Is belt cover necessary

[Divealot]

I have a Cummins 6bt5.9-m. The front cover is only about 5” from the bulkhead when installed. It is almost impossible to inspect the belt, belt tracking or leaks with the cover in place. Of course it has to be removed for any work in that area.

Of course there is the safety aspect of not getting caught in the belt. If the engine is off that should not be a problem. Kinda like a swim step over a propeller. Turn the engine off and perfectly safe.

The only thing I can think of is possibly containing a broken belt.

Might mention this is a Nordic Tug and engine access is underneath the feet of the helmsman (ignition). There is no excuse that the person could say I didn’t know someone was looking/working on the motor.

Would like to hear your comments before I wrestle this thing back in place.

 

[dhays]

I have the QSB 5.9 on my boat. I don't see any reason why you couldn't leave the cover off. I leave mine on, but do admit that it is a pain to remove given the location of the screwed in aluminum decking around the engine. Since I access the engine from the front to get at the raw water strainer etc... I would not want to be in the vicinity while the engine was running and I often am. So the cover stays on.

 

[Woodland Hills]

Remove it and just don’t wear your necktie when the engine is running.

 

[Ski in NC]

For liability reasons I can't recommend you remove it.

But if a little gremlin took it off and stole it, I'd let him have it.

I have to keep mine on as my engine room hatch is in front of the engine. If jump in there and lose my footing, I can get tangled in the belt and spinning things.

Most boats, like the one described, there is basically no risk of getting hurt like that. And they really do hinder inspection.

On mine I cut the sheet metal off and welded on expanded metal screen. At least I can look at it now.

 

[koliver]

For liability reasons I can't recommend you remove it.

But if a little gremlin took it off and stole it, I'd let him have it.

I have to keep mine on as my engine room hatch is in front of the engine. If jump in there and lose my footing, I can get tangled in the belt and spinning things.

Most boats, like the one described, there is basically no risk of getting hurt like that. And they really do hinder inspection.

On mine I cut the sheet metal off and welded on expanded metal screen. At least I can look at it now.

I have a similar cover on my Westerbeke genset. I removed it the last time I was inside the sound shield, and now I see it whenever I am down in the ER, as the sound shield went back together ahead of the cover getting replaced. I don't have similar covers on the main engines, and I know enough to keep things away from the spinning belts when I am in the ER while those are running. That has worked re the mains for 26 years so far. I might remember to put the cover back on the genset next time I have the sound shield off, but it won't keep me up at night if I forget about it.
Did I say that right? Fuggedaboudit?

 

[psneeld]

My insurance wanted to know if I had a belt guard in place.


I told them I wasn't sure there were any for Lehmans (have heard of aftermarket ones or custom ones).


Told them half the belts were under hoses and fittin one would be a PIA...they let it go.


Though if yours normally has one, like Ski pointed out...leaving it off might be a bad idea.....any chance of retrofitting it for easy on/off?

 

[Comodave]

In a previous boat, we were bringing it down the west coast from Washington to LA. We were in a heavy fog for about 24 hours. We were about 30 NM off San Francisco and needed to check the oil in the Detroits since they usually burned and or leaked about a gallon every 24 hours. One of the crew went down in the engine room to check the port engine first. So we were idling on the starboard engine in about 6’ waves, after a while I was getting concerned about Frank, he was the crew member checking the oil. I opened the door to the engine room and saw Frank backed over the starboard engine flailing about. There was a bit of smoke coming out by his back. I started yelling to shut down the starboard engine but the rather slow crew member that was at the helm began arguing with me since it was the only engine running. After I screamed at him and referred to his heritage he finally shut the engine down. The Detroits did not have a belt cover over the belt and alternator, or if it came with one some PO had thrown it away. After prying Frank off the engine we found that it had cut a slot in his sweatshirt and grabbed the T shirt under the sweatshirt and ripped the T shirt off him. The neck band and left sleeve were all that was left of the T shirt. His back had a strip of what looked like road rash on it. Fortunately he was not seriously hurt. It would have been fun doing a medical evacuation in the heavy fog, but it turned out it was not necessary. We then spent about 2 hours in the very hot engine room while the boat was rolling in the 6’ waves. No fun. Frank puked two times throughout the process. We finally got the T shirt out of the alternator and were able to proceed onto Monterey and arrived there about 4 AM.

So no I can not recommend that you remove the belt cover. Frank was not even working on the engine that sucked him in. He just backed up a bit and it grabbed him. In the end it worked out that everyone was ok, but it could have been much more serious. We did keep the remains of the T shirt and framed them. I presented the T shirt to him in front of about 600 auxiliarists at the district conference. So we were able to have a bit of fun with it.

