Update to posted video....Diesel engine problems. Stuff you need to know!

[Impavidus]

Guy's and girls I have posted an update to the previous video that should interest you.

As an aside I have been told by a marine engineer who works for one of the big charter companies that they change the the exhaust elbows on their fleet regularly due to the high engine hours. Apparently its very common across the range of engines of all makes. Although the turbo engines fair better. It is also a problem with the marine generators too.

The update video is here.... https://youtu.be/n2xlr6FIzcc

There may be a few other bits and bobs of interest too.

Enjoy.

Ant & Cid (SV Impavidus)
 

[Craig]

Cid,

Your You Tube on Boating Tips is extremely well done. Essential viewing.

The only thing that I would warn about in regard to the Exhaust Elbow is that they will look perfectly OK from the surface, even though they are corroded through inside. The only way to inspect is to completely remove them. As you mentioned, 5 years for the genuine Volvo part is about right, but I would check after 3 years, then annually until replaced by a Stainless Steel elbow.

Craig
"Shirley Valentine"
Gold Coast
Australia

[Impavidus]

Yes Peters boat (Elizabeth) was showing no signs outwardly. The elbow was being held together by rust and green paint! The heat exchanger was leaking a little coolant into the exhaust. Whe he removed it the hole appeared under lots of carbon build up. It cost €1200.00 in parts but he caught it before either the coolant or sea water got into the bores through an open exhaust valve. So lucky. Sail Safe.
 Ant. 

[Neil]

I made a precautionary change to the stainless steel version last year. I am very happy with this. One thing I didn't do was paint it with the green volvo paint. Are there any views on this? Should I paint it or leave it as is?

[Harry Brown]

I've left mine as is, I think you might see signs of degradation easier without the paint on, and it is stainless I suppose.

[IslandAlchemy]

Why I no longer have a Volvo engine

[Impavidus]

Why I no longer have a Volvo engine

Zackly!!!! LOL

[Symphony]

Why I no longer have a Volvo engine

Zackly!!!! LOL

Except it is not unique to Volvo engines as anybody who has owned a Bukh, a Yanmar or a Nanni (and no doubt other brands as well) will tell you. Volvos are probably a bit worse than others, but the reputation comes mainly from the fact that the last 2 series of under 40hp engines are probably the  most common engines in use.

As I suggested earlier it is the usage pattern that is key to exhaust elbow life, and the apparent short life of a relatively cheap and easy to replace item is not a reason for changing an engine for another brand - although there may of course be other reasons.   

[Neil]

In defence of Volvo my engine (a D2-40B) is very reliable, sips diesel and is relatively quiet. I have no interest in Volvo. However there is a list of things to look out for, mainly to do with the fact that it is marinised. Most of these issues have been well documented in this forum so it is the devil we know. What I find hard to understand is why Volvo themselves don't grab the nettle and sort out these issues properly. They charge enough for the product. Rant over.

[Impavidus]

In defence of Volvo my engine (a D2-40B) is very reliable, sips diesel and is relatively quiet. I have no interest in Volvo. However there is a list of things to look out for, mainly to do with the fact that it is marinised. Most of these issues have been well documented in this forum so it is the devil we know. What I find hard to understand is why Volvo themselves don't grab the nettle and sort out these issues properly. They charge enough for the product. Rant over.

Quite true Neil. However it is not isolated to Volvo Penta as you rightly point out. It's all marinised engines with exhaust water injection. This includes generators, Auxiliary engines and others. We did point this out in the video. Volvo  know its a problem as do most good Volvo agents. The other point we made that seems to have been overlooked a bit is that the Stainless Steel option does not make this go away. But, it does mean you can clean the elbow without the thing falling apart after you have done so. We have just had another thank you message from a Bavaria owner who was berthed alongside us in San Antonio last week. I noticed the symptoms and showed him the videos. Her changed the elbow the following week. He sent us these photos too.

The main thing we wanted to do was to made people aware and perhaps save folks a few thousand pounds and a lot of heartache. Which is what our YT channel is about really...

Sail Safe.   Ant & Cid

[KiwiBeanie]

Excuse my ignorance but why is the raw water sent back to sea via the exhaust? Wouldn't a more a more fail safe solution be for the water to exit via its own thru hull?

[Salty]

The water has to be expelled somewhere, and as your rubber exhaust hose and rubber or plastic exhaust silencer would not be able to withstand the heat of the exhaust gasses, the water is injected into the exhaust via the exhaust injection bend immediately aft of your manifold heat exchanger. The water now in the exhaust line between the engine and the exhaust outlet now cools the exhaust temperature to below that where its temperature might otherwise harm your exhaust hose and silencer, but it then also shares the same overboard outlet, thereby reducing the number of overboard outlets by one.
So in short the water temperature is used for cooling wherever it can, you have saved the cost of higher quality materials that might otherwise be capable of taking the exhaust temperature on their own, you have removed the need for insulation around a solely exhaust gas line to overboard, the introduction of water into the exhaust system has reduced the exhaust noise in addition to its cooling benefit, and you have saved the cost of an additional overboard skin fitting. ...... Sounds like a bargain to me