Raw water filter flow indicator.

[bostonhatteras]

Had the genset creep up in temp and good thing I was in ER as the needle was right next to the red when I caught it. Turns out some seaweed got caught up in the seacock but before the strainer. Ultimately I was able to blow it out with my fresh water flush adapter. Once it was flushed though, since water is clear, I had no idea if water was being pumped in without running outside to see the exhaust. Has anybody ever tried something like an orange streamer tied inside the raw water filter so that flow is immediately evident? Sort of a wind sock idea but likely done with fluorescent construction site barricade tape.

 

[SEVEN]

Haven’t tried the tape idea. However, your generator should have a high temp shut off sensor in it so it doesn’t reach that type of temperature before something Catastrophic happens.

 

[Boatsb]

Add a water flow sensor but don't put anything in there that will tear off a d screw up the pump.

Most new generations have a simple flow sensor after the raw water pump. They can easily be added.

 

[Captain Ralph]

On some later OhNo gen-sets, there is a water pressure sensor after the raw water pump.
On one customer's boat, it worked well and shut down before the gen-set actually got hot.
Per his use, worked great when picking up lots of grass or trash on the outside of the thru-hull pick up.
I always thought it was a great idea.
I have often thought about installing this on my sets,,, It's on the list,, way down towards the bottom.

 

[Fanfare]

I always start my generator first before the main engines. Even from the "basement" I can immediately hear the exhaust loud note indicating that there is no water flow through the aqualift muffler. Even quicker from the salon or engine room. No quiet swoosh, more like a lawnmower or leaf blower exhaust. I might give a few seconds running to be sure, then shut down before any heat damage to the muffler. Only happened to me two or three times but it is readily apparent. Since I always give the genny a few minutes to warm up before shifting to ship's power this is an easy check.

Starting the mains first makes enough noise so I wouldn't hear the generator.

 

[bostonhatteras]

Haven’t tried the tape idea. However, your generator should have a high temp shut off sensor in it so it doesn’t reach that type of temperature before something Catastrophic happens.

Genset definitely has that. Seems a last ditch preventer though. Funny enough, the site Parts for Techs .com stocks this part because of my research finding the generic part number that mercury replaced with their obscure proprietary part number.

 

[bostonhatteras]

I always start my generator first before the main engines. Even from the "basement" I can immediately hear the exhaust loud note indicating that there is no water flow through the aqualift muffler. Even quicker from the salon or engine room. No quiet swoosh, more like a lawnmower or leaf blower exhaust. I might give a few seconds running to be sure, then shut down before any heat damage to the muffler. Only happened to me two or three times but it is readily apparent. Since I always give the genny a few minutes to warm up before shifting to ship's power this is an easy check.

Starting the mains first makes enough noise so I wouldn't hear the generator.

Starting first is a great method. Why didn’t I think of that. I need to shut down the ac’s though.

 

[bostonhatteras]

Any one use a sendure or other brand outside hull filter on the genset? I know you’re not supposed to due to possibility of loading cylinders with seawater. Just wonder how possible that is forcing water past the raw water pump. Better yet, close the seacock but then I got to remember to open the seacock every time.

 

[Scarlett]

I use Aqua Alarm flow alarms on my main engines. Work great, easy to install and the have sizes for any engine

 

[Bob Quinn]

I use Aqua Alarm flow alarms on my main engines. Work great, easy to install and the have sizes for any engine

I just looked these up, looks like an easy setup.

What would be even better is something that would somehow measure the flow, even if not in actual gallons per minute, anything on a scale of 1 to 10 or something so you could tell level of blockage.

Does anything like that exist?

 

[bostonhatteras]

I just looked these up, looks like an easy setup.

What would be even better is something that would somehow measure the flow, even if not in actual gallons per minute, anything on a scale of 1 to 10 or something so you could tell level of blockage.

Does anything like that exist?

Exactly When my needle neatly hit the red there was still water being pushed out the exhaust but not enough for cooling.

 

[Pascal]

The high water temp switch will shut down the gen before any damage to the motor.

That said, by the time coolant gets hot enough to trigger a shut down chances are your impeller may be damaged and possibly exhaust components.

Two options…. A flow sensor which is just a small paddle that sits it the raw water flow, that’s what some gens have or why you find in chillers. Or a temp sensor on the exhaust like aqualarm and others.

 

[krush]

An exhaust temp sensor is the most eloquent solution. Flow sensor + growth = ineffective fault monitoring.

 

[IOLANI]

Bugs the hell out of that my Onan genset has no temp gage to glance at only an over temp shutdown. Would be nice to know what's happening before it happens. I've been eyeing a place on the engine to add an old mechanical Stewart Warner with a capillary tube long enough to reach the pilot house.

 

[whoover]

I added a complete set of remote gauges to my 7.5 mdge, they were electric. I even tied into the shutdown systems and added an E stop button.

Walt Hoover

 

[rsmith]

Anything in the raw water system will get clogged with crap and scale. On industrial scrubber systems I designed we used vacuum switches on the inlet side of the pumps. I had to design in a 30 second delay to let the pump pull vacuum.