more inclined to try the below 
> procedure first! I bet you've diagnosed the problem.
>
> Thanks so much!
>
> OTOH, we've come to regard our engine as completely unreliable which 
> has made us very handy under sail. You should have seen us in and out 
> of Block Island last week!
>
>
>
>
> >  David,
> >
> > It does sound like your not getting all of the air out of the
system.
> > What you see by looking in after taking the cap off is the coolant 
> > which should be a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water and is totally 
> > separate from the impeller.  Fill up the system with 50/50 and start

> > it up let it run and keep an eye on the level as the antifreeze
begins to circulate
> > the level will drop sometimes making a burp or slurping sound.
Keep an
> > eye on your temp. it will climb don't let it stay to long above 210,
> > shut down the engine let it cool for a bit and start all over.   It
can
> > take several times doing this until the coolant is  full.  This 
> > doesn't mean that a bubble is not still in the system.  Put the cap 
> > on and start up the engine, you should have a butterfly bleed valve 
> > forward and starboard of the radiator cap crack this open after the 
> > engine has been running and it should vent lots of steam if there is
a bubble inside.
> > Close and wait then open this way you will get to a point that when 
> > you open it only antifreeze comes out, when this happens you have 
> > bled the engine of the air.  With the water heater in a takes a lot
longer
> > especially if you have removed the hoses and drained it.   The last
time
> > I did  this it took about 30-45 minutes.  This was after having 
> > removed the water heater for another project.
> >
> > Steve
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: listserve-bounces at catalina38.org 
> > [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org] On Behalf Of 
> > david at dlrfilms.com
> > Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 7:13 AM
> > To: Catalina 38 Listserve
> > Subject: Re: [C38] Water Heater Plumbing
> >
> >
> >> After years of chronic engine heating problems, I asked this C-38 
> >> forum for suggestions.
> >
> > I guess it's my turn.
> >
> > We had now heating problems when we bought the boat, but last Summer

> > started to get overheat alarms.
> >
> > Simply cracking open the system to check this and that seemed to 
> > clear it, so I have (hopefully) deduced that it is an "air-lock"
problem.
> >
> > But the overheats have gotten more frequent and are less reliably 
> > cleared by cracking open the system.
> >
> > Our most recent fix it to take the hot water heater out of the loop,

> > which works, but I can still see the air-lock forming, but without 
> > the hot water heater in the system there seems to be enough 
> > circulation pressure to push past it.
> >
> > Because if the deteriorating nature of the problem I am wondering if

> > the freshwater impellor might be damaged, but when I start the 
> > engine with the cap off the coolant tank, I can see (what appears to

> > be) vigorous flow.
> >
> > It also seems like maybe the cap, which is spring-loaded and leads 
> > off to the overflow tank might not be working right. When the 
> > air-lock forms it pushes the coolant back down the tube, but my 
> > intuition is that this should function more like an air-release 
> > valve. But I'm not an engine guy in any way, so not knowing what 
> > it's supposed to do, I don't know whether or not it's working right.
> >
> > I'm half hoping the whole thing will overheat and seize so I can put

> > in an electric drive.
> >
> > Help?
> >
> >
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