Before reading on, please take a moment to fill out this week’s survey so we can share your knowledge and experiences with the Cruising Compass family. Thanks.
Have you added a high-capacity bilge pump to augment the pump(s) that came with your boat?
Many thanks to everyone who replied to last week’s survey on cleaning your engine’s heat exchanger. Of those who answered, 59% do clean their heat exchangers. Here’s a sampling of the many comments you supplied:
We use a Yanmar descaler that does not damage the metals in the exchanger tubes.
Remove, barnacle buster soak & flushing, run a rod dow each tube & replace with new gaskets.
Using rid Lyme and also using a long threaded rod to clean out residue from the tubes. That way you can see they are clear, no guessing.
I placed temperature sensors in key areas on the engine- including the raw water circuit. The temps will trend up over time when it needs cleaning. Then I just recirculate a 50% solution of CLR through the raw water side overnight. This takes care of it for another couple of years. [We are full time cruisers in higher northern latitudes.]
A gun cleaning brush intended for the barrel of a 22 caliber rifle makes cleaning the water tubes in the heat exchanger a snap. I do it about every other year.
We remove the core and take it to a radiator shop.
