Looking for a muffler.

[Ed Schenck]

And considering a piece of PVC pipe unitl I find one. I am going north in two weeks and want to sail a time or two before I go. The old one(picture) is out of the boat.

The fiberglass Primex( http://i-netmarine.com/mufflers/primex_round_silencer.htm ) is the one I want because I know it fits. But everyone I call is out of stock. Possibly because the company that makes them was recently purchased by Centek.

The Vetus is a possibility but their website does not provide dimensions for the straight oval shaped muffler. I guess that will be my next pursuit. Any ideas?

 

[Paul F]

Depending on how may leaks you have in the old one you may be able to get it welded as a temporary fix. I have a very good marine welding source in Clearwater. Likely there is one in Tampa too.

 

[RAD88]

And considering a piece of PVC pipe unitl I find one. I am going north in two weeks and want to sail a time or two before I go. The old one(picture) is out of the boat.

The fiberglass Primex( http://i-netmarine.com/mufflers/primex_round_silencer.htm ) is the one I want because I know it fits. But everyone I call is out of stock. Possibly because the company that makes them was recently purchased by Centek.

The Vetus is a possibility but their website does not provide dimensions for the straight oval shaped muffler. I guess that will be my next pursuit. Any ideas?

Ed, I have a fiberglass muffler for sale on Ebay that will fit perfectly. I bought it for my '77 Hunter '30 but did not need it. Contact me if you are interested.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Searched E-Bay but could not find it Rad. I need to know the dimensions. I only have about six inches between the bulkhead and the water heater. And I am not sure how that top mounted inlet would work for me. The old muffler is five inches in diameter.

I checked marine, boat, sailboat, and fiberglass and found lots of mufflers. But none had the 1.5" inlet/outlet.

I was hoping to find one locally so that I could go and get it. But it looks like FedEx is going to be my only chance.

 

[fiestaMojo]

Don't mean to be a thread-jacker, but are mufflers an owner added item? What are the considerations to adding a muffler? I motored my 1981 33 to her new home Saturday, and after 10 + hours the noise was not pleasant. . . Thanks. . .

 

[Ed Schenck]

No, a muffler would have been there originally. Now I am thinking I might order a Vetus. It has one dimension of 4" while the other is 6". So I think it can set on edge and fit just fine. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/woeimages/Vetus/large/11704(2).jpg .

 

[Jim Legere]

"So I think it can set on edge and fit just fine"

Ed, if you turn the Vetus sideways (on its narrow side down) it may not work the way it is supposed to because of the orientation of the baffles. That said, I have used Vetus on other boats and they make excellent products. Good luck!

Jim

 

[Ed Schenck]

Excellent point Jim. But I called Jamestown Distr. today and they had one in stock. I asked if he would measure the dimension not shown. He did not understand what I was asking. Turns out the one he has is round, about 6.2 inches. I think it will fit. I am going to see if I can find it locally before I pay the freight from up there.

 

[TDudley]

Hey Guys,

I had a similar problem in replacing my muffler. I only had about 5 inches of space. My engine and muffler are also below the waterline and that will require a water lock type muffler. If you don’t use a water lock, you are asking for trouble. I too saw the Vetus would fit, but it is not a water lock style muffler. Bottom line on this is that if you can see strait through it, it will not stop water from back flowing into your engine. And I heard that is not a good thing.

I ended up sending Centek Industries an email and they custom made my water lock fiberglass muffler for about $250 to fit my space. They were real professional and sent me an AutoCAD drawing to sign off on. It took about two weeks. It was a little pricy, but it is built like a brick out house and I may never need to replace it again.

I am going to use the Vetus I brought further up the line so it does not go to waste.

 

[sandpiper10471]

I agree with Mr. Dudley. Go for a waterlock muffler. You should have enough room on the 37C to fit it. My water heater is on the centre line and there appears to be lots of room on the starboard side for the waterlock. (Even though I recommend it, I haven't installed one. What a hypocrit!)

 

[Ed Schenck]

Thanks for the input guys. Turns out Jim is right, the oval Vetus cannot set on its side. So it must fit flat in the 6.25" dimension. And I do not think it will but I will measure one more time.

I did talk with Centek and they can build me one in about two weeks. Or it would come one week after I get back to Ohio. None of their distributors had one in stock.

I have not considered a water-lift muffler because there has not been a problem with either engine in 30+ years. My exhaust hose comes off the engine pointing down at a 45 degree angle. Then in a big loop it is tied to the cockpit sole before coming back down and into the muffler. But maybe for insurance I should do it? And get rid of the loop?

