hot water probs

[arnie_and_caroline]

greetings all........ we have just set off on our travels having been in a marina for the last 4 months. Up to now we have had the luxury of an immersion heater but now we need to use the engine to heat the calorifier.

 

This seemed to work fine for about 3-4 days but for some reason has seemed to have stopped creating hot water now. It does seem to get the water luke warm but not for long. the tank itself is well lagged and the engine gets gets hot enough. I have ran the engine to try to find any air locks but there doesn't seem to be any. Don't ask what kind of calorifier we have as i haven't got a clue ha ha!

 

The engine is a BMC1500 and has recently had a new head gasket fitted. Apart from oily smelling smoke after 2-3 hours of hard graft (2 days on the tidal trent) all else seems to be fine.

 

Any advice or suggestions would be most welcome

 

Arnie n Caroline.

[bottle]

Hi and welcome.

 

It may be an air lock that you have not shifted, look for a 'bleed valve' on the calorifier circuit, I would expect it to be at the highest point of the pipework near the calorifier.

[WJM]

Just to add to the questions from the less well informed - where exactly is the calorifer likely to be located?

[arnie_and_caroline]

Thanks bottle, but i have tried that too and when i open the valve it's just luke warm water that comes out.

 

Hi WJM, i'm no authority but ours is just to the side of the engine.

[Keeping Up]

Is there any possibility that the engine itself is not getting warm enough to heat the water (thermostat stuck open for example)? Is there a temperature gauge?

[soldthehouse]

greetings all........ we have just set off on our travels having been in a marina for the last 4 months. Up to now we have had the luxury of an immersion heater but now we need to use the engine to heat the calorifier.

 

This seemed to work fine for about 3-4 days but for some reason has seemed to have stopped creating hot water now. It does seem to get the water luke warm but not for long. the tank itself is well lagged and the engine gets gets hot enough. I have ran the engine to try to find any air locks but there doesn't seem to be any. Don't ask what kind of calorifier we have as i haven't got a clue ha ha!

 

The engine is a BMC1500 and has recently had a new head gasket fitted. Apart from oily smelling smoke after 2-3 hours of hard graft (2 days on the tidal trent) all else seems to be fine.

 

Any advice or suggestions would be most welcome

 

Arnie n Caroline.

Where does the water leave the engine on its way to the calorifier.

[Tony Brooks]

Just to add to the questions from the less well informed - where exactly is the calorifer likely to be located?

 

 

You choose

 

One the swim (Uxter) plate

In the lower half of a cupboard at the back of the cabin

Under a bed

 

Much depends ion size and if its a vertical or horizontal calorifier.

[simonk]

Are the skin cooling tanks still getting hot (or hotter than normal)? Perhaps there is a blockage/constriction in the pipework to the calorifier so most of the flow is going through the skin tanks.

[J R]

Are the skin cooling tanks still getting hot (or hotter than normal)? Perhaps there is a blockage/constriction in the pipework to the calorifier so most of the flow is going through the skin tanks.

 

Just a thought. You have bled the calorifier which you say is fine. If the head gasket on the engine has been recently changed, is the engine topped up with coolant? Alternatively, the thermostat on the ngine may be faulty. Worth looking at, and a replacement should not be too costly. You could replace in any case just to eliminate that possibility. Check also that the skin tanks are free of air.There should be a bleed valve on the top of it/them. An air lock in the heating coil could be the problem. Wortwhile if possible to try loosening the highermost connection on the calorifier to see if there is any air in the system.

[arnie_and_caroline]

Thanks everyone, as we thought it all points to an air lock....... the engine seems to get hot enough (80-100 on the temp gauge and stays steady at that) unfortunately we don't have a bleed point on the skin tank but we do have one on the highest point of the engine so i'll give it another go today.