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If oil changes are a once-a-year thing that you pay a mechanic to do, skip the Reverso. If you'll be using the boat a lot or will be doing oil changes yourself, get the Reverso.

I used the portable pump-on-top-of-a-bucket on my old boat. It worked but was a bit of a hassle. The hose that goes into the dipstick gets really messy and pouring oil out of the bucket with the pump mounted on top is awkward. The current boat has an oil change pump plumbed into all the machinery and it is faster and way cleaner to use.
 
I too had a conversation with Scott on this, quite some months ago. I understood his perspective, and agreed with it, and hence a Reverso isn't currently in my order. It is merely a judgement call on what a small bit of incremental ease is worth to you. Everyone can have their own view and everyone can be right, for them.

What I am looking for is a third option.

The Reverso is certainly the easy way out.

The 3.5 gallon buckets with pump on top is in one sense easy. Click on the buy button from any of a number of online shops and wait for the delivery. But as was pointed out, a 3.5 gallon solution isn't the best option for an engine with 4 gallons of oil, as was pointed out.

So I'm looking for a third option, and maybe someone has it. I have yet to do the search here but seem to recall a discussion on this. One can simply purchase a pump and bolt it to the lid of a larger bucket. What I think might work better is to buy a pump, and run the outlet hose into a 5 gallon jug. One might want to bolt the pump to a bit of plywood for stability from vibration. Any thoughts?

(My working assumption is the hand pumps would take quite a bit of time and energy to pump 4 gallons of oil via a small dipstick tube and would not be the way to go. Am I correct?)
 
A lot of good points on why to go with the Reverso. Certainly see the advantages of the technology. I would suggest that for the gennie and the transmission, it isn’t necessary but a nice to have. The pump and bucket I have is from West Marine. It is slow. But pouring the used oil out isn’t a problem. The pump is built in to the side of the container and it is no problem to drain. I usually schedule other maintenance while I am changing the oil. If, after changing the oil a couple of times, it is an irritation, I may change my mind and install one for the engine.

The way I look at it is the Reverso is another system to maintain. When I reviewed comments about the Reverso, I read about pump failures, impeller issues (may be a different term, it has been a few months ago) and other complaints. I am certain that the vast majority work well for years with no problem.

One of the things I like about the Helmsman is that it is built with as little complexity as possible. I dealt with a lot of complexity in the Carver I owned, and sold it due to the necessity of dealing with one system or another failing. Part of that has to do with the track record of marine service in the area. Without going into the details, I had the boat in for repairs/service for 10 different components. Eight of the ten were either repaired incorrectly or not at all. Two of the problems not corrected were possibly life threatening, while others eliminated use of the boat for stretches of time up to three to four months, while I learned about the component, the failures, and the proper repairs for it. This, after having spent multiple boat bucks to others to fix.

I want to learn the boat and understand all of the systems that come with it. That will take a while, though much less than it took for the Carver. Once I do, I will re-investigate the Reverso, and other systems. So, that long winded explanation is where my perspective comes from. Personal perspective, and I certainly appreciate others’ perspectives, and fully realize that I may wish I went with the Reverso during the build. If I do, I will install one myself. One of the advantages of retirement. :)
 
The biggest engine I've used one of the vacuum extractors on holds about 2 gallons of oil (I've got one that holds about 9 quarts in the garage at home). With the oil warm, draining 4 gallons that way wouldn't be terrible in terms of effort, but it would definitely take some time, including stopping to empty the extractor half way through.
 
rslifkin said:
The biggest engine I've used one of the vacuum extractors on holds about 2 gallons of oil (I've got one that holds about 9 quarts in the garage at home). With the oil warm, draining 4 gallons that way wouldn't be terrible in terms of effort, but it would definitely take some time, including stopping to empty the extractor half way through.
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Thanks for this. Honestly, that doesn't sound like much of a hardship at all.
 
For a cruiser, I'm not sure the frequency of oil changes is as big an issue as the location. If all was at your home dock, then no big deal. However, much of it is hundreds of miles away when in the middle of a wonderful seasonal cruise and all the conveniences of home are not readily accessible.
 
Another bonus of the Reverso is that they are hard-mounted in place. You don’t have separate pumps, hoses, etc to find a place to store, clean and put away after use. You use the system, cap the hose end, and forget it until next oil change.

I consider it a plus anytime I can reduce the amount of “stuff” that I have to organize and store.
 
BandB said:
For a cruiser, I'm not sure the frequency of oil changes is as big an issue as the location. If all was at your home dock, then no big deal. However, much of it is hundreds of miles away when in the middle of a wonderful seasonal cruise and all the conveniences of home are not readily accessible.
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Good point. My cruising in an earlier life was limited to a week or two on a sailboat, in vacations during work years. However, since the Cummins QSB replacement cycle is 500 hours I should think one could plan ahead for a maintenance day and find the right spot. As I recall, the Volvo's have a 100 hour cycle, and your point could certainly become a bigger issue.
 
Here’s a video showing oil changes on a Nordhavn 43. The owners bought it with a Reverso system that wasn’t plumbed to the wing engine. They show using the Reverso to drain and fill the main engine. They also show hand pumping the wing engine and pouring from the manual extractor. That’s what I want to avoid.
https://youtu.be/n0Dfsw3_Xn4

I have found several small pumps with mixed reviews. If getting the hose to the lowest level of the sump through the dipstick tube is possible, this might be the way to go.

I like the idea of extracting to a narrow neck jug with a handle and a secure cap. A small portable pump would allow extracting to any type of container or multiple smaller containers.
 
