stupid question of the day - what it this?

[Jeffers71]

Hi, we bought a boat engine and this came with it - it says wortham blake on the side, our first thought was it might be a water trap for any water feeding back up the exhaust but in that case surely fumes would come out of the small breather pipe on the side/top, second thought was that it was a heat exchanger but there is already one on the engine. any suggestions?

[mark99]

Any use?

 

http://www.boatsthames.com/hydrive5005.jpg

 

Is W/B it a gearbox make?

 

http://www.boatsthames.com/hydrive500.shtml

Edited January 10, 2016 by mark99

[MtB]

Can you post an ordinary photo of it, a 3D isometric shot from a bit of a distance, like?

 

Its hard to get a sense of what it really looks like from your three perpendicular close-ups.

[Tony Dunkley]

Hi, we bought a boat engine and this came with it - it says wortham blake on the side, our first thought was it might be a water trap for any water feeding back up the exhaust but in that case surely fumes would come out of the small breather pipe on the side/top, second thought was that it was a heat exchanger but there is already one on the engine. any suggestions?

 

It looks like a water injection chamber for a 'wet' exhaust system.

The pipe that you're calling a breather, would have been connected directly to the cooling water outlet from the cylinder head.

Wortham Blake were marinizers of small Ford, and BMC, engines and manufactured their own small marine gearboxes.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Tony Dunkley

[Jeffers71]

Can you post an ordinary photo of it, a 3D isometric shot from a bit of a distance, like?

 

Its hard to get a sense of what it really looks like from your three perpendicular close-ups.

seeing as I have absolutely no idea what a 3d isometric shot is - probably not :-)

[WotEver]

seeing as I have absolutely no idea what a 3d isometric shot is - probably not :-)

Photograph it at an angle that shows 3 sides.

[mark99]

W/B looked like they marinised Ford petrol engines. (Never heard of them) as well as providing drives/gearboxes.

[Jeffers71]

 

It looks like a water injection chamber for a 'wet' exhaust system.

The pipe that you're calling a breather, would have been connected directly to the cooling water outlet from the cylinder head.

wouldn't that feed water back into the cylinders? why would you want a wet exhaust - sorry I know I sound a bit stupid here

[Murflynn]

to cool the exhaust pipe - most marine engines use either direct or indirect watercooling using cold sea or river water that is pumped in and then blown out with the exhaust gases.

[mark99]

wouldn't that feed water back into the cylinders? why would you want a wet exhaust - sorry I know I sound a bit stupid here

 

Not uncommon. Also quietens it down.

 

I have a wet exhaust on my in board Panda Genny. (Which is a "marinised/generator-ised" Kubuta).

Edited January 10, 2016 by mark99

[Tony Dunkley]

wouldn't that feed water back into the cylinders? why would you want a wet exhaust - sorry I know I sound a bit stupid here

 

No, because of the internal design of the chamber/expansion box, and water was injected into small marine engine exhaust systems to both cool and quieten them. The connections, and sometimes even the whole length of a 'wet' exhaust run, were made with rubber hose.

[mark99]

 

No, because of the internal design of the chamber/expansion box, and water was injected into small marine engine exhaust systems to both cool and quieten them. The connections, and sometimes even the whole length of a 'wet' exhaust run, were made with rubber hose.

 

 

Yes my Panda has that Tony (reinforced rubber exhaust). It exists a common exit - water and cool exhaust gas's pass out of skin fitting on one side of boat.

[Jeffers71]

so if i've got this right the exhaust goes into the side that curls up and round sort of like a piglets tail, water comes in from the canal through the small top pipe and water and exhaust fumes go out into the canal below the water line so your engine is nice and quiet. so it doesn't actually cool the engine at all

[ditchcrawler]

so if i've got this right the exhaust goes into the side that curls up and round sort of like a piglets tail, water comes in from the canal through the small top pipe and water and exhaust fumes go out into the canal below the water line so your engine is nice and quiet. so it doesn't actually cool the engine at all

I think you will find the water comes out of the engine. But as you found this laying on the boat you may not have a raw water cooled engine and a water cooled exhaust.

