Well, I cleaned the transom of all soot before we went out this weekend and am happy to report that upon returning, there was no sign of new soot. The new higher operating temperature of 190 seems to have improved the combustion of fuel such that less carbon is being produced out the exhaust. This makes sense, and the proof is a clean transom. The stern wave and hull shape on Aeolus is such that the exhaust actually shoots down into the water and then bubbles up right at the transom where the wave crests right at the edge.
If this remains the case, I will be very happy. A sooty transom is indication of carbon build up in other places I dread to imagine, and my hope is that I have put a stop to any significant new build up and may be even removing some of the old stuff. She sure starts and runs smoothly these days, and seemingly better than before. The gauge never budges off of 190 as the cooling system is so efficient that once the thermostat opens the ability to remove heat more than makes up for the engine's ability to produce it.
I would post a picture but what's the point? Everyone knows what a sooty or non-sooty transom looks like!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Spencer Spit and Doe Bay weekend
What a wonderful weekend of nearby exploring. We ventured over to Spencer Spit on Lopez Island just for a change of pace from Jones Island and had a wonderful time. My last time there was with just the boys last August, and this time was no less special. Remarkably, on this fairly warm dry spring day, we were the only boat at the park. It never ceases to amaze me how few people are in the San Juans outside of July and August. I'm happy it is that way, but stunned.
We went through the narrow passage between Frost Island and Spencer Spit just for fun, and then came back and grabbed a buoy on the north side of the spit. We normally anchor out, but Amy knows this area has eel grass and we do our best to never anchor in it for the sake of the important habitat it provides. We went to shore for the usual walks and beach time and while digging holes in the sand and losing ourselves in self-directed play, I noticed that Elliott had been building a cool and unique sort of wood sculpture. He stuck a bunch of sticks into the sand and then built a web of sticks horizontally connecting the vertical pieces. It was intricate, and really beautiful. It would collapse, and he would rebuild it, and kept trying until he got it right. I did my usual favorite thing of balancing wood on top of pieces I had driven into the sand.
We enjoyed a nice dinner where we used my new cockpit table for the first time. Worked great! As I said to Amy, it isn't perfect, but for $25 in parts we have a table worth probably $150, and the tables you can by for boats that all seem to cost $300 are really only worth $175 anyway. They are marginally nicer, but not for more than 10X the price!
We got up this morning after an especially quiet nice sleep, and decided to head out and up to Doe Bay on Orcas Island. We had never gone through Obstruction Pass and knew it would be fun. It is only about an hour from Spencer Spit to Doe Bay when motoring as this day had no wind.
We dropped anchor just off the main resort area in about 30 feet of water. You dinghy to the little beach in front of their decrepid boat house and then go where you like. The cafe has a nice feel, with the usual funky youthful touches and friendly staff. There were a surprising number of people in the cafe and we had a delicious breakfast. As much as we wanted to enjoy the hot tubs we decided it wasn't worth figuring out what to do with our boys. Once again we sacrificed our own happiness for the sake of our children-Oh that balance sheet is real nip and tuck.
This photo is of leaving Doe Bay headed back south.
Coming back we hit a perfect stretch of wind in a predictable place. Right as we came out of Obstruction Pass heading West, the winds coming down Eastsound were piping up as normal, and we enjoyed a heavenly beam reach right across the bottom of Orcas. In probably 15 knots of wind we did a steady 5 knots of speed with lazy sail handling. The wind died once we passed the mouth and stayed dead until we reached the bottom of Shaw Island where we were able to sail most of the way toward Friday Harbor.
Another amazing experience of time distortion on Aeolus as being away only one night to nearby places felt like we were gone for many days to exotic lands. There are so many nooks and crannies in these islands that even living here and sailing all the time, you can't visit them all too often and so most of them keep a real novelty to them. It's wonderful.
Home safe and sound and exhausted. Perfect.