 

[rslifkin]

I wish my engines had belt covers. I'm always very careful down there with them running and I won't crawl outboard past the belts with any significant boat movement or above high idle. Of course, the generator has one, but you'd almost never have a reason to be near the belt end of that thing with it running.

 

[Arc]

The QSB is a 2 piece guard. I left the alternator cover alone , but the water pump cover i removed the extra 10mm screws that hold it. That allows me to remove it with just the wing nuts. I check the pump every month.
Without belt guards you will be slinging dust everywhere.

 

[Baker]

I did delete them on my Carver with 330B. I am considering it on my current boat with 450C. I do believe on the BTAs that the bolts that hold the belt guard penetrate the oil galleys....or at least one or two do. So make sure you put the bolts back in place lest you may end up with a mess....I may be wrong on this but a foggy memory tells me I might be right.

 

[Baker]

Also when the chips are down and you are in the engine room while underway, you are likely fatigued and operating in emergency/urgency mode. It is during these times you make mistakes....and forgetting about a belt guard while reaching across the engine could have disastrous results.

 

[Chrisjs]

If it is close to the bulkhead as you indicate, perhaps you can custom rig an easily removable protective shield mounted to the bulkhead either side of the engine to prevent accidental access. This would make it easier to work on the belt etc as required. Otherwise, I do not think it wise to leave the belt off completely.

 

[O C Diver]

I have a second pulley on the crankshaft and the second alternator, so no way to use the standard guard. I have to be careful when going into the engine area, but there is a reasonably safe distance from the steps to the belt. As I get older, I try to avoid trips to the engine room while underway or with the engine running.

If you take it off, save it. You never know when someone will make you put it back on.

Ted

 

[Baker]

I have heard of people making some sort of Lexan guard so you can at least see through it. Not sure how long it would take to "dust up".

 

[mvweebles]

I've been trying to think of a decent guard for the alternator on my Perkins 4.236. It's in an awkward place and the external fan blades have nipped me once or twice. Last time was in the thigh and it took better part of 6 months for the scarring to go away.

Until I lose some weight, some sort of fan guard sure would be nice.

Peter

 

[Pete Meisinger]

No belt guards on my Lehman. There was one on the Genny but once I took it off to inspect and tighten the belt and I left it off.

I figure a three cylinder Yanmar isn't powerful enough to pull me into the pulleys.

(Just kidding, I know it could rip my arm off before I knew what hit me, wouldn't even dim the lights)

But really, at some point we need to take responsibility for our own actions. No belt guard means be careful!!

pete

 

[lwarden]

I watched a guy get his index finger amputated by a 6-71 years ago. I'll be keeping mine on....

 

[angus99]

I have heard of people making some sort of Lexan guard so you can at least see through it. Not sure how long it would take to "dust up".

Like this? Hard to see, but it’s there. Our port engine is directly behind the entry door to the ER, so if I stumbled underway while entering, the diesels are the only things that wouldn’t change color.

No cover on the starboard engine because the hydraulic pump for the stabilizers is in the way. Dust hasn’t been much of a problem and removing the Lexan to clean it is no big deal.

 

[DonW28]

I did delete them on my Carver with 330B. I am considering it on my current boat with 450C. I do believe on the BTAs that the bolts that hold the belt guard penetrate the oil galleys....or at least one or two do. So make sure you put the bolts back in place lest you may end up with a mess....I may be wrong on this but a foggy memory tells me I might be right.

If memory serves me right I had to uses a couple of washers on the bolts to replace the thickness of the cover or had oil leaking on my 330s.

 

[Divealot]

That was definitely a close call. Glad he is ok. Mine is a single engine in an extremely small place an it would really be tough to be driving the boat and working on the engine at the same time. It would be difficult because I do all the driving and maintenance. Also there would be a big hole where I stand. There is no humanly way a person could fall against the belts . I have (hopefully) attached some pics to help explain the situation.
After reading the suggestions I decided to replace the guard primarily to help with controlling belt dust. I don’t think the plexiglass would work very well because of the dust. The wire mesh is a great idea.
I am going to see if I can come up with a fast and easy way to use my existing cover

 

[Divealot]

Awesome engine room! Could not understand how to download pics but will try agin later.

 

[Arc]

Seeing that lexan gave me an idea to make inspection plates on my existing covers.

 

[OldDan1943]

My advice, as inconvenient and time consuming to take off and put on, you will be safer to put it back on.

