[C320-list] Fuel Gauges

[Delia Mace]

Mike

Not necessarily.  Just after I bought Baloo last year, I found on one outing
that the motor lost power to such an extent that I was barely able to drive
her into the berth (slip).  The elbow was so choked with carbon that you
couldn't put a pencil through the hole!  Clean the elbow and all is well.
Now we follow the manufacturer's (Yanmar) recommendation for running the
motor hard from time to time to burn off any deposits.

Make your diesel work hard and it will love you for it.

Owen Mace
Baloo  #727
Adelaide, Australia

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of mike hunter
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 4:00 AM
To: ola7442000 at DELETEgmail.com; C320-List
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Fuel Gauges

  Thank you all for the excellent advice.  I'm very thankful to be learning
this now instead of later.  
   
  The carbon build up you talk about, does it eventually burn off when the
engine is run for a period of time at a higher RPM?  
   
  Thanks again!
   
  Mike
   
  
Stan <ola7442000 at gmail.com> wrote:
  Hi mike,

We are starting the seventh season (408 engine hours & 4700+ miles) with
"Our Little Amusement" and the fuel gauge is still working fine. My fuel
consumption through the years averaged 0.45 to 0.6 Gal./Hr.. The range was
dependant on sea conditions more so than RPM. When the gauge reads 1/2 full
I start thinking about topping it off. Keeps the fuel fresh and provides a
little piece of mind.

I would be carefull running the tank too low. Even at 0.4 gal./Hr., 40
hours of running time would leave only three gallons in the tank. Kind of
low if you are in rolling seas. You might start to suck air and any debris
on the bottom of the tank will get stirred up into less fuel leading to a
higher concentration of debris in the fuel which will clog filters at the
most inopertune time.

McLube!!! Can't say enough about it. I find a new use for it all the
time.

Vibration? Really a well balanced system has no vibration. It's probably
an unbalanced prop or the shaft-engine alignment or both. 2000 RPM is too
low to cruise the engine. You're asking for the dreaded exhaust elbow
carbonization.

Stan
"Our Little Amusement" #744




       
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