We went through the narrow passage between Frost Island and Spencer Spit just for fun, and then came back and grabbed a buoy on the north side of the spit. We normally anchor out, but Amy knows this area has eel grass and we do our best to never anchor in it for the sake of the important habitat it provides. We went to shore for the usual walks and beach time and while digging holes in the sand and losing ourselves in self-directed play, I noticed that Elliott had been building a cool and unique sort of wood sculpture. He stuck a bunch of sticks into the sand and then built a web of sticks horizontally connecting the vertical pieces. It was intricate, and really beautiful. It would collapse, and he would rebuild it, and kept trying until he got it right. I did my usual favorite thing of balancing wood on top of pieces I had driven into the sand.
We enjoyed a nice dinner where we used my new cockpit table for the first time. Worked great! As I said to Amy, it isn't perfect, but for $25 in parts we have a table worth probably $150, and the tables you can by for boats that all seem to cost $300 are really only worth $175 anyway. They are marginally nicer, but not for more than 10X the price!
We got up this morning after an especially quiet nice sleep, and decided to head out and up to Doe Bay on Orcas Island. We had never gone through Obstruction Pass and knew it would be fun. It is only about an hour from Spencer Spit to Doe Bay when motoring as this day had no wind.
We dropped anchor just off the main resort area in about 30 feet of water. You dinghy to the little beach in front of their decrepid boat house and then go where you like. The cafe has a nice feel, with the usual funky youthful touches and friendly staff. There were a surprising number of people in the cafe and we had a delicious breakfast. As much as we wanted to enjoy the hot tubs we decided it wasn't worth figuring out what to do with our boys. Once again we sacrificed our own happiness for the sake of our children-Oh that balance sheet is real nip and tuck.
This photo is of leaving Doe Bay headed back south.Coming back we hit a perfect stretch of wind in a predictable place. Right as we came out of Obstruction Pass heading West, the winds coming down Eastsound were piping up as normal, and we enjoyed a heavenly beam reach right across the bottom of Orcas. In probably 15 knots of wind we did a steady 5 knots of speed with lazy sail handling. The wind died once we passed the mouth and stayed dead until we reached the bottom of Shaw Island where we were able to sail most of the way toward Friday Harbor.
Another amazing experience of time distortion on Aeolus as being away only one night to nearby places felt like we were gone for many days to exotic lands. There are so many nooks and crannies in these islands that even living here and sailing all the time, you can't visit them all too often and so most of them keep a real novelty to them. It's wonderful.
Home safe and sound and exhausted. Perfect.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Chasing old wires
One result of adding and removing various bits of equipment over the 21 year lifespan of Aeolus is that there had accumulated no small number of wires that went nowhere. Still bundled in their cable ties, they lay there inert like the useless things they are. More distressing is the potential that they could still connected to power somewhere. As part of my work today to reconnect my Autohelm ST 4000 wiring, I went ahead and chased all the cut wires I could find and remove them.
No joke, I fairly filled the cockpit with a tangle of old wires I pulled out and tossed through the companionway. Sure enough, some were cut at both ends and just left in their bundles, but a couple were still connected to the distribution panel! Truth be told, since some of the wire runs were over 10 feet it didn't take many wires to fill the cockpit, but still. For Pete's sake, how could this be after all the work I've done to update wiring? Just goes to show how many wires are on a modern boat and the near futility of tracking every single one from source to end.
Found were old wires from long removed depth sounders, VHF radios, even the vacuum tubing to a no longer used Racor vacuum gauge.
A satisfying bit of house cleaning, followed up by another 30 minutes spent putting lemon oil on the teak interior. More good winter work.
No joke, I fairly filled the cockpit with a tangle of old wires I pulled out and tossed through the companionway. Sure enough, some were cut at both ends and just left in their bundles, but a couple were still connected to the distribution panel! Truth be told, since some of the wire runs were over 10 feet it didn't take many wires to fill the cockpit, but still. For Pete's sake, how could this be after all the work I've done to update wiring? Just goes to show how many wires are on a modern boat and the near futility of tracking every single one from source to end.