What engine did you buy? that could well give a clue if its needed.

Edited January 10, 2016 by ditchcrawler

[mark99]

so if i've got this right the exhaust goes into the side that curls up and round sort of like a piglets tail, water comes in from the canal through the small top pipe and water and exhaust fumes go out into the canal below the water line so your engine is nice and quiet. so it doesn't actually cool the engine at all

 

Goes out above the waterline. There is a silencer (on mine too) between water/gas outlet and exhaust. Design need to consider syphonage too (raw water coolant is below waterline). And have a decent seacock too.

Edited January 10, 2016 by mark99

[Jeffers71]

I think you will find the water comes out of the engine. But as you found this laying on the boat you may not have a raw water cooled engine and a water cooled exhaust.

What engine did you buy? that could well give a clue if its needed.

It is a mitsubishi L3E with a bowman heat exchanger fitted on top of it so maybe they had this before the bowman was fitted

[zenataomm]

Google is your friend ..... Click Here

[Tony Dunkley]

so if i've got this right the exhaust goes into the side that curls up and round sort of like a piglets tail, water comes in from the canal through the small top pipe and water and exhaust fumes go out into the canal below the water line so your engine is nice and quiet. so it doesn't actually cool the engine at all

 

The cooling water is injected into the exhaust system after it has done it's work cooling the engine, and in some installations, the gearbox oil too.

Have you checked to see if the 4-stud square flange mates up with the exhaust manifold outlet on the Bowman heat exchanger ?

[mark99]

 

The cooling water is injected into the exhaust system after it has done it's work cooling the engine, and in some installations, the gearbox oil too.

Have you checked to see if the 4-stud square flange mates up with the exhaust manifold outlet on the Bowman heat exchanger ?

 

That's exactly what ours does - raw water circulates through a heat exchanger to indirectly cool the genny engine, the same raw water then passes a 2nd heat exchanger in the exhaust. Eventually spat out with the exhaust fumes.

[Tony Brooks]

so if i've got this right the exhaust goes into the side that curls up and round sort of like a piglets tail, water comes in from the canal through the small top pipe and water and exhaust fumes go out into the canal below the water line so your engine is nice and quiet. so it doesn't actually cool the engine at all

 

 

 

The cooling water is injected into the exhaust system after it has done it's work cooling the engine, and in some installations, the gearbox oil too.

Have you checked to see if the 4-stud square flange mates up with the exhaust manifold outlet on the Bowman heat exchanger ?

 

These two posts illustrate how difficult it is to get things right without all the information needed. Both statement are correct for certain cooling systems.

 

Jeffers is correct for a wet exhaust tank or keel cooled system.

 

Tony is correct in the case of a heat exchanger system and although one could argue abut what happens when any thermostat is open or closed he is also correct for a direct cooed raw water cooled system.

[Tony Dunkley]

 

Jeffers is correct for a wet exhaust tank or keel cooled system.

 

Tony is correct in the case of a heat exchanger system and although one could argue abut what happens when any thermostat is open or closed he is also correct for a direct cooed raw water cooled system.

 

No, not entirely, she seemed to me to be thinking that the exhaust gases plus cooling water were discharged overside below the waterline.

[Tony Brooks]

 

No, not entirely, she seemed to me to be thinking that the exhaust gases plus cooling water were discharged overside below the waterline.

 

That may well be because on modern and larger cruisers it is, especially if they are fitted with a Vetus style water trap. They are however usually in the transom but I see no reason it can not go through the side if that is what the owner wanted.

[gazza]

 

That may well be because on modern and larger cruisers it is, especially if they are fitted with a Vetus style water trap. They are however usually in the transom but I see no reason it can not go through the side if that is what the owner wanted.

Which is exactly what we have on our 50 year old Elysian 27, it makes a satisfying sploshing sound when stationary and is exceptionally quite under way. The water lock silencer being a much later addition.

 

Exiting the exhaust in the hull side stops the tendency for the exhaust fumes to swirl around and be drawn back to the cockpit like transom exits tend to.

 

The big draw back is the sinking risk from failure of flexible hose or skin fitting, regular checks are needed to ensure this doesn't happen!