hydraulic steering pressure

[tn6437]

I recently purchased my first trawler. a 1986 chien hwa sundeck. plenty of projects to do but first was a new mattress for the island bed.
after pitching the old mattress I decided to explore the steering/water tanks etc under the bed.
I found a bicycle pump . that got me wondering, next I saw a canister with a pressure guage and a valve( similar to a bicycle tire) the guage reads form 0-60 lbs and is currently sitting at 20. the engine has not run in a couple of days so I guess that pressure is holding steady at 20. good news , I guess there are no leaks. my questions are....will the pressure go up if the engine is running ? what should the pressure be ? what is the tire pump for ?
HELP !

 

[Maerin]

No connection whatsoever to the engine. If the pressure's been at 20 psi for a while, that's OK. Hynautic recommends 25 psi as normal. You could use the tire pump to move the gauge pressure from 20-25 psi. There should be an air fitting/schraeder valve on the top of the tank, it should have a cap you'll have to remove to attach the pump. Think bicycle tire valve, you'll have the picture. It won't hurt it to keep it at 20. How's the steering? Here's a link to the manual.

 

[tn6437]

maerin, thank you. you totally answered my question . the link was extremely helpful. you folks on this forum are like trawler Wikipedia ! thanks again...learned something new today !

 

[sunchaser]

Is the canister providing pressure for steering, water system or shifting?

 

[STB]

It sounds like Maerin totally spot on answer your question.

But, being unfamiliar with that steering system, my first thought was that it might be an accumulator tank for the fresh water system. So, like sunchaser, I'm wondering what the tank is tied to.

If it is tied to the hydraulics, sounds like Maerin nailed it. If it is tied to freshwater, it could be one of these accumulator tanks:
-- https://www.defender.com/category.jsp?id=2234251&path=-1|51|2234245
-- https://www.jabscoshop.com/advice-and-support/jabscoshop-about-pressurised-fresh-water-pumps.htm

They are used to provide some buffering so the fresh water pump needed cycle hard on and off so often and so quickly, extending the life of the pump and improving energy efficiency (battery life).

 

[ksceviour]

That wouldn't be an Oceania you picked up there would it?

If its in there next to the steering gear its likely (but not certain) to be the hydraulic reservoir for your steering. Considering the yard it came from it would probably have a Hynautic Reservalve sticker on it.

I have no idea why that picture is rotated. Can't find how to fix it.

 

[rochepoint]

I have no idea why that picture is rotated. Can't find how to fix it.

Cell phone photos like to be taken in landscape mode for some reason, bad orientation data so I rotated it on my Mac..........