generator leaking water

[jenevers]

I noticed a slow water leak. Cant trace it due to awkward location up against a bulkhead. Topped up with distilled water. Leak stopped. Could this be because the antifreeze has been diluted. Ive been told antifreeze is very " searching".

 

[Tony Brooks]

Where on the engine? Based on experience of a range of engines and what you say I would be looking very closely to under the engine water pump pulley. When water pumps play up they can leak and stop again on their own. I would also want t look hard at the core plugs.

[frangar]

49 minutes ago, jenevers said:

I noticed a slow water leak. Cant trace it due to awkward location up against a bulkhead. Topped up with distilled water. Leak stopped. Could this be because the antifreeze has been diluted. Ive been told antifreeze is very " searching".

 

When you say generator do you mean a built in diesel unit? These are often raw water cooled. If yours has antifreeze this suggests yours might have a heat exchanger which might well be another source of leaks. Do you have more info??

[pearley]

I had a persistent coolant leak on my Kubota based Onan. Chris Jones spent a long time trying to track it down then ran his hand along the less accessible side and came up with the drain cock in his hand. The rusty water marks on the broken end showed it was hanging on by a thread.

 

A bastard for him to change, trying to get an easyout in below the manifold and all by feel.

 

And the bill was less than I thought it would be.

[jenevers]

4 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

Where on the engine? Based on experience of a range of engines and what you say I would be looking very closely to under the engine water pump pulley. When water pumps play up they can leak and stop again on their own. I would also want t look hard at the core plugs.

Thanks. I'll check around the water pump.

3 hours ago, frangar said:

When you say generator do you mean a built in diesel unit? These are often raw water cooled. If yours has antifreeze this suggests yours might have a heat exchanger which might well be another source of leaks. Do you have more info??

Its a Mastervolt Whisper 6000 dry exhaust.

2 hours ago, pearley said:

I had a persistent coolant leak on my Kubota based Onan. Chris Jones spent a long time trying to track it down then ran his hand along the less accessible side and came up with the drain cock in his hand. The rusty water marks on the broken end showed it was hanging on by a thread.

 

A bastard for him to change, trying to get an easyout in below the manifold and all by feel.

 

And the bill was less than I thought it would be.

Hope its not that bad?

[Slim]

1 minute ago, jenevers said:

Thanks. I'll check around the water pump.

yes, but what make?

[frangar]

4 minutes ago, jenevers said:

Thanks. I'll check around the water pump.

Its a Mastervolt Whisper 6000 dry exhaust.

Hope its not that bad?

I’m guessing it might have a skin tank then....You could get a cheap endoscopic camera from eBay that you connect to a laptop or if you spend a bit more via Bluetooth/Wi-fi. Makes it a bit easier to look in confined spaces. 

[blackrose]

6 hours ago, jenevers said:

Ive been told antifreeze is very " searching".

 

 

My understanding is that antifreeze is lower viscosity than water which is part of how it works as a heat exchange fluid. The reduced viscosity means a greater surface contact coefficient on a molecular level.

 

So yes, an antifreeze solution will be more searching than water and I suppose the more you dilute that solution with water the more viscous and less searching it will be.

Edited April 13, 2021 by blackrose

[Tony Brooks]

20 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

My understanding is that antifreeze is lower viscosity than water which is part of how it works as a heat exchange fluid. The reduced viscosity means a greater surface contact coefficient on a molecular level.

 

So yes, an antifreeze solution will be more searching than water and I suppose the more you dilute that solution with water the more viscous and less searching it will be.

 

I can't find the relative density of pure ethylene glycol so can't agree or disagree but I have always felt antifreeze is slightly more viscose than water, its seems more "treacly" than water when you pour it out of bulk storage cans.

[bizzard]

Years ago a customer of ours drained out and filled his cooling system with neat Bluecol antifreeze. It was a Fraud Prefect 1172 s/v engine. He limped the half mile or so to us. Bluecol was oozing out from everywhere, running down the block from the head gasket and into the sump,core plugs weeping, hoses weeping an awful mess. We were almost sure he'd got the antifreeze for nothing, he was a lorry driver, Bluecol was the most expensive in thos days. 

[jenevers]

On 13/04/2021 at 21:16, bizzard said:

Years ago a customer of ours drained out and filled his cooling system with neat Bluecol antifreeze. It was a Fraud Prefect 1172 s/v engine. He limped the half mile or so to us. Bluecol was oozing out from everywhere, running down the block from the head gasket and into the sump,core plugs weeping, hoses weeping an awful mess. We were almost sure he'd got the antifreeze for nothing, he was a lorry driver, Bluecol was the most expensive in thos days. 

So maybe my antifreeze mix is too strong. Ill dilute it and see what happens?

[Tracy D'arth]

On 13/04/2021 at 14:35, pearley said:

I had a persistent coolant leak on my Kubota based Onan. Chris Jones spent a long time trying to track it down then ran his hand along the less accessible side and came up with the drain cock in his hand. The rusty water marks on the broken end showed it was hanging on by a thread.

 

A bastard for him to change, trying to get an easyout in below the manifold and all by feel.

 

And the bill was less than I thought it would be.

That sounds like Chris, cracking mechanic.

[cuthound]

17 hours ago, jenevers said:

So maybe my antifreeze mix is too strong. Ill dilute it and see what happens?

 

I'd check the strength with a refractometer first.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Antifreeze-Refractometer-Measuring-Automobile-Condition/dp/B07KS6X92M/ref=asc_df_B07KS6X92M/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=345482801649&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14356167427352559416&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007147&hvtargid=pla-620654273205&psc=1