2 1/2" engine seacocks

[wndsr]

I thought I remember seeing a post or an advertisement about having seacocks and ball valves rebuilt v/s replacing. It would be a lot easier in my situation to rebuild since I would not have to do any replumbing. The next problem is there is no markings on the seacock telling me the manufacturer. Any ideas??
Thanks
Ben

 

[Liquid Asset]

I am in the process of doing this right now. I dont know what year your boat was, but my boat had Perko valves with the seaflange in it. I am replacing them with Apallo valves since they are more readily avaliable. If I were you, I would be interested in rebuilding them too, but mine were just too far gone. The 2 1/2 inch valves are over $350 from Sams marine. Plus, they are hard to find.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Ben, wouldn't you still have to remove the seacocks to rebuild them, or am I not seeing this right? FWIW, I have Apollo/Conbraco and I don't think 2.5" ones cost that much, although they are not cheap.

 

[wndsr]

Yes Jim-I have removed them from the boat since it is out of the water for the season. I was just trying to avoid replumbing if they are different heights etc. I am in the process of checking Apollo and if they are similar in dimensions, I will go with them. I am also trying to avoid plugging the bolt holes and redrilling if I can.
Ben

 

[REBrueckner]

As a matter of general interest, what does "rebuild" involve....And what's "too far gone" mean?? What's happened to the old ones???

 

[Liquid Asset]

I would guess you could rebuild them in place. The hard part would be removing the retaining nut on top. But I bet it could be done.

My old ones were coroded, and when you shut the handle, even though it appeared to be shut, it leaked water like it was open.

 

[Genesis]

Mine leak VERY slightly when closed. Its the seat that goes bad on them - the ball is fine. If you could get them apart to replace the seat, it would be simple to fix. Good luck being able to do that.

If I ever need to close them in earnest, I'll stuff something down the hole!

 

[MikeP]

Yep, I keep an appropriate-sized tapered wood plug attached to every seacock with a piece of twine. NO - not a wire tie!

With twine - jerk it, twine breaks and the plug is ready to be shoved into the hole.

With a wire tie - "Dang, where the heck are those wire cutters?...glug, glug, glug.

 

[REBrueckner]

As Genesis suggests, a minor seacock leak isn't really a concern...maybe a permanently open seacock, as in handle broken from closing mechanism would be.

Regard Liquid Assets corrosion, I'd be concerned that a recent electrical malfucntion may be at work...electrolysis( stray current)...I'll bet that seacock is bonded...if so, it's good idea to check the bonding wire for stray voltage while connected to shore power....(Remove bonding wire, use millivolt scale between it and the hull fitting while in the water)...500mv is zinc protection, anything much more should be checked unless there is a lot of new zincs...

 

[Liquid Asset]

The problem with a wood plug on the engine seacocks is that if you have strainers mounted on the seacock, you may not be able to get a wooden plug in the hole. So this becomes more important to verify that your seacock is working and closes without a leak. I would have had to do what Carl suggested and stick a rag in my seacock if I ever broke the platic globe on my perko seastraner, but I am not sure a rag would have slowed down the inflow of water fast enough. I am a big believer in having all ball valves perfectly working. That is the one and only thing that can stop the water from coming in that hole.

 

[Genesis]

Mine doesn't leak all that much. Maybe a gallon every few minutes. If a lose a globe on a strainer I'll close the valve and the pumps will deal with the minor water intrusion.

Now if what you have is more like a firehose than a trickle then yeah, you need to take care of it, because you CANNOT shove a plug into a seacock that has a strainer on the top of it.

What buggers the seals on these is marine growth on and around the ball. That stuff is SHARP and cuts into the sealing surface. You can have it closed, but it will still leak because the seal surface is compromised.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Wow, after reading these comments and karl's comments on another post about having to hacksaw the coupling bolts off to align the shaft, I am really glad that our little Hat live in the great lakes. Am i right Sky? I am afraid that this fall I must relocate the Hat to Miami. Probably to the same marina that Pascal keeps his Hat. I guess I'll learn how to chisel bolts off and rebuild seacocks.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Yes, freshwater has it's advantages. But, then again, as I look out on the snow here, I think Miami sounds pretty good right now.

 

[Liquid Asset]

Mine wer not coroded from electrical stray current. The handles and the stem were corroded and I was afraid it would break, plus the seal leaked. I just did not feel comfortable with the old valves.

Mine leaked more than a bilge pump owuld be albe to keep up with after a while. I think it was probably leaking 2 to3 gallons a minute. I was afraid of it, so I replaced it. There were origionally perko valve, but we used Apallo replacemtents due to avaliability.

 

[Genesis]

Naw, 2-3 gallons per minute is nothing for a bilge pump that actually works.

But - if the handles and stems are corroded, you did the right thing. If you can't CLOSE THEM you've got a 2-1/2" hole in the bottom of the boat, and that's BAD! You don't want to know how much water THAT will let in!