Running engine compartment blower when under way

[Scott T-Bird]

Blower? what blower?

No blower to be found ... chitti chitti bang bang is loud and she smells, even though I can't find any leaks. But she doesn't seem to heat the boat up much. Heat must dissipate under the cockpit relatively easily since the engine compartment is open to the space under the cockpit (maybe that's why she is so noisy). The batteries are separated by a bulkhead so no heat problems there, but the ice box isn't and I hate to lose ice prematurely!

So the solution is sail more, run engine less ... except that she needs exercise!

 

[seadaddler]

Bad story

Did you here about the guy who had the blower mounted right above the engine and one day the hose which has wire coil came loose got all tangled up in the shaft tube and did some serious damage so make sure that hose is secured real good.
I would never allow diesel smell in my boat and the wife even a hint of any bad odor was present would never go on the boat but after running for long periods of time on lets say the ICW she can smell heat from the motor which on my boat is right next to the rear berth and not very air tight and since I have added weather stripping to help keep from heating up the rear berth.
My exhaust vent is near the helm and can feel the hot air coming out the vent.
Nick

 

[Rich Stidger]

I use a exhaust blower to cool my alternator

After frying an automatic fire extinguisher with my Balmar 80A alternator, I relocated the sensor end of my auto fire extinguisher and added a 3" hose and blower to exhaust the hot air from the alternator.

I located the inlet in the engine compartment at the output of the alternator case and ran the hose up and down and under my aft cabin berth to an inline blower set to exhaust the hot air out a transom port. The alternator has two internal fans and pulls air into the alternator from the rear and exhausts it at the front near the drive pulley.

It works very well, my engine compartment runs about 130 degrees now instead of over 170 degrees. Warm air can be felt at the transom exhaust port.

 

[Cayennita]

My Idylle 155.5 has the engine over the keel in the main salon. You can tell when you forgot to turn on the blower/exhauster. There are two intakes and one exhaust 4" lines. All mounted from the transom about 20'back and higher than the engine. It's worked fine since 1985 and 14,000 engine hours since. The batteries are aft under the cockpit insulated from the generator that has it's own blower. Both compartments replace the air much faster and no diesel smell unless I have a leak and the blower is off

 

[ronbo]

My blower comes on when the engine starts and a switch to keep it operating after the engine is shut down to remove soaking heat from the engine and compartment. The vent on the transom removes a lot of heat and can't help but make the aft cabin habitable in the summer.

Ronbo

 

[Hermit Scott]

When I bought my boat it didn't smell of diesel so I thought something was wrong. I poured a gallon in the bilge, problem solved.

 

[higgs]

I had nothing to add to this discussion, but I sure learned some good stuff. Thanks all.

 

[RAD]

When I bought my boat it didn't smell of diesel so I thought something was wrong. I poured a gallon in the bilge, problem solved.

 

[CaptJake]

Exhausters are not sold at the parts counter.....they are in boat sales.

 

[redhead78]

When I repowered the dealer recomended an ehaust fan to remove heat from the engine compartment to keep the 100 amp alternator from getting too hot. I had 2 static 4" vent lines, I hooked up high into the port side. I have 2 grilles on the side of my helm seat on center cockpit, the port blows nice warm air great for fall sailing....Red

 

[NYSail]

No diesel smell........

 

[Old Skool Neil]

I commend you diesel guys who say you have no diesel odor. It implies you stay on top of maintenance. I have a caution though: please remember that smokers and cat owners don't think their homes smell any different either.

As a real litmus test, ask your guests their opinion. I expect they're too polite to offer it on their own. Their answer may be a welcomed confirmation or it may be an eye (nose?) opener.

 

[seadaddler]

My Wife

She lets me know if any thing smells no matter what it might be and that is why I keep my 2007 H-36 smelling like new and I use a small wet vac to keep the bilge completely dry and clean,I have compartments under the rear berth clean always also and always cleaning and checking that no odors of any kind are in my boat.
I have smelled other boats and hate it so my boat stays pretty nice.
Nick

 

[Hermit Scott]

I commend you diesel guys who say you have no diesel odor. It implies you stay on top of maintenance. I have a caution though: please remember that smokers and cat owners don't think their homes smell any different either.

As a real litmus test, ask your guests their opinion. I expect they're too polite to offer it on their own. Their answer may be a welcomed confirmation or it may be an eye (nose?) opener.

So if I don't notice my boat stinks or my wife is ugly...sounds like a perfect life.

 

[Cpt. Jon]

So if I don't notice my boat stinks or my wife is ugly...sounds like a perfect life.

My wife smells but I don't say anything. Just checking to see if she still reads these forums. We bought new mainsail but with everything sailing took a back seat for now, it's still in the living room after a month. Sorry...

 

[NYSail]

I can smell a diesel smelling boat when I walk on one.... lack of maintenance. Not hard to keep things right.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I commend you diesel guys who say you have no diesel odor. It implies you stay on top of maintenance. I have a caution though: please remember that smokers and cat owners don't think their homes smell any different either.

As a real litmus test, ask your guests their opinion. I expect they're too polite to offer it on their own. Their answer may be a welcomed confirmation or it may be an eye (nose?) opener.

WADR, folderol! That's simply not true for many of us diesel-heads. We like clean smelling boats just like everybody else.

And here's how we know: even if we're cat-harboing, evil smokers at home, we only come down to our boats say once a week. By then our olfactory nerves are sensitive to other smells, and diesel is pretty rank. I don't need guests to not tell me I have a smell.

Really, diesel super-stinks, I can tell when I change filters.

I just think your premise is incorrect. Completely.:naughty:

Now, cat smells?, let's talk...

 

[Old Skool Neil]

Now Stu, in my defense my original 'stinky' post clearly stated "not all" of you smell and I admit I've been aboard sweet smelling diesel powered boats, even owned one myself (Perkins 4-107 powered Westsail). At least I didn't think it smelled.

But the truth is while not all of you stink, many do and I suggested a blower could only help. There's no downside.

A little off topic but smell related, many years ago I was invited to perform a pre-survey survey of a C&C 39 center cockpit some friends were considering. One of the things I did was pull a bilge hatch board, stuck my scnozz down there and reported they had a fuel leak, a coolant leak and they should ask if the previous owner had a pet onboard, I smelled a faint urine smell.

About a year after that they had thoroughly gone through their boat said they had indeed found the suspected leaks exactly as reported and found the urine smell was actually a breached shampoo bottle whose contents had run down the hull under the aft berth and fermented.

Subtle smells that told the tale.

 

[FastOlson]

Similar thread:
http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=836181&highlight=blower#post836181

 

[RON20406]

There is one advantage in periodically exhausting hot air from the engine compartment when running for long periods of time in warm weather and that is that your engine insulation, which is foam backed by lead, will maintain its structural intergrity (foam) longer when not exposed to high heat and humidity. When I bought my boat, it was five years old and used in south Florida. The previous owner motored much of time and never used the blower. One of my first projects was to replace all the engine insulation which had badly degraded in just five years. In the Northeast and particularly here in the Great Lakes, where ambient temperatures of water and air are much lower ,the degradation process would be greatly retarded. When in the past I have run for long periods of time under power, I open my starboard lazarette which creates a direct air path to the engine compartment and provides a steady flow of fresh air. If the weather does not permit opening the lazarete, I run my blower 10 minutes every hour and there is a noticeable difference in air temperature after the exhausting. As a boater who likes to maximize the longevity of operating systems aboard my boat, I feel this is a small sacrifice in time with a good payback to the vessel. Good luck and good sailing, Ron