Time to Flush

     

Alot of Fresh Water
    

    Living here in Crystal River Florida, the water is pretty kind to our engines.  We run out to the gulf and always get a good freshwater flushing from the spring fed river when coming back to the dock.  

    While at rest the water inside the raw water cooling portion contains very little saltwater, a good thing for marine engines and certainly something that will extend it's life.

    We plan to move the boat to Tampa for 6 months & it will be in a much harsher saltwater environment than we have here.  Pau Hana's intake strainer has a Groco Safety Seacock. It is a nifty device that can serve as an emergency bilge pump inlet or better yet, a freshwater flushing system.


    The problem I had was that I didn't have the inlet for the Groco.  Not sure if the previous owner ever had it or not. It wasn't cheap, about $75, but much cheaper & easier than installing a new flushing system.  

Groco SBVSA-1255 Service Adaptor

    When the main seacock is closed, the plug is rotated counter-clockwise out and the service adaptor is placed in the valve.  For some reason my seacock still lets water pass even when closed (or as closed as I can get it) so I wanted to modify the service adaptor and add a shut off valve. Also adding the shut off valve would allow me to turn the freshwater hose on and only allow the water flow when I was ready.

Modified Service Adaptor

    I added a hose adaptor to either end of the valve & a new hose connection.

    Now I can use the service adaptor to freshwater flush my engine. Worked like a champ!  If I need to use the service adaptor as an emergency bilge pump I have that option also just by adding a short piece of hose as a pick up.

Below is a very informative video from Seaboard Marine about freshwater flushing a marine engine, alot of great information and my inspiration for this project.

https://youtu.be/gYLIGFYR8IA

    The second part of my flushing equipment was to design something for the generator. Just like the main engine I don't want seawater to sit in there. It may be just as important if not more important since the generator sometimes can sit idle longer than the engine.

    I ordered a new cap for the Groco ARG-500 that came with a hose barb on it. The instructions say to not leave this cap on all the time. I found that in order to install it, I had to remove the sea strainer.

    I just needed to place a "female to female" hose end & a shut off. I got both of these items at Home Depot & assembled my new flushing contraption.

    I was able to locate some caps like this that could stay installed but they were pretty pricey. The entire assembly cost about $25 compared to $275.

    Works great!

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