[C38] Changed seawater pump impeller fail

Mon Mar 8 14:01:23 EST 2021

Thanks Steve for the article. Great help.

On Sun, Mar 7, 2021 at 3:15 PM Steve Smolinske <SSmolinske at rainierrubber.com>
wrote:

> Here is an article I wrote for mainsheet several years back may be of help
>
>
>
> Steve Smolinske
>
> President
>
>
>
> 4M Company, Inc.
>
> 15660 Nelson Place South
>
> Seattle, WA  98188
>
> 425-227-4500
>
>
>
> The information contained in this email may be confidential and/or
> proprietary in nature and is intended for the recipient of the email only.
> Please treat all information contained in this and any communication with
> the 4M Company as such.  Thank you. Before printing, think about
> ENVIRONMENTAL responsibility
>
>
>
> *From:* Listserve <listserve-bounces at catalina38.org> * On Behalf Of *Steven
> Ribble
> *Sent:* Sunday, March 07, 2021 2:08 PM
> *To:* Catalina 38 Listserve <listserve at catalina38.org>
> *Subject:* Re: [C38] Changed seawater pump impeller fail
>
>
>
> Pierre,
>
> If you haven't cleaned the heat exchanger you should, hopefully it's your
> problem, but it needs to be maintained regardless. Some years ago [the
> listserve] suggested using a welding rod to ream the tubes inside the heat
> exchanger. If you're not familiar, the heat exchanger is a bunch of small
> tubes conveying raw water running through a big one that has engine
> coolant.
>
>
>
> The welding rod works well to ream the buildup in the tubes, but the flux
> coating wears off and is a bit of a mess. My heat exchanger sits above and
> rear of the engine ( I have a Westerbeke, the Universal was replaced) and
> once you wiggle into position is fairly easy to ream. There's also a pencil
> zinc on one end that you should inspect/replace regularly. A paper towel at
> the far end will catch the crud you ream out. I use my cell phone to photo
> the hole ends to assure the occlusions are cleaned because it's hard to get
> a good look.
>
>
>
> Good luck, have fun...hope it's the problem.
>
> Steve
>
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 7, 2021, 4:52 PM charles <charles at finn.ws> wrote:
>
> Only way I could manage was to enlarge the opening in the port locker
> (sawzall) and then remove water heater (fairly easy) and then put down some
> foam pads and enter head first turning about in port locker.  Make sure
> there is someone on deck to hand you all the tools you didn't know you
> needed!
>
>
>
> -------- Original message --------
>
> From: Pierre Patino <pierre.patino at gmail.com>
>
> Date: 3/7/21 11:43 AM (GMT-06:00)
>
> To: Catalina 38 Listserve <listserve at catalina38.org>
>
> Subject: Re: [C38] Changed seawater pump impeller fail
>
>
>
>
>
> Yes. I think it's downstream from the pump as well. Next weekend's project
> is to figure out the yoga to get in there and inspect.
>
>
>
> On Sun, 7 Mar 2021, 6:42 am charles, <charles at finn.ws> wrote:
>
> It is not the pump!  I am guessing your heat exchanger is most likely
> plugged.  It sits on the rear of your engine above transmission.  My old
> one got plugged with zebra mussels that enters system as an egg and grows
> while engine is off.  There are cleanout ports on exchanger but I opted for
> a larger one.
>
>
>
> -------- Original message --------
>
> From: Max soto <maxsoto at gmail.com>
>
> Date: 3/6/21 6:44 PM (GMT-06:00)
>
> To: Catalina 38 Listserve <listserve at catalina38.org>
>
> Subject: Re: [C38] Changed seawater pump impeller fail
>
>
>
> Really weird.  Those pumps are, or supposed to be self priming for up to
> 6’. How old is that pump?  Look for wear in the housing. Somethings the cam
> might need to be replaced
>
> Regards,
>
> Max Soto A.
>
> +506-8312-1367
>
> Alajuela, Costa Rica
>
>
>
> On Mar 6, 2021, at 14:04, Pierre Patino <pierre.patino at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
>
>
>
> OK, new information (and I may be an idiot too!).
>
>
>
> I got a pressure gauge to measure the output at the Oberdorfer raw water
> pump. I was able to estimate around 8-10psi  (the needle jumped back and
> forth due to the nature of the pump mechanics) so I thought that seemed OK.
> I have yet to find the pressure specs on that pump so I'm not sure. The
> flow rate into the bucket as stated earlier is definitely "enough" and
> around 2-3gal/min so I believe that's close to spec.
>
>
>
> I then hooked up the dock water line to the outlet hose which leads to the
> heat exchanger. Using the least amount of water pressure I could muster by
> barely squeezing the sprayer's handle (sprayer was coupled to the hose via
> a barbed fitting) I was able to see water coming out of the exhaust. So now
> I'm back where I was, completely perplexed.
>
>
>
> I thought about something a colleague at work said: "did you purge the
> line?".  Well, I've never done this before when changing the impeller so I
> thought "why not?".
>
>
>
> I was extra careful when disconnecting the dock's water hose from the hose
> to the heat exchanger and I kept my finger in place to keep the water from
> spilling out. I also raised the other end of the intake hose above the
> water line. I carefully fitted them together and then tested again.
>
>
>
> Amazingly, this worked! Water flowed out of the exhaust for several
> minutes after turning the engine on.
>
> Problem fixed? Time will tell.
>
>
>
> Questions:
>
> Am I an idiot for not purging the line? I've never had to do that before.
>
>
>
> Also, I paid close attention to the water coming out of the exhaust. The
> flow is  quite uneven. A bunch of water comes out and then much less and
> then a bunch more and so on. Is this expected?
>
>
>
> Thanks again!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 2, 2021 at 8:33 PM Max soto <maxsoto at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Wow, honestly this is a though one..  years ago I had a persistent problem
> that there was no water in the exhaust, but it happened every now and
> then...  turned out it was a little piece of mud or barnacle that was
> trapped between the thruhull strainer and the barbed fitting on the other
> side of the valve.  That piece seemed to have life of its own. I blowed air
> through the hose and easily heard the bubbles coming out on the water, so I
> thought the intake was not the problem.  This piece was freely moving in
> the thruhull and clogged the intake every now and then. .. just my two
> cents.
> Regards,
>
> Max Soto A.
>
> +506-8312-1367
>
> Alajuela, Costa Rica
>
>
>
> On Feb 8, 2021, at 20:44, Pierre Patino <pierre.patino at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
>
>
>
> Hello All
>
> As the subject implies, I failed to do this properly I believe. I bought
> the replacement impeller parts and removed the old one. Removing the old
> impeller was easy. I cleaned the cavity (there was some salt buildup, my
> fault for waiting too long)  and when I proceeded to put the new impeller
> (looks exactly like the old one), I was unable to put the snap ring back.
> I'm not sure how important this is. In any case, I put the cover on with
> the new o-ring and started the engine.
>
> Now I notice zero water coming out the exhaust. I feel something's
> buggered up and I'm not quite sure what the fastest way to troubleshoot is.
> Suggestions?
>
>
>
> By the way, the intake valve is open so I know it's not *that *operator
> error.
>
>
>
> I've made sure the impeller spins by running the engine and checking that
> the shaft has rotated as well as the impeller (taking the cover off and
> putting it back on).
>
>
>
> Just before I started on this project, water did come out of the exhaust
> so I know it "used" to work.
>
>
>
> I'm perplexed why I'm having such a hard time with the snap ring. I just
> did not want to try jam it in with excessive force. The last time I did
> this I had no trouble. Maybe I need to get yet another impeller kit?
>
>
>
>
>
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