Found were old wires from long removed depth sounders, VHF radios, even the vacuum tubing to a no longer used Racor vacuum gauge.
A satisfying bit of house cleaning, followed up by another 30 minutes spent putting lemon oil on the teak interior. More good winter work.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Hooray! New higher thermostat for Universal 5432
I can barely contain my happiness tonight for having solved a seemingly minor problem with the standard thermostat for the Universal 5432 on Aeolus. As some will be aware, the only factory thermostat available for this diesel is set at 160 degrees. Although many folks on sailnet and other places have complaints about their 5432's running hot, I have always had the opposite problem on Aeolus. In fact, when I first purchased her, she wouldn't come up above 120 degrees and I knew she must have had a thermostat stuck open. Sure enough, I replaced the original one I inherited with the standard factory model and ever since she has taken her time getting up to 160 and then sits like clockwork right there.
No matter how hard she was pushed, she never budged off of 160. Now, also as many will know, this is fine if your diesel is raw water cooled as it prevents undue salt crystal formation. However, as a fresh water cooled engine, this is far too low. At 160, the diesel will build up carbon in the cylinders and around the valves and generally not burn cleanly due to the low temperature. In my case this is especially true because I run a high % biodiesel which has a lower flash point and benefits from a higher combustion temperature. Calder et. al. talk about this.
Anyway, I've been on a long slow search for a higher engine temperature. I began by putting a ball valve into my water heater line thinking that by taking this out of the circuit I could generate a higher engine temperature. No luck. Still stuck on 160 max temperature. My cooling system is really, really efficient it seems.
So since then I have been wanting to swap out my standard thermostat with one of a higher temperature. The 5432 engine manual I have says the optimum operating temperature is between 170-185. Then why do they only make a 160 thermostat???? Here is where the story gets good.
Loving to solve these problems, I pulled my old thermostat out, took it home and began some online research. I found online that I could get one of the same size and shape with various temperature ratings. Anything from 160 to 180 to 195. Yippee, I thought. Knowing from experience how things ordered online don't always size up right, I decided to try my local auto stores armed with knowledge of what cars used this same size thermostat.
I went into my local NAPA store and was mistaken to think they might actually enjoy something a little more challenging and interesting than fetching parts off the shelf that match what their computers tell them. The owner of the store helped me and early on I could tell that he was less interested in finding me an answer than trying to tell me I was wrong to even search for one. The arrogance and laziness of his work with me was so disappointing, as I would have thought a local guy who wasn't even busy would find some fun in matching my thermostat with one he had on his shelves in a higher temperature range. After 20 minutes spent mainly listening to him tell me that he couldn't find one and implying I was foolish to be bothering him with this quest, I left both annoyed and amused.
Later that day I walked over to our local Car Quest parts store, which is a much smaller shop here in Friday Harbor and had a wonderful experience. From the outside the place looks run down, and even when inside the walls are lined with merchandise that hasn't sold in the last two decades, but the guy behind the counter solved my problem quickly and easily. He took my old thermostat, measured it with his calipers, pulled out his Car Quest thermostat book, matched the specifications with one of the pictured thermostats exactly, and immediately had the part numbers. He turned around, walked back to his shelves, and two seconds later came back with my 195 degree thermostat for about $6.
I can't describe how happy I was to have this guy do such a simple and good job of solving my problem, with nothing but a helpful attitude. I was in and out in maybe 5 minutes.
Tonight I went to Aeolus and installed the new thermostat. I then ran her in gear at the dock (yes I have direct injection cutless bearing cooling) and watched her come up to temperature. Slow at first, but then she rose steadily past 140-150-160-170!!-180!! to 190. Hooray!
No matter how hard I ran her she wouldn't budge above 190. Even though this was at the dock, my previous long experience with Aeolus tells me she is not likely to go higher when running hard against the strong currents around here either.
To have her run steadily now at 190 relieves all my concerns about carbon build up. I can just see the carbon burning off the piston rings and the valves. For anyone else out there with a similar problem, I hope I have saved you some trouble by telling you that the 195 degree thermostat for you is Car Quest model #31979 which is made by Stant. The 180 degree model # is 31978. FYI, the thermostat shown in the picture is actually the old 160 model, which differs only in having those small holes along the flange.
No matter how hard she was pushed, she never budged off of 160. Now, also as many will know, this is fine if your diesel is raw water cooled as it prevents undue salt crystal formation. However, as a fresh water cooled engine, this is far too low. At 160, the diesel will build up carbon in the cylinders and around the valves and generally not burn cleanly due to the low temperature. In my case this is especially true because I run a high % biodiesel which has a lower flash point and benefits from a higher combustion temperature. Calder et. al. talk about this.
Anyway, I've been on a long slow search for a higher engine temperature. I began by putting a ball valve into my water heater line thinking that by taking this out of the circuit I could generate a higher engine temperature. No luck. Still stuck on 160 max temperature. My cooling system is really, really efficient it seems.
So since then I have been wanting to swap out my standard thermostat with one of a higher temperature. The 5432 engine manual I have says the optimum operating temperature is between 170-185. Then why do they only make a 160 thermostat???? Here is where the story gets good.
Loving to solve these problems, I pulled my old thermostat out, took it home and began some online research. I found online that I could get one of the same size and shape with various temperature ratings. Anything from 160 to 180 to 195. Yippee, I thought. Knowing from experience how things ordered online don't always size up right, I decided to try my local auto stores armed with knowledge of what cars used this same size thermostat.
I went into my local NAPA store and was mistaken to think they might actually enjoy something a little more challenging and interesting than fetching parts off the shelf that match what their computers tell them. The owner of the store helped me and early on I could tell that he was less interested in finding me an answer than trying to tell me I was wrong to even search for one. The arrogance and laziness of his work with me was so disappointing, as I would have thought a local guy who wasn't even busy would find some fun in matching my thermostat with one he had on his shelves in a higher temperature range. After 20 minutes spent mainly listening to him tell me that he couldn't find one and implying I was foolish to be bothering him with this quest, I left both annoyed and amused.
Later that day I walked over to our local Car Quest parts store, which is a much smaller shop here in Friday Harbor and had a wonderful experience. From the outside the place looks run down, and even when inside the walls are lined with merchandise that hasn't sold in the last two decades, but the guy behind the counter solved my problem quickly and easily. He took my old thermostat, measured it with his calipers, pulled out his Car Quest thermostat book, matched the specifications with one of the pictured thermostats exactly, and immediately had the part numbers. He turned around, walked back to his shelves, and two seconds later came back with my 195 degree thermostat for about $6.
I can't describe how happy I was to have this guy do such a simple and good job of solving my problem, with nothing but a helpful attitude. I was in and out in maybe 5 minutes.
Tonight I went to Aeolus and installed the new thermostat. I then ran her in gear at the dock (yes I have direct injection cutless bearing cooling) and watched her come up to temperature. Slow at first, but then she rose steadily past 140-150-160-170!!-180!! to 190. Hooray!
No matter how hard I ran her she wouldn't budge above 190. Even though this was at the dock, my previous long experience with Aeolus tells me she is not likely to go higher when running hard against the strong currents around here either.
To have her run steadily now at 190 relieves all my concerns about carbon build up. I can just see the carbon burning off the piston rings and the valves. For anyone else out there with a similar problem, I hope I have saved you some trouble by telling you that the 195 degree thermostat for you is Car Quest model #31979 which is made by Stant. The 180 degree model # is 31978. FYI, the thermostat shown in the picture is actually the old 160 model, which differs only in having those small holes along the flange.
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