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Blue smoke

kayDee

By kayDee
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kayDee Community Regular

kayDee

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Hi all...

Took the boat out a few days ago to get some water and decided to go a tad faster than we normally do - only about 1200 rpm on the gauge and noticed that there was a steady flow of blue smoke coming from the exhaust. As soon as we knocked it down to about 1000 rpm - it stopped the blue smoke.

Have we got a big engine problem? It has just been serviced before Xmas if that helps or not?

Kay

x

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kayDee Community Regular

kayDee

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Engine could be 'loading up' a bit.. Check the weed-hatch, bloody cold down there though!

 

Thanks John. :lol:

Hubby can do that - I'm not putting my hand into somewhere I can't see - I hate that hatch thingy - its spooky!

Kay

x

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Lady Muck Veteran

Lady Muck

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Thanks John. :lol:

Hubby can do that - I'm not putting my hand into somewhere I can't see - I hate that hatch thingy - its spooky!

Kay

x

 

Tip , boil a kettle and pour it down the weed hatch before you put your hand down there - it will give you a grace period of about five seconds before it gets too freezing to bear!

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kayDee Community Regular

kayDee

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Tip , boil a kettle and pour it down the weed hatch before you put your hand down there - it will give you a grace period of about five seconds before it gets too freezing to bear!

 

Thanks for that LM! Good idea...

It just spooks me with that big prop being down there even though I know there is no way it can just suddenly start up and get me!

I think its because I can't see down into it - like something is going to come up and bite me or something - I'm just being soft!

Kay

x

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Smelly Veteran

Smelly

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Thanks for that LM! Good idea...

It just spooks me with that big prop being down there even though I know there is no way it can just suddenly start up and get me!

I think its because I can't see down into it - like something is going to come up and bite me or something - I'm just being soft!

Kay

x

 

If there's something wiry down there you may well get bit... We got a mattress last year and my arms looked like I'd been savaged by rabid kittens by the time I gave up trying to cut the damn thing off.

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FadeToScarlet Veteran

FadeToScarlet

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Thanks for that LM! Good idea...

It just spooks me with that big prop being down there even though I know there is no way it can just suddenly start up and get me!

I think its because I can't see down into it - like something is going to come up and bite me or something - I'm just being soft!

Kay

x

 

You'd be surprised- I didn't think I'd be able to see the prop, but even in muddy and murky canal water you can usually see the blade nearest to you if nothing else.

 

You could always use some lights to see what's going on- a powerful headtorch, etc.

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chris w Veteran II

chris w

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Kay

How about one of these

When you don't want to go down the hatch clicky

 

Chris

I bought one, and although the camera and monitor are great value and work really well, if the water is at all murky you don't see anything more than a inch or so from the lens. So pretty hopeless in a canal but probably good in a river I would guess.

 

Chris

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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you could get a small bucket and bail out the weed hatch into the bilge thus keeping yer hands nice and dry when you go down it.

This is a popular mistake that people make....

 

Unfortunately they usually make the mistake of tipping the contents of the bucket overboard, thereby often refilling the area under the weed-hatch....

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kayDee Community Regular

kayDee

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you could get a small bucket and bail out the weed hatch into the bilge thus keeping yer hands nice and dry when you go down it.

 

Good idea! I never thought of that. That would be how many billion gallons? :lol:

My weed hatch holds an enormous amount of water you know - you'd be amazed! :lol:

Kay

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Eeyore Rising Star

Eeyore

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Good idea! I never thought of that. That would be how many billion gallons? :lol:

My weed hatch holds an enormous amount of water you know - you'd be amazed! :lol:

Kay

x

And they say that the TARDIS is just a camera trick :lol:

Steve

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kayDee Community Regular

kayDee

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This is a popular mistake that people make....

 

Unfortunately they usually make the mistake of tipping the contents of the bucket overboard, thereby often refilling the area under the weed-hatch....

 

Really? That's silly! You're going to get nowhere doing that! As if I'd be that daft! Sheesh... Tipping it overboard - whatever next?

 

Next you'll be telling me that I shouldn't fill my water tank from my kitchen tap! It takes a while, mind you, but I get there in the end...

 

Kay

x

Edited by kayDee
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mikevye Rising Star

mikevye

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This is a popular mistake that people make....

 

Unfortunately they usually make the mistake of tipping the contents of the bucket overboard, thereby often refilling the area under the weed-hatch....

right on big al thats why I developed the bilge method just make sure the bilge pump is in top notch condition.

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Denis R Community Regular

Denis R

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Well I guess it depends how long it was going on for and how long since the engine 'had its throat cleared' - if only a few seconds or you didn't leave the engine running at those RPM for any appreciable time to see if it cleaned itself up, it might have been just clearing out the clag?

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Nickhlx Veteran

Nickhlx

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Well I guess it depends how long it was going on for and how long since the engine 'had its throat cleared' - if only a few seconds or you didn't leave the engine running at those RPM for any appreciable time to see if it cleaned itself up, it might have been just clearing out the clag?

 

 

I have seen that sort of effect when the "mechanic" ( substitute word of your choice) over fills the sump - some think "a little bit more is good for the engine" - elevated revs cause oil to be splashed around in places it shouldn't and some gets burnt...

 

Caution though - it could blow oil seals which would then get VERY expensive in labour and hassle - check oil level and drain a bit out if necessary.

 

Nick

 

:lol:

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Eeyore Rising Star

Eeyore

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Back to my OP... Can anything else cause blue smoke at around 12/1300 rpm?

Anything 'serious' I mean...

Kay

x

"Oil carry over" is quite normal on lightly loaded low reving engines, usualy worse if the engine idles a lot (sound familiar?)

There is a technical explanation if you need it. :lol:

The fact that it only smokes at higher revs suggests that this is oil lying in the exhaust system being picked up in the hotter & faster exhaust flow when the engine is working harder.

(If it smoked all the time there are lots of possible causes)

Go with Nick & Denis on this one, make sure the oil is never overfilled and try running it for longer at higher revs. Some manufacturers handbooks recommend tieing the boat up and running at max revs in gear on a regular basis to overcome this problem (but warm it up gently for 10 min before doing this).

Steve

Comments on this post most welcome - I've posted some real bloopers lately :lol:

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kayDee Community Regular

kayDee

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Flattered! :lol:

Very much so! Thank you!

 

Okay, I will leave it running at higher revs next time we're out and see if it gradually starts to clear up. I'm just worried that I might make things worse but I'll give it a go. I get the usual white smoke as the engine is started but that does clear up after its warmed up a bit. Its fine at about 1000 rpm (our usual speed for just generally running the engine to top up the batteries).

 

We'll be on shore power soon so we hope to not have to run the engine as much as we are currently. We have a RUBBISH battery bank and spend so much time running the engine purely to run the TV, one light at a time, the GCH pump and a laptop. Having shore power will be a complete luxury compared to how we've been living. We're still going to go easy with the power though - makes sense to carry on as we have been doing but we will be having the fridge running now. The poor thing has been sat there for 4 months unused! Awwww..... :-( Still, we've managed quite well with our 'open air' fridge. Spring/summer might be slightly different but then its a good job we'll have the fridge.

 

:lol:

 

My fault...

 

Okay - thank you to everyone that has suggested stuff for us to try - will let you know how it goes. The L&L was iced up again this morning so we might not be going anywhere at the weekend yet! AGAIN!

 

Kay

x

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