Hi Sam, the heat exchange is the place you will need to clean as part of maintanence, that's where the calcium will build up.
Thanks Woko... how do I do that exactly ??
The end caps usually come off the heat exchanger and you can carefully poke rods through the tubes. Or just run an acid wash through the system like you should if you have a raw water system. The barnacle buster videos are worth a watch, this is just one of many.
Yep like Ramona said, and with some you can extract the tubes in a sorta cartridge, which makes prodding the tubes or the acid bath simpler. I've used brick cleaner to great advantage.
but with a brand new unit Sam you won't need to bother for a little while yet
I should ad that Barnacle buster is very expensive and there are much cheaper alternatives about. I use "Metal Gleam" but it's different strokes for different folks. How often the systems will need cleaning is all down hours used. Kubota based auxiliary in my fishing boat had to be cleaned regularly but I was doing an oil change every fortnight! Care must be taken when poking stuff through the tubes too as they can be easily damaged. I reckon now the acid wash might be the best bet and do the job once every 12 months. I have been going to make up a pump system mounted on a white bucket using a pump like this; https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12V-Water-Pump-35PSI-4-3LPM-Diaphragm-Self-Priming-Caravan-Boat-Shower-Camping/273328099708?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D52946%26meid%3D72bd4c6c56a34f9a913b78e16dd30871%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D281280003967%26itm%3D273328099708&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851
Push on hose fittings and just circulate the acid wash for twenty minutes or so while I have a brew,
If you have zinc anodes it might pay to remove them and replace with a plastic plug while cleaning.
You stirred the old brain box a bit Woko so I had a look at the hand book that came with the engine and
yes, you can extract the tubes as a unit from one end of the heat exchanger so that should simplify things
a bit.
That's the way I do it Sam, drop the tube unit in a bath of brick cleaner an after a bit it's all clean and shiney. When you disassemble the heat exchange you loose your coolant also, not such a bad thing as its good practice to change coolant from time to time
p.s. Be sure to have spare O rings and fibre washers on hand, I replace them maybe every 2nd clean. And anodes as required
That's the way I do it Sam, drop the tube unit in a bath of brick cleaner an after a bit it's all clean and shiney. When you disassemble the heat exchange you loose your coolant also, not such a bad thing as its good practice to change coolant from time to time
p.s. Be sure to have spare O rings and fibre washers on hand, I replace them maybe every 2nd clean. And anodes as required
I was in Aldi last week and they had a box of assorted fibre washers for a couple of dollars....I should have grabbed it.
BTW thanks for the info Woko...How often do you clean the tubes...annually or what ??.
Motor sailed down the river this morning on my way offshore when the overheat alarm went off. Pulled the throttle back to idle and the alarm went away. Just went past my mate who was sitting on his yacht and he rang me on my phone asking why I was going so slow! Returned to my mooring and pulled off the hoses and checked the water flow. Flow to the muffler was reduced. Went home for lunch and to pick up my Metal Gleam. Left the acid soaking in the block while I had a swim and cleaned up the prop and shaft. The smell from the pipes was something else but when buttoned back up and the engine run for awhile at a fast idle she is back to normal. Milky crap out the exhaust for quite awhile! Probably 12 months since I cleaned it last.
That's the way I do it Sam, drop the tube unit in a bath of brick cleaner an after a bit it's all clean and shiney. When you disassemble the heat exchange you loose your coolant also, not such a bad thing as its good practice to change coolant from time to time
p.s. Be sure to have spare O rings and fibre washers on hand, I replace them maybe every 2nd clean. And anodes as required
I was in Aldi last week and they had a box of assorted fibre washers for a couple of dollars....I should have grabbed it.
BTW thanks for the info Woko...How often do you clean the tubes...annually or what ??.
Gee Sam, I recon I depends in a lot of variables, salinity of water, size of tubes, and through put of pump.
as a rule I do mine every 200 hrs, so in my case that's every 2nd oil change engine and transmission, filters etc.
the orings and fibre washers you will need will be a standard size so easily got from bearing / engineering supplies
That's the way I do it Sam, drop the tube unit in a bath of brick cleaner an after a bit it's all clean and shiney. When you disassemble the heat exchange you loose your coolant also, not such a bad thing as its good practice to change coolant from time to time
p.s. Be sure to have spare O rings and fibre washers on hand, I replace them maybe every 2nd clean. And anodes as required
I was in Aldi last week and they had a box of assorted fibre washers for a couple of dollars....I should have grabbed it.
BTW thanks for the info Woko...How often do you clean the tubes...annually or what ??.
Gee Sam, I recon I depends in a lot of variables, salinity of water, size of tubes, and through put of pump.
as a rule I do mine every 200 hrs, so in my case that's every 2nd oil change engine and transmission, filters etc.
the orings and fibre washers you will need will be a standard size so easily got from bearing / engineering supplies
Thanks Mate.