Dry bildge/strainer cleaning - how?

[Ed]

I will try this again - I got lots of advice on keeping a/c water out of the bildge, but not a word on the strainer water. I see a lot of talkabout a "tptaly dry bildge" using many techniques to keep the drips away from the shaft. To that end I nstalled dripless packing - not quite dripless yet, but it says it needs to wear in and be tightened a couple of times. What a surprisr when I discovered tha the A/C condensatewould over shadow this water by far. Ok, that is an easy fix and frankly it is clan water and easy to manage.My new question is when you clean your strainers - I have one for the gen set, the A/C, and the engine in a locker. I fiond that when I clean them especially the engine I deposit some water into the locker that will find it's way into the bildge - and this water is very often VERY SMelly. So I wash the bildge every time I fill with water or if at a dock after every few days. Not a bad practice and I am OK with this - just courious how you "dry bildge guys" do it?Thanks for any insite.. Don't tell me to "be more careful" as I need to tilt the engine strainer bowl to remove it under a hose, so it always deposits some water and the A/C line back flows water to the tune of about a pint or two.Thanks Ed

 

[Al]

Plastic Bag?

1) Maybe you could slip a plastic baggie over the strainer bowl and let all the water spill over into the bag? Put a paper towel in the bag to prevent splashing. 2) Try a disposable aluminum pan used for cooking - there are several sizes and shapes. One might fit under the bowl and catch overflow.

 

[Jim Rushing]

Always Semi Dry

Even with my dry bilge, I have water from time to time. This tells me that I have a problem somewhere. I fix the problem and then put some KO in the bilge and sponge the bilge dry. The reason for a dry bilge is that you know immediately when you have a leak and not days later when you notice the bilge pump running.

 

[Peggie Hall/HeadMistress]

Put a pan under it.

A disposal foil "lasagna" or cake pan can be bent and reshaped a bit if necessary...put one under the strainer before you remove it.