[C320-list] White Smoke and Overheating Diagnosis (A Lesson)

[P.F. Ross]

Terrific ideas from Jon and Joe about using a blast of air or gas to blow
out the raw water intake!

Is this list great or what?

Frank Ross
Beta Wave #206

On Tue, Jun 1, 2021 at 3:45 PM Joe Jablonowski <appleton1 at yahoo.com> wrote:

>  My 1994 C320 w/Perkins 30 engine is fitted with a T fitting between the
> raw-water seacock and the water strainer. The T accepts a short garden hose
> but is normally capped.
> If I suspect a clog in the seacock, I'll temporarily close that valve,
> twist on a short garden hose (beats tearing off a rubber hose from the
> Marelon fitting). Then, with the open end of the garden hose held above the
> waterline, I'll open the seacock and use an air horn to blast out the
> debris.
> BTW, the garden hose helps in sucking in pink antifreeze when it comes
> time to winterize.
> - Joe Jablonowski  s/v Assignment #103
>
> =================================================================
>     On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, 04:17:45 PM EDT, Jack Brennan <
> jackbrennan at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>  Just for the record, the absolute worst clog is the seacock for the
> holding tank.
>
> Once you clear it, the sewage winds up in a hard-to-reach corner at the
> end of the holding tank. It does not seep directly into the bilge, so the
> cleanup is difficult and nasty.
>
> Jack Brennan
> Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
> Tierra Verde, Fl.
>
>
>
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>
> From: Jon Vez
> Sent: Tuesday, June 1, 2021 3:56 PM
> To: C320-List at catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] White Smoke and Overheating Diagnosis (A Lesson)
>
> One trick that works well to clear the hose and seacock is the air pump
> for your dinghy. The air pump hose conveniently fits just inside the hose
> end and usually takes just one pump at the low psi setting to blow
> everything out.
> Just remove the hose from the strainer end and stick the pump hose in and
> you should clear everything out. This is one reason an external strainer
> may not be the best choice...
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> > On Jun 1, 2021, at 12:15 PM, jackbrennan <jackbrennan at bellsouth.net>
> wrote:
> >
> > My story varies slightly. We were anchored in the Keys a couple of
> years ago when the diesel went hot on startup. Turns out some grass clogged
> the hose between the through hull and strainetr. Found it by accident when
> I noticed no water was coming into the strainer, even though the flow was
> fine from the through hull.Jack BrennanSonas, 1998 Catalina 320Tierra
> Verde, Fl.Sent from my Galaxy
> > -------- Original message --------From: Mike Mellon <mmellon at cruzio.com>
> Date: 6/1/21  11:12 AM  (GMT-05:00) To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] White Smoke and Overheating Diagnosis (A Lesson)
> We had an identical problem on LaVida with a plastic bag stuck in the raw
> cooling water intake.  So apparently not unusual.  We overheated so quickly
> we had to get a tow back to the berth, at night.  I'm going to investigate
> the strainer idea.Thanks.MikeLaVida 324On 6/1/2021 8:03 AM, Chris White
> wrote:>  Hi Christian> Thanks for the story.I had a similar experience some
> years ago and have since fitted a scoop inlet strainer.These are available
> in brass or composite.Once the boat is out of the water you can easily fit
> these over the existing water inlet.> Regards> Chris WhiteC320 #449
> 'Dandy'Hythe Marina VillageUK>>      On Tuesday, 1 June 2021, 15:28:20 BST,
> Christian <ccaper at gmail.com> wrote:>  >  This list has taught me so much,
> other's stories have helped me, so I> thought I'd share an experience I had
> on Sunday, so others might learn.>> I sail in Chicago, where we are on the
> hard for 7.5 months of the year.> Sunday, we launched, and launch day,
> though cathartic, is always a nerve> wracking shake down cruise for me of
> what's gonna go wrong now after being> on the hard.  My yard is on a river,
> about mile-ish off Lake Michigan.>> Before leaving the yard dock, was
> idling engine for about an hour, checking> engine temp (fine), exhaust flow
> (seemed a hair low, but wasn't terribly> concerned, just a mental note).
> After casting off, I had to wait for 2> bridges to be raised, requiring
> circling for about 45 mins with light load> on the engine.  After we passed
> the second bridge, now revving to higher> RPM (about 25) I checked exhaust
> again, and noticed some light white smoke> from exhaust, steady stream.
> Started monitoring engine temp, and began> seeing the engine temp creep up
> slowly, going higher than normal (180), and> ticking up to about 190, still
> steady light white smoke.  We went on to our> harbor, able to raise sails
> soon.>> Got to mooring safely.  Concerned I had coolant mixing with oil and
> was> burning coolant, once the engine cooled I checked oil color for
> milkiness.> Clean, and no oil burned.  Checked coolant level, same level.
> Reading up> that night on white smoke, I read it's often steam or unburnt
> diesel.> Could be cooling problem, or could be a valve, timing, or injector
> pump> problem, crossed fingers it was cooling.  Since I wasn't blowing
> white> smoke on cold engine start, only when engine got hot, this was
> likely> steam, and an overheating problem.>> Monday, I went back to the
> boat to dive into problem.  I'd replaced my> fresh water pump, thermostat,
> and mixing elbow 4 years ago, so eliminated> those as likely culprits.  I'd
> just replaced impeller, so knew that wasn't> a likely culprit either.  I
> took off the raw water strainer, clean.  With> the bowl off, I opened raw
> water thru hull to inspect flow, just a> trickle.  Interesting.  So I took
> the hose off the sea cock, opened thru> hull again, barely a trickle.  Felt
> into sea cock with pinky, felt squishy> stuff.  Flash light showed white
> plastic shopping back pieces.>> Luckily I keep a coat hanger on board for
> random needs like this.  Bent an> end 90 degrees, went on a fishing
> expedition.  Over the next 2 hours, I> worked out a complete plastic
> shopping bag that had been sucked into, and> deepy jammed, in the valve on
> my seacock.  It was so jammed, at one point I> thought I would have to
> rebuild the seacock to free it, but eventually got> the entire bag out.
> Most of the time I had to rock the seacock lever back> and forth to inch
> the bag through the valve. Now seacock flowed perfect.  I> think I picked
> up the plastic bag in the river, on our last Fall return to> yard, is my
> guess.>> Hope this story helps others diagnose overheating problems, and
> the> importance of monitoring your exhaust, every sail.  This random
> mishap> could have become a costly repair if I wasn't closely monitoring my
> exhaust> and engine temp. And happy 2021 sailing season for us Great Lake
> sailors!>> -Christian Caperton> 1994 C320 #138 "Canuck" Monroe Harbor,
> Chicago, IL>    -- Michael Mellon45 Ortalon AveSanta Cruz, CA
> 95060mmellon at cruzio.com831-425-5583 Home
>
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