So I think my choice has to be a custom Centek and no more sailing. But which Centek, straight through or waterlift? Decisions, decisions.

 

[Jim Legere]

Hey Ed,

If you are considering going with a waterlock type muffler, the Vetus WLOCKLP75 would probably fit our boats. I used a Vetus waterlock on my old Albin Vega and it worked well. If you have trouble locating Vetus stock in the USA, I might be able to help as the Canadian Vetus importer is less than 100 miles from here.

Jim

 

[Ed Schenck]

Looking for a muffler(cont.)

Today I drove to Davis Island to take some pictures and measurements. Pictures of downtown and across the ship channel from the marina and the new dock. Shangri-La in the midst of Tampa towers.

Well I went straight to EdA's house and he suggested we do a little JB/Weld on the old muffler. We put the muffler under pressure from the hose and both got soaked. Amazing how much water can come out of little pin holes. Two holes were in one end at the seam. Three more were at the welds where a flange attaches to the bottom. A little grinding and a little JB and we were off to the boat.

There is a good six inches of space between the water heater and the bulkhead for the full sixteen inch length of the tank. Then the side angles back. The existing exhaust hose ends five inches short of the tank. So there is only four inches of width at that point.

I think a nice water-lift, either Vetus or Centek, is the answer but it will require a new exhaust hose. But next week I am going sailing even though there were still some bubbles in the repaired muffler.

 

[rivettw]

She looks good in there. Palm trees, floating docks and concrete pilings. I take it the admiral picked that location.
Wally

 

[Ed Schenck]

Muffler decision made. . . .

finally! There were just no water-lift mufflers to fit that space. They were at least 6.25 inches in width. And even if I squeezed it in against the hot water tank it would have required a new exhaust hose.

So I opted to have Centek make me a custom fiberglass muffler. It will be almost identical to the original, just one inch longer. So 5" diameter with a 15" body and two 2.5" connector pipes. It will have end caps which are similar to the caps on a PVC pipe. That actually makes the diameter at the ends nearly 5.25". So still a tight fit.

Two weeks to build and about double an off the shelf unit at $245. But Steve D would have me amortize that over ten years. So only $24.50.

 

[Charlie13958]

A lot less than a new 37, but you probably won't get to show if off much.

 

[hunter frank]

I just paid a mecanic to install a centec . not sure of model . Prior to this winter there was no muffler on my 81 hunter 33. they left the old muffler in with the exhaust hose still attached. they just ran exhaust hose from engine to outside exhaust. sailed it that way for 4 years. BOY I SURE DO LIKE MY NEW MUFFLER !

 

[TDudley]

Re: Looking for a muffler(cont.)

Ed,

Congratulations on the soon to be new muffler. I’m glad you took my advice. Based on the picture of the old muffler, I am willing to bet that it is a water lock style muffler and you can’t go wrong with the Centek model. As I posted before, they are well built and smell brand new when you get it in the mail. (word of caution: the new smell is strong so don’t stick your noise in it or you will pass out.)

When I posted the same question about finding a new muffler t fit my tight space, all I heard from the forum was the sound of crickets. The moderator may want to consider posting the solution to this issue in a place that everyone can point to. I am sure that people with our style and age boats will start to need this information. And it would be easy to know the information before you go out and make failed attempts at purchasing the wrong muffler.

There are other companies on the west coast that can provide this service as well (for you guys on the left coast). So it’s not just a single company. There are choices.

Happy sailing and again, congratulation. Now, I hope you can fit it in without taking your engine outJ.

 

[Mark Ferrick]

TDudley brings up an interesting point on the strong smell. Many times 'new' items give off an odor, that wear off over time. You know, that new car smell, or the new muffler smell. They may give off VoC's, or Volatile Organic Compounds, which can be incompatible with life ( i.e. not good for you). See http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html . It would be a good idea to contact the manufacturer and ask about it. no sense getting a wiff of something you don't want to ....... justa thought

 

[Ed Schenck]

Centek was a good lead 'T'. Nice to deal with on the phone. No worries about getting it in. The Centek muffler is only one inch longer than the original. We have had it out and back in easily. I work through a big opening in the quarterberth.

Thanks for the heads up on the possibly dangerous emissions Mark. I will definitely call Centek to see if the new muffler smell is something to avoid.

'T', these posts are really not that hard to find with "Search". I would prefer to do photos and post in the "Modifications" forum. But I am leaving this to EdA to finish. I will be back in Ohio.