Do-It-Yourself tips.
Sponsored
by:
Atlantic Mobile Marine
and RV Service
Vero Beach,
FL (772)
532-0616
 
Installing new hardware on
mast.
Engine rebuild (before and after)
We offer complete on site maintenance on power
and sail boats, gas and diesel engines, electrical, carpentry,
A/C, bottom painting, etc.
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comment on our site! Please email us at:
larry@boatdiyonline.com
Anti-Fouling
Paints And Applications
Battery
Basics
For 100's of common problems and do-it-youself tips,
Click Here, Then select "Product Advice"
Blisters
Electrical
"How
To's" (Jamestown Distributors)on blisters, fiberglass, epoxies, painting,
plumbing, varnishing, etc.
Click here, Then select "How
To's" at bottom/right of page.
Don't
forget to check out the Free
Manuals and
Guides page!
Commentary from
AMM&RVS: With our many years of servicing our
transient customers (stopping in Vero Beach for a much needed break) we have
found most of their problems involve overheating, engine power loss and battery
problems.
Overheating problems are mostly a
result of not changing the impeller in the raw water pump on a regular
basis.(best to change it every 2 years) Another problem is, most boaters
(who do change the impeller) fail to inspect the cover plate that holds/seals
the back end of the pump for wear. If it has an obvious groove, you should
sand the outside and flip the cover plate. Another big problem we
encounter is plugged risers. Many risers are made of cast iron (Yanmar,
Mercrusier, Crusader to name a few). Five years is about the maximum you
should expect to get good service out of this component.
Engine power loss generally
relates to fuel/filter problems. On diesel engines, many people think a 2
micron filter will be better and filter out contaminants from the fuel.
Well, it will but! Your engine filter is about 6 to 8 microns
so everything is being stopped at the primary filter(racor). The best
option is to put a 30 micron in the racor (some newer engines, like
cummins, require 10 micron as primary) and let the secondary catch the
rest. Change both filters every 100 hours! Gas engines
generally have just one filter on the engine itself. Most of the fuel
problems we encounter (with gas engines) is water in the fuel.
This water can be fresh (from condensation) or salt (from spray while running
and being sucked in to the vent hole). Change these filters every 100
hours. When you change the filter, it's best to drain the filter into a
bucket and look for water (it will sink to the bottom of bucket). If you
do detect water, you may want to change the filter more often (until water is
gone).
Battery problems are another big
issue. The most complaints we hear is "I can't hold a charge!" What we
have found is many who anchor out run lights, refer's, VHF radios, bilge pumps,
f/w pumps, toilet pumps, etc. and run the engine for 2 or 3 hours and think the
battery is fully charged. The fact is, you may have a 70+ amp charger on
your engine, but it only puts in about 10 amp's per hour (after initial "bump"
to 70). The alternator kicks down so it will not boil out the
battery. You have to look at your battery drain! If you have a 20W
anchor light, it draws about 1.6 amps per hour. (watts divided by
volts) Add a few flushes in the head (big drain), fire up the bilge pump,
wash the dishes and your hands (electric motors such up a lot of juice) and
pretty soon you're on the negative side of the equation. Bottom line... do
the math! Hope this helps!
Explanation of Reverse Osmosis
How Reverse Osmosis Desalination
Works
Semipermeable Membranes are at
the heart of RO Systems
The process of reverse osmosis (RO)
represents the finest level of liquid filtration available
today. While ordinary liquid filters use a screen to separate
particles from water streams, an RO system employs a semipermeable
membrane that separates an extremely high percentage
of unwanted molecules. For example, the membrane may
be permeable to water molecules of dissolved salt. If
this membrane is placed between two compartments in a
container, and a salt solution is placed in one half of
the container and pure water in the other, water passes
through the membrane while the salt
cannot. Pressure is applied to reverse
natural osmotic flow.
Now a fundamental scientific
principle comes into play. That is, dissimilar liquid systems
will try to reach the same concentration of materials on both
sides of the membrane. The only way for this to happen in our
example is for pure water to pass through the membrane to the
salt water side in an attempt to dilute the salt solution.
This attempt to reach equilibrium is called osmosis. However,
if the goal in our water purification system is to remove the
salt from water, it is necessary to reverse the natural
osmotic flow by forcing the salt water through the membrane in
the reverse direction. This can be accomplished by applying
pressure to the salt water as it is fed into the system,
creating a condition known as "reverse osmosis."
Cross-Flow Filtration Permits Long-Term
Performance
While the principles of reverse osmosis are simple,
in practical terms, the RO process cannot go on indefinitely
unless steps are taken to ensure that the membrane
does not become clogged by the precipitated salts and other
impurities forced against it by the pressurized stream of
feed water. To significantly reduce the rate of membrane
fouling, RO systems employ cross-flow filtration, which allows
water to pass through the membrane while the separate flow of
concentrate sweeps rejected salts away from the membrane
surface.
Watermakers RO systems are designed for
optimal performance, minimal maintenance and long
life.
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