[C320-list] Bilge blower & PROPANE

[Jeff Hare]

John,

There are other solutions to the propane drain issue.

1. Swap the Propane drain thruhull with the scupper drain. Just be sure to route the drain so that it has a continuous downward slope without any dips.

2. Get rid of the scuppers completely and use the aft center drain for the propane drain and use the old propane drain for your new air conditioner drain/exhaust :)   

Note: The scuppers on the 320 are practically useless. The water in the cockpit is going to drain out the walk-thru area 100x faster than through those little drains.  If you're heeled over and somehow manage to get a ton of water water in the cockpit, you can head up briefly and then fall off letting it out the walk thru, but those tiny drains aren't going to cut it.  Plus they get dirty, clogged and I'll bet that a third of the 320's out there already have cracked and leaking scupper lines since they take horrendously tight turns. Mine were so brittle they cracked at the bends.  Newer Catalinas don't even have them. You could pull those drains out completely, fiberglass/gelcoat them over and not have that to bother with that whole system ever again.

-Jeff Hare 


-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of John morrison
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2021 2:29 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Bilge blower & PROPANE

There is also an issue with that propane locker drain. On my boat that drain is often plugged with water as the hose bends below the below the water line from the thru hull. Given that propane is a very light gas it’s not going force the  water out, and the leak could fill the locker and overflow into the cockpit. I've put in new hosing and suspended the hose so that the water would drain out but no luck. The only solution as I see it is to replace the thru hull with a 90degree fitting oriented upwards so that the hose does not get water in it. Others done something different?
JohnM
1999#574
> On Dec 16, 2021, at 1:40 AM, Joe Luciano <jnluciano at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> The point I was making was that the propane hazard is there 24/7 for a leak from a live tank system.  The hazard for a gasoline engine is when you press the button to start it.
> 
> Joe
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Dec 15, 2021, at 9:41 PM, Ade Bateman <ade.bateman at outlook.com> wrote:
>> 
>> It's not supposed to protect you when you sleep, same as a blower on a gas-powered engine won't protect you while you sleep. Bilge blowers are intended to remove explosive gases before starting the engine, whether it is from a gasoline or propane. I'm not saying it necessarily does a good job of this, but just that this is the reasoning for installing them on diesel powered boats. Yes, you can install an explosive gas alarm (and I have on my boat) but you can also do that on a gas-powered powerboat and yet they still have blowers (because if you detect explosive gases then what do you do next?).
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of Joe Luciano
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2021 6:07 PM
>> To: C320-List at catalina320.com
>> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Bilge blower
>> 
>> Unless you run your blower 24/7, it won’t protect you from a propane leak that could make it to your bilge while sleeping or while relaxing at anchor.  Doesn’t seem like logical reasoning to me.  The propane tank locker has a low point vent overboard.  You can also place a propane alarm in your bilge.
>> 
>> Joe
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Dec 15, 2021, at 4:22 PM, Ade Bateman <ade.bateman at outlook.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Years ago, when I took boat safety classes, I was taught that bilge blowers were installed on diesel engine boats that had propane, because propane is heavier than air and will also sit in the bilge. 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of Joe Luciano
>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2021 1:35 PM
>>> To: C320-List at catalina320.com
>>> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Bilge blower
>>> 
>>> Agree with Jack.  I never use mine either with a Diesel engine.  Just isn’t necessary unless you like extra noise.  Different story altogether with a gasoline engine.  I’ve seen a gasoline power boat blow up at the dock due to a buildup of fumes in the bilge.
>>> 
>>> Joe Luciano 
>>> #1044
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>>>> On Dec 15, 2021, at 12:19 PM, Jack Brennan <jackbrennan at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Blowers originally came into use for gasoline engines, the idea being that you remove potentially explosive gases from the bilge before causing a spark by starting the engine. It has never been clear to me why Catalina installed the blowers in boats using diesel, which is not explosive. 
>>>> 
>>>> If you have an extremely tight engine compartment, the diesel can run short of air. But I’ve never found that to be the case with my 320. The housings at front and rear are not air tight by any means. You can tell when an air shortage  happens because the engine will not run properly.
>>>> 
>>>> I don’t think they’re necessary, and I’ve never used mine. They wouldn’t even remove much stink from the bilge because there is only a couple of small holes connecting the engine compartment to the main bilge.
>>>> 
>>>> Jack Brennan
>>>> Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
>>>> Tierra Verde, Fl.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Sent from Mail for Windows
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>