 

[Jeff F]

I removed mine before installing the motor in my old Mainship 34. The shield would have been less than six inches from the bulkhead. Not a place where you're going to be accidentally, and a pain to get off if necessary.

 

[ksanders]

I removed the belt covers from my 330 Cummins engines.

I have them at home and will install them if a survey requires them for my insurance. Then I will remove them again.

There is no reason to crawl around the front of my engines as I have access to the outboard sides.

The belt cover hides the belt, in my opinion creating a risk of failure due to a undetected deterioration of the belt.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I have 3208 T/A. Both have guards. I removed them. It took me almost an hour to remove one. Now insert nasty seas on open ocean and you have to access the belts. Trying to remove the guards now becomes a saftey issue.

I have established some new protocols. While engines are running and underway, you can open the ER door and look at the engines. If you enter the ER, engines are shut down.

 

[catalinajack]

From the MarineHowTo website.

I know we live in a world where lawyers are purportedly waiting around every corner to jump out and sue you into bankruptcy but, the Yanmar lawyers have taken this threat right over the top. The belt shields on newer Yanmars really do nothing but create problems dissipating heat from alternators. If you, as a boat owner, don’t know not to stick your hands into the belt of a running engine by now, perhaps you’ll want to consider a safer pastime. I hear*Trivial Pursuit*is pretty tame.
Balmar has lawyers too, and they advise*drilling out the belt guard for better air flow.*This can help but is really just a legal Band-Aid. Internal fan alternators draw cool air in from both the front and rear of the alternator and expel it out the center. Front fan alternators draw air in through the rear and expel it out the front. Belt guards like this do nothing but make it more difficult to have a cool running alternator.
In this image the alternator is sandwiched between a hot heat exchanger and the belt guard… It’s a darn good thing they installed an alternator temp sensor.
The choice to keep, drill or to remove your belt guard is 100% your decision. Please consider the safety risk carefully when or if you choose to remove it entirely.

 

[Group9]

In a previous boat, we were bringing it down the west coast from Washington to LA. We were in a heavy fog for about 24 hours. We were about 30 NM off San Francisco and needed to check the oil in the Detroits since they usually burned and or leaked about a gallon every 24 hours. One of the crew went down in the engine room to check the port engine first. So we were idling on the starboard engine in about 6’ waves, after a while I was getting concerned about Frank, he was the crew member checking the oil. I opened the door to the engine room and saw Frank backed over the starboard engine flailing about. There was a bit of smoke coming out by his back. I started yelling to shut down the starboard engine but the rather slow crew member that was at the helm began arguing with me since it was the only engine running. After I screamed at him and referred to his heritage he finally shut the engine down. The Detroits did not have a belt cover over the belt and alternator, or if it came with one some PO had thrown it away. After prying Frank off the engine we found that it had cut a slot in his sweatshirt and grabbed the T shirt under the sweatshirt and ripped the T shirt off him. The neck band and left sleeve were all that was left of the T shirt. His back had a strip of what looked like road rash on it. Fortunately he was not seriously hurt. It would have been fun doing a medical evacuation in the heavy fog, but it turned out it was not necessary. We then spent about 2 hours in the very hot engine room while the boat was rolling in the 6’ waves. No fun. Frank puked two times throughout the process. We finally got the T shirt out of the alternator and were able to proceed onto Monterey and arrived there about 4 AM.

So no I can not recommend that you remove the belt cover. Frank was not even working on the engine that sucked him in. He just backed up a bit and it grabbed him. In the end it worked out that everyone was ok, but it could have been much more serious. We did keep the remains of the T shirt and framed them. I presented the T shirt to him in front of about 600 auxiliarists at the district conference. So we were able to have a bit of fun with it.

I had taken the two belt covers off our Yanmar diesels shortly after buying our boat to make it easier to check, and adjust, belt tension before starting them, but you have just made me vow to myself to put them back on my next trip to the boat!

 

[jleonard]

When I repowered my old Mainship with a 6BTA I took the cover off before the engine was out of the back of my pickup. I never looked back.
Would do that again also.

 

[Lou_tribal]

One of the first thing I learned was not to wear anything loose or untight long hair anywhere near running machinery or flame, to be alert and concentrated on what you are doing. This is working better than any cover that can make operation even more hazardous in some case and it works with engines, saws and anything that could wreck you in pieces in a second.
I do not have cover on my engine, but when it is running and I need to open the hatch, I make sure to not be anywhere near the belts and to wear appropriate clothing.

L