BandB said:
Oh my.....amortization? Did you inform Scott that the amortization on a boat regardless of use never pays for itself? Seriously, Reverso isn't a financial decision. It's a comfort and work ease decision. I think Scott is the best, but this logic doesn't make it.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. Besides on a new boat build I gotta believe it's in the noise.
 
My 2020 Helmsman with a Cummins QSB6.7 came from the factory with a short blue hose whip attached to the oil drain on the bottom of the engine. With a threaded adapter my Jabsco portable oil changer hose attaches directly to the Cummins hose whip. It pumps all the oil out in several minutes. The pump has a forward and reverse switch. I pump the oil into the portable oil change bucket then reverse it to pump into a 5 gallon container to take to the recycle station. Seaboard Marine sells a similar whip for the ZF transmission which I going to install this year. My first attempt at an oil change was with my old vacuum extractor through the dip stick, using the hose whip is much faster and easier.
 
I see this is your first post here. Welcome aboard.

Just what pump gear are you using? The pump mounted on a bucket?
 
While I wanted to install a Reverso system there just wasn't a great place in our engine room to mount it (and they are kind of expense for what they are).

So, I purchase a pump and mounted it in a toolbox for a portable oil pump system. We have hydraulic quick connects to engine, generator and transmissions to make connecting and disconnecting the system easy and relatively clean.

Use a couple large 5 gallon+ containers with an interchangeable lid for the output.

All-in-all it has worked out very nicely (but a mounted system would be a bit easier to use, as the portable system is always in the way :socool:)
 

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Because I want to minimize the handling of waste oil on the boat and want to make sure the engine, transmission and generator are drained completely, I have asked Scott to add the Reverso system. I have spoken with another 38E owner who has one and my brother-in-law who has one on his Hatteras 48LRC. They both swear by them. My brother-in-law is a marine mechanic/electrician and we have gotten a lot of good advice from him.
 
GMS said:
While I wanted to install a Reverso system there just wasn't a great place in our engine room to mount it (and they are kind of expense for what they are).

So, I purchase a pump and mounted it in a toolbox for a portable oil pump system. We have hydraulic quick connects to engine, generator and transmissions to make connecting and disconnecting the system easy and relatively clean.

Use a couple large 5 gallon+ containers with an interchangeable lid for the output.

All-in-all it has worked out very nicely (but a mounted system would be a bit easier to use, as the portable system is always in the way :socool:)
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Nice solution. I like the fact that it is portable and yet it is contained.
 
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Doug_Snider said:
Because I want to minimize the handling of waste oil on the boat and want to make sure the engine, transmission and generator are drained completely, I have asked Scott to add the Reverso system. I have spoken with another 38E owner who has one and my brother-in-law who has one on his Hatteras 48LRC. They both swear by them. My brother-in-law is a marine mechanic/electrician and we have gotten a lot of good advice from him.
Click to expand...

Doug, I don’t think you can go wrong either way. It will certainly be convenient to have on hand and will make the job easier. I may end up with one, but think I might look into Rusty’s solution first. I think it will work better than the WM pump and container I currently use.
 
Curious about approx cost added to the build of a new boat for Reverso or similar system. Can someone provide that for context?
 
Doug_Snider said:
Because I want to minimize the handling of waste oil on the boat and want to make sure the engine, transmission and generator are drained completely, I have asked Scott to add the Reverso system. I have spoken with another 38E owner who has one and my brother-in-law who has one on his Hatteras 48LRC. They both swear by them. My brother-in-law is a marine mechanic/electrician and we have gotten a lot of good advice from him.
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I think this is the way to go, and think you are smart to plumb ALL the equipment to it, not just some. So engine, gearbox, and generator.
 
newt said:
For both my boats, total cost was about $2K(installed).

Newt
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Thanks Newt. That's actually cheaper than I thought. Which is why I am questioning whether an extra 2K cost on a new build is worth debating. In fact, for those who don't do their own maintenance, or maybe can't or choose not to at some point in the furture, the payback should be pretty quick in less professional hours required for fluid changes. And even if you always do your own maintenance, I would think it's worth it for anything that makes that quicker and easier. It's also an extra feature at resale.
 
That calculus was a little different for me. If I didn't have it, I'd probably pay someone else out of laziness. I work a LOT. So if I can minimize the work, and do it super fast, then it's worth it to me. So the difference for me is really: Pay someone else, or do it myself with minimum fuss. This thing'll pay for itself in about 3 years that way.
 
Labor cost is a big item but these days the availability of labor is a bigger issue. As retirees, our plan is to do as much maintenance ourselves as we can and let the pros do anything we might screw up. The good thing about a nice boat is that even time working on it is quality time. We have the added benefit of a slip within walking distance of our house.
 
Doug_Snider said:
Labor cost is a big item but these days the availability of labor is a bigger issue. As retirees, our plan is to do as much maintenance ourselves as we can and let the pros do anything we might screw up. The good thing about a nice boat is that even time working on it is quality time. We have the added benefit of a slip within walking distance of our house.
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yeah, fair point. In fact, the boat will be my retirement work. I'm so high-energy that I know that I'll go crazy at retirement. Our plan is to go liveaboard and the boat will be my "last job."
 
Even if you like working on your boat, why not make it easier? Would you wax the hull by hand instead of a buffer because it's more fun? Would you rather clean your nonskid with a toothbrush instead of a deck brush or even a powered brush? I get it, there is some satisfaction out of caring for your boat, but I'd still prefer the tasks to be shorter and easier to accomplish and spend more time enjoying the boat than working on it.
 
Doug_Snider said:
Labor cost is a big item but these days the availability of labor is a bigger issue. As retirees, our plan is to do as much maintenance ourselves as we can and let the pros do anything we might screw up. