Diesel Boat Heaters

Discussion in 'Powerboats' started by Boston, Apr 19, 2010.

  1. mark775

    mark775 Guest

    Dang!
     
    1 person likes this.
  2. hoytedow
    Joined: Sep 2009
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    Dang, indeed. I find it very humbling to be on the same forum with such a brilliant mind.
     
    1 person likes this.
  3. yipster
    Joined: Oct 2002
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    yipster designer

    thanks for the wobly cam engine video Boston
    i am fascinated by all kinds of them
     
  4. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    A triple expansion is a three cylinder (you described them correctly).

    The consumption would be around 2 tonnes per hr. when the 2750 hp work all together. (depending on the quality of fuel)

    Regards
    Richard
     
  5. capt littlelegs
    Joined: Apr 2010
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    Location: England

    capt littlelegs New Member

    Must be a typo on the original text.
     
  6. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    no that is reasonable for that HP level
    but you may have misunderstood that he was talking about steam consumption and not fuel consumption
    although that will also be right up there

    ok so Richard
    I just yesterday joined a bio-diesel co-op that sells some kind of soy based fuel
    are you suggesting this stuff is going to eat the gaskets out of my engine cause they swear its better on basic wear and tear and has a higher cetain rating so will get better power and millage

    Im not really all that into this soy based stuff and my chemistry prof buddy might have a few things to say about this but I was thinking a few 55 gallon drums of waist oil in the back yard and I could be burning filtered engine oil in a flash

    when I first got this truck it had not run in a bit and so I rolled the engine over after having filled the cylinders with oil
    then I fired it on just 40 weight
    smoked a bit but ran like a champ

    I was thinking of collecting used motor oil and vegetable oil from the local places and making my own

    are you suggesting that the stuff I produce will eat my gaskets cause I've never really understood the manufacturers argument on this one

    B

    oh and Yippy those engines also are pretty efficient with less moving parts and a higher HP/lb ratio
    seemed perfect for steam
     
  7. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    No matter what the input material is, soy, rapeseed etc. the output is FAME, and that is a very agressive stuff. It cleans up your tanks, pipes and valves quite well, but it enters the engine oil pan as well and there it harms.
    Besides that, it is agressive on sealants and gaskets.
    Not by accident do the car manufacturers produce different lines of Diesel engines (one for the salad oil, the other for petro stuff).
    I killed my injection system on a S 400D a few years ago, when I filled in Biodiesel twice instead of the petro fuel. (did not want to wait for a free Diesel pump at the gas station, these two minutes time saved cost me 5000€)

    These little steam engines (we had that topic about two years ago, PAR and me), are nice and cheap and very helpful in low pressure (they start working at 80°C steam temperature), low power applications, where the massive steam throughput and the related heavy installation does´nt matter.
    Off grid in Zimbabwe they are perfect solutions, on a boat not worth talking.

    Regards
    Richard

    to the steamship mentioned above:

    No, I was talking about fuel consumption, not steam. And if that was a coal fired system it would have been about three tonnes instead, with wood over 5 tonnes minimum (but most probably much more, because the high temperatures needed to get the required steam pressure out of the heating area in the boiler are not to achieve, so more mass has to be burned)
    The accorded steam consumption in the example given above should be something like 55 tonnes/hr.
     
  8. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    is there an oil additive that can neutralize the harmful effects

    oh and I read an article that suggested the old IDI engines are ideal for bio diesel
     
  9. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    Yes, there are several additives solving these problems (more or less good I assume).

    The pre electronic engines are known to cope better with that stuff! A early 1980 ies Mercedes Diesel is in Taxi service since these days in Berlin. the guy uses filtered, preheated frying fat since the warranty was over. Must have done over a million km since.
     
  10. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    there had to be some solution I could apply

    cool
    I think I'll give the stuff a try, I heard it cleans out the system but did not know why, I am getting some missing which in a diesel can only mean that my injectors are dirty. So a little bio-diesel should do the trick or at least Im hoping
     
  11. mark775

    mark775 Guest

    Wierd things can happen if air is entrained in the fuel supply. You might recheck lines and fittings.
    Also, the way you connect the governor control linkage to the pedal is important. Depending on how it is done, a little motion in flexible mounts can cause engine to tilt and that can cause throttle to open or closed.
    I presume you've done nothing with the governer.
    Rare for dirty injectors to cause anything like that. Usually, it seems when people suspect that the injectors are the culprit, they have 'em pop tested, etc., get 'em back and say; "I think she's running better, but..." In other words, they want to believe that it was injectors because it would have been an understandable problem and they feel like a mechanic doing something. I don't know what engine but could be air, water, governer, fuel pump, timing, broken automatic timing advance spring, I don't know what else...but an incorrect spray pattern I just don't think is the most likely.
     
  12. mark775

    mark775 Guest

    Oh, somewhere I read that the bio-stuff cleans so well that you should change fuel filters after, say 25 hours. If you have a drag-pointer vacuum gauge after your filters (but before on-engine filter) you can see if the filters are clogging with stuff out of your tanks.
     
  13. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    excellent point Mark
    probably closer than you might know
    when I got the vehicle every line and connection in it leaked
    so I replaced everything
    there is a good chance at least one of my lines needs some attention after such a complete refit
    also its been a year and although I dont drive it that much I still should check the filters, needs a change of oil as well even if I have not been that many miles

    friend tells me I can filter it and dump it right into the fuel tank
    never tried it though other than when I first fired the thing on straight motor oil
    ran fine then I suppose it would run fine on a mix

    oh
    and no I have never checked the governor and yes things starts ugly when cold so it sertainly could have rattled something loose

    gotta go
    having a b day party for the head bouncers kid who died just last year
    I know if it were my kid I'd like the support
    so Im off

    B
     
  14. mark775

    mark775 Guest

    Yes.
    And, yes, dump the oil in the fuel tank...but first, mix it 50%/50% with diesel, filter and don't put more than about 5% by volume. I have just been going over the manufacturer's recommendations on this and Cat says 3%, Cummins 5%, couldn't find Volvo, but it's done all the time and apparently considered eco-friendly. Saves fuel (it has more BTUs than diesel), probably lubes your pump better than low sulfur diesel, and decreases a chance of spill just to immediately get rid of it rather than find a gas station that changes oil, transfer to their container, them transer to another, take it to somebody's shop heater or recycle.
    I have lately been coming to the the conclusion that the best recycling means "using it yourself again"
     

  15. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    thanks I'll give it a try
    B
     
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