Heat exchanger clamp

Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
I had another heat exchanger clamp break. Ordered 2 new clamps from our local Universal distributor, and when they arrived, I thought they were the wrong parts. The material was twice as thick as the old clamps, and the angles on the tabs were the same on both sides of the clamp, rather than the sharper angle one side had on the old clamp. I called the distributor, and he said that these clamps are an upgrade to address the problem of the clamps breaking. They are supposed to require a 25 mm long bolt, but since my old bolts were 30 mm, I just re-used them. The new clamps are much harder to straighten, and then re-bend, but the job is doable. The Westerbeke part number is 046947. Hopefully this will cure the broken clamp issue.
One thing to note. The new clamps put the port side of the heat exchanger against the bulkhead, so it was necessary to bend the exchanger away from the bulkhead with a pry bar. Also, use a strap wrench to tilt the exchanger, so the engine zinc is not right above the engine mount.
 
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
I had another heat exchanger clamp break. Ordered 2 new clamps from our local Universal distributor, and when they arrived, I thought they were the wrong parts. The material was twice as thick as the old clamps, and the angles on the tabs were the same on both sides of the clamp, rather than the sharper angle one side had on the old clamp. I called the distributor, and he said that these clamps are an upgrade to address the problem of the clamps breaking. They are supposed to require a 25 mm long bolt, but since my old bolts were 30 mm, I just re-used them. The new clamps are much harder to straighten, and then re-bend, but the job is doable. The Westerbeke part number is 046947. Hopefully this will cure the broken clamp issue.
One thing to note. The new clamps put the port side of the heat exchanger against the bulkhead, so it was necessary to bend the exchanger away from the bulkhead with a pry bar. Also, use a strap wrench to tilt the exchanger, so the engine zinc is not right above the engine mount.
Did they look like this?
 

Attachments

Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Tom, WADR that is way overkill. I have a new 3 inch HX on our M25 (replaced the old 2 inch one) and use BIG regular hose clamps. I have been recommending that skippers, especially in salt water, REMOVE their HXs every couple of years and check them out including the ports, very carefully. By doing this you end up removing the clamps and can reuse or replace as necessary. I'll bet BIG hose clamps from ACE Hardware are 15% of the cost of those things you bought.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6920.0.html
 
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DaveJ

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Apr 2, 2013
449
Catalina 310 Niagara-on-the-Lake
Well, just went through this last week. Three days before my 3 week cruise to 1000 Islands on Lake Ontario, I had a HX failure, it had a hole from rubbing on something. Broken brackets, the soldered on ones, had been repaired before by PO. I sourced one from a dealer that had a new engine, he removed the HX and shipped it. He will get all my business from now on!
Those brackets were a challenge, I slipped them over the HX, squeezed them and put a couple of tywraps around them to keep them under control. Used my original bolts, tightened most of the way then cut off tywraps. HX was too far to port and hit doghouse, had to loosen and adjust. Put all new hoses on as well... Found my exhaust hose was in poor condition, replaced it. Used a jigsaw to trim the bulkhead a bit, made things easier.
Only delayed my trip by 1 day, that was a week ago and all is well, except the cold rainy weather, better than at work!!

Cheers
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Dave's right, good work, Dave. I just added a link to my last post that has pictures of pretty much what Dave just described.
 

DaveJ

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Apr 2, 2013
449
Catalina 310 Niagara-on-the-Lake
Great link Stu, thanks. I plan on seeing if my original HX can be repaired for a modest $$$, and also purchase the new 'monster' brackets. Another thing I did during this repair was cover all the hose chafing points I could find with 3/4 auto heater hose. I cut it into 3-4" lengths, slit it length wise and wrapped existing hoses...and of course secured with tywraps. I have owned this wonderful boat for 3 years and have done just the usual maintenance, this HX problem has opened me to being more progressive with maintenance. I liked my Cat 30 tall rig, love my 310

Cheers
 

Tom J

.
Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Tom, WADR that is way overkill. I have a new 3 inch HX on our M25 (replaced the old 2 inch one) and use BIG regular hose clamps. I have been recommending that skippers, especially in salt water, REMOVE their HXs every couple of years and check them out including the ports, very carefully. By doing this you end up removing the clamps and can reuse or replace as necessary. I'll bet BIG hose clamps from ACE Hardware are 15% of the cost of those things you bought.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6920.0.html
The thing is, Stu, that there is nothing to attach regular hose clamps to. The Universal clamps have tabs that the mount bolts pass through. The cost of the Universal clamps isn't an issue. They were only $12 each.
Definitely a good idea to remove the HX occasionally, and inspect and clean it. That is what I did this spring.
 

Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Stu, I just went back and checked your link. Saw that the saddle brackets accept the hose clamps. Good idea!