Never Empty A Raw Water Strainer Again

If your willing to pay for it Groco can eliminate raw water blockage concerns.

Groco makes what they call Hydromatic Self-Cleaning Raw Water Strainers.

They are either 12 or 24 vdc. They have a programmable timer.

And they can protect the entire boat with one unit.

Engine, generator, AC pump, wash down pump, etc.

The unit is a raw water strainer with a programmable garbage disposal unit to suck up, chew up and spit out any and all debris.

Sound too good to be true?

Check it out.

(And no I do not work for them.)

Groco part number 970-1500

Groco.net

This device has been produced for several years. Who has one and how do they really work?

They have had them for a few years or more now I believe. I don't know anyone who has used them.

Anybody here use them?

At $2500, yikes! It doesn't help if your blockage is at the thru hull.

eel grass strainer works fine? never had any trouble

capt jerry said:

eel grass strainer works fine? never had any trouble

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Your experiences with the eel grass strainer,
Does small grass build up over time plugging the individual holes or does the boat speed keep it clean?
Have you ever had a plastic bag cover the intake?
Is yours bolted to the hull with bronze or stainless bolts?
Do the fastners go thru the hull with nuts on the inside?
It looks like a good solution for both sea grass and small jelly fish. Before I spend the money to find out how good what if any has been the down side of this strainer?

capt jerry said:

eel grass strainer works fine? never had any trouble

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Parasitic drag???

Donsan said:

Parasitic drag???

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On a 6-9 knot vessel? Not that you would ever notice or be able to measure I'm sure.

Ahh, a DeFever sea chest. For free, but you do have to buy the boat! Art thought of many things.

Pgitug said:

Your experiences with the eel grass strainer,
Does small grass build up over time plugging the individual holes or does the boat speed keep it clean?
Have you ever had a plastic bag cover the intake?
Is yours bolted to the hull with bronze or stainless bolts?
Do the fastners go thru the hull with nuts on the inside?
It looks like a good solution for both sea grass and small jelly fish. Before I spend the money to find out how good what if any has been the down side of this strainer?

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Yes. But the boat moving through the water keeps it clean for the most part.

Yes. And other stuff.

Bronze screws. Sometimes you'll see stainless ones.

No they do not get through bolted so you can take them off in the water. The better ones have the screen that either can be slipped out of them to clean or the screen dome is on a hinge and you can swing it open to clean while in the water.

Not much of any down side to them. Just make sure the boat yard doesn't paint the holes in them shut with bottom paint. And make sure the boat yard takes them off and cleans and paints behind them and up into the thruhulls. Many boat yard do not include that in their standard bottom job quotes.

They are not much of a solution for jellyfish. Cause jellyfish, like a plastic bag, can just get stuck all over the screen/dome and clog it up.

sunchaser said:

Ahh, a DeFever sea chest. For free, but you do have to buy the boat! Art thought of many things.

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Yes. Wouldn't all boats benefit from a DeFever Sea Chest. One big thru hull. Large capacity in flow. One clean out above the water line.
But in the absence of that.......Groco model 970-1500. I just want to talk to someone who has real life experiences with the unit. Like the post before $2,500.00 is a chunk of money. But if it means I get to clean out ALL of my raw water sea strainers with the push of a button, I'm on board!

You can really cut down the need to clean out your strainers if you over size them. The bigger the inlet the less suction created and there by the less debris the gets sucked in them.

“Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems.”

― Scott Adams

I hope this question hasn't been answered already, I've searched the old posts. I have a single Lugger diesel that is keel cooled and I have wet exhaust so a raw water pump as well, only for the elbow. Can I have only one thru hull and strainer (2" dia.) to feed the main engine as well as the generator? The Grocco 2" thru hull connects to a very large strainer. I'd like to limit the number of thru hull fittings in the boat.

Capt.Bill11 said:

You can really cut down the need to clean out your strainers if you over size them. The bigger the inlet the less suction created and there by the less debris the gets sucked in them.

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Yes that is what I have done.

stevensibs said:

I hope this question hasn't been answered already, I've searched the old posts. I have a single Lugger diesel that is keel cooled and I have wet exhaust so a raw water pump as well, only for the elbow. Can I have only one thru hull and strainer (2" dia.) to feed the main engine as well as the generator? The Grocco 2" thru hull connects to a very large strainer. I'd like to limit the number of thru hull fittings in the boat.

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Of course you could. But if that one strainer gets clogged or breaks for some reason it can take down two engines. So personally I would not recommend it.

stevensibs; said:

I have a single Lugger diesel...

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Back in 2012 you were thisclose to pulling the trigger on a rebuilt 3208N. How did that work out?

Once a month while checking oils I also check and clean my strainer and let in about 20l of water into the hull .This lets me check that the bilge pumps are operating so $2500 would be wasted on me .

I decided on the 6414T Lugger. I wanted a straight 6 cylinder so more walk around room. 170 hp.

stevensibs said:

I decided on the 6414T Lugger. I wanted a straight 6 cylinder so more walk around room. 170 hp.

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Makes sense to me. I just came across that old post and wondered if that was 2 or 3 boats ago.

To the OP;

The unit is a raw water strainer with a programmable garbage disposal unit to suck up, chew up and spit out any and all debris.

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Sounds like you could hook up the heads and galley sink to that thing.

To everyone else; anyone do away with the intake (eelgrass) strainer altogether?

Hawgwash said:

To everyone else; anyone do away with the intake (eelgrass) strainer altogether?

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On which thru hull/s?

Capt.Bill11 said:

On which thru hull/s?

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Engine RW.

I have 3 oversized Intakes....main, genset, a/c & raw water feed. No external screens.

Only 1 blockage when 3 small fish swam up the inrake. Cleared in 3 minutes from the inside of the boat. That is in the last 10, 000 miles of inland waterway cruising.

As has been posted...oversize the thru hulls and the suction force is minimized.

psneeld said:

Only 1 blockage when 3 small fish swam up the inrake. Cleared in 3 minutes from the inside of the boat. That is in the last 10, 000 miles of inland waterway cruising.

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Thanks.
A marine mechanic recently said they should be tossed so, wanted a second expert opinion.