I was at De Schiffart Yesterday to pick up some spare parts. Told Ronald he might get some phone calls, but he advised me that if you want to get in touch with him it is better to send an e-mail. They are very busy and he also is part of the crew, which means he does not sit in an office all day long. So it is possible he cannot answer the phone, therefore e-mail is the best option.
info@deschiffart.nl
While I was there I had some questions about the FL engines and got some interesting answers.
1. The best oil to use on an engine that needs to be run in is actually mineral oil with the specification ACEA E2. This oil has less dope than the newer oils and that means less glazing of the cylinder walls and piston rings. Also told me I can do about 500 hours with that oil, plus to run the engine at a higher rpm during the run in period (at least 1800 rpm).
Never knew that, but will take his word for it. So just got myself some Eurol Multifleet 15W-40 and will put that in the engines when we get back onboard.
2. Most of you probably know the following already, but I only knew that I had to drill a hole in the thermostat. However I never knew the real reason why i had to do that.
The reason for drilling a hole in the thermostat is to make sure that, if there is air in the system, the air will be able to get out. If there would be air in the cooling system before the thermostat it could prevent the thermostat from opening and thereby overheating the engine.
3. If you suspect a leakage on one of the injectors or on the fuel return line, disconnect the end of the return line (which comes out of the block). Then take an oil can (with pump) and put some oil on each and every point where the return line is welded, on the copper washers, bolts, basically every location where the fuel system can leak inside the engine and then take a small compressor, connect it to the end of the return line and put about 1 bar of pressure on that line. If there is anywhere a leak you will see the oil starting to bubble.
4. If you have a boat with a hull speed of around 8 kts and 2 engines it does not make any sense to run the engines at 2000 rpm only to find out that the only thing you do is burn fuel and get no speed.
I have velvet drives which means they will get lubrication even when the engine is not running, so I have decided to now make it standard to go on one engine and run that engine at around 1800 - 2000 rpm, at least during the remainder of the run in period.
5. Also the following is known to most of you, but for those who did not know it.
If you want to check whether your thermostat is still functioning fine and you don't want to take half the engine apart either measure the temperature both and the end of the block and at the beginning of the block.
Other way is to run the engine at a much higher rpm. You will see the temperature increase, but after 5 or 10 min the temperature should drop again to normal. Reason is that the thermostat will react to the higher temperature by opening up a bit more in order to bring the temperature back to normal.
He told me some other things I need to check with the fuel pump and how to check the timing of the fuel pump, so if anyone needs that info, let me know and I will explain it. I guess it is engine specific, so no need to write it here.
