Chain washing

After crossing Lake O and finding Sunset Bay mooring field full, I started reading up on nearby anchorage’s. One common theme was black, sticky mud. We don’t have anything onboard to deal with that. Turned out the mooring field wasn’t really full after all. So off to the hardware store to make something up. It has a 6 foot reach to wash the muck off before the rollers. That’s when I found my wash down pump died!
So here it is on dock water.

Ok, you get 3 points for ingenuity. For sticky mud, volume of water and duration are key.

Ted

5 gpm should do don’t you think?

High Wire said:

5 gpm should do don’t you think?

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Depends on the pressure. My pressure wand is 6 GPM at about 60 PSI. If you decide to make another one, angle the spray downward at 45 degrees or more. If you can get much of the water to run down the chain, it will wash off some / maybe most of the mud before it hits the spray pattern.

Ted

Only thing I have found that doesn't need too much scrub brush work is 2 inch engine driven Jabsco.


Not in coral areas ? nylon is easier to live with every AM.

I actually just came up with something that works brilliantly. It’s basically a 6” section of 5” abs pipe with three deck brushes screwed to the inside and 1/3 or it opens with a hinge and latches. Attaches to a 10lb mushroom and then I drop off the bow until it’s 5ft below. Tried it all weekend and it’s crazy how much mud it was stripping off, a basic freshwater rinse was all that was needed.
Sadly forgot to take pictures

I can't help thinking: https://hiconsumption.com/2018/08/best-water-guns/

Arthurc said:

I actually just came up with something that works brilliantly. It’s basically a 6” section of 5” abs pipe with three deck brushes screwed to the inside and 1/3 or it opens with a hinge and latches. Attaches to a 10lb mushroom and then I drop off the bow until it’s 5ft below. Tried it all weekend and it’s crazy how much mud it was stripping off, a basic freshwater rinse was all that was needed.
Sadly forgot to take pictures

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Great idea!

Powered by my washdown pump.

Cool! I’ve actually been thinking about something similar, 3/4 stainless quick connect into 2 1/2 stainless lines that I’ll kinda crimp at the ends and point at the roller/chain, would use my FW though as I always rinse in fresh.
My end goal is a setup I can pretty much pull a hook from inside the pilot house and have it be super clean.

How does your setup work on sticky mud bottoms? When I went to 1/2 G4 from bbb 3/8 I noticed a big change, picking up way more bottom, even get clams jammed in there, etc.

We have dinosaur mud. It is sticky. It cleans the chain just fine. The claw anchor has to hang for a while. It always gets 95%

That's a pretty cool setup, Arc. Did you weld/solder the tubing Y? How big is your pump? I'm considering something similar with a combo of tubing and hose fittings. I already have the RW pump switch at my lower helm, near my windlass switch.

Here's a hose sprayer I own that has a nice tube end and sprayer. I use it on my decks and it sprays well. Now I've got to hook it up to my RW pump and see how the spray pattern looks. I think it's 4GPH.

My wash down pump is 3gpm @50psi. I used 1/2” aluminum tube and welded in a second piece to wash the chain as it comes over the roller. I turn it on before the retrieval and bring it up slow.

Are you guys with the washdown pumps using the boat's fresh water to wash the chains?

Originally Posted by Arthurc View Post
"I actually just came up with something that works brilliantly. It’s basically a 6” section of 5” abs pipe with three deck brushes screwed to the inside and 1/3 or it opens with a hinge and latches. Attaches to a 10lb mushroom and then I drop off the bow until it’s 5ft below. Tried it all weekend and it’s crazy how much mud it was stripping off, a basic freshwater rinse was all that was needed.
Sadly forgot to take pictures"

I second that great idea!

GFC said:

Are you guys with the washdown pumps using the boat's fresh water to wash the chains?

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I only hold 40 Gal. In the water tank. So I use salt water. It need a lot of water to work

boatbrain said:

Originally Posted by Arthurc View Post
"I actually just came up with something that works brilliantly. It’s basically a 6” section of 5” abs pipe with three deck brushes screwed to the inside and 1/3 or it opens with a hinge and latches. Attaches to a 10lb mushroom and then I drop off the bow until it’s 5ft below. Tried it all weekend and it’s crazy how much mud it was stripping off, a basic freshwater rinse was all that was needed.
Sadly forgot to take pictures"

I second that great idea!

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I’ll post some Picts next time the hook is down, super easy to make.

GFC said:

Are you guys with the washdown pumps using the boat's fresh water to wash the chains?

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I use raw water but in my area, like yours, most of that is fresh water, especially when anchoring. I get to the saltwater when I head west to the Bay.

FlyWright said:

That's a pretty cool setup, Arc. Did you weld/solder the tubing Y? How big is your pump? I'm considering something similar with a combo of tubing and hose fittings. I already have the RW pump switch at my lower helm, near my windlass switch.

Here's a hose sprayer I own that has a nice tube end and sprayer. I use it on my decks and it sprays well. Now I've got to hook it up to my RW pump and see how the spray pattern looks. I think it's 4GPH.

Click to expand...

I have one of these, works great. Mine is on a 6 GPM 70 PSI washdown pump. Drilled the 0 degree orifice out with number drills until the pump ran continuously (it has a pressure switch to prevent screw ups). Use it with overboard water to clean the chain, and then rinse the chain with fresh water as it's going into the locker.

Ted

Great idea to drill out the jet tip. I always use the fan spray tip on my decks but I'll play with the other one incrementally to "see what she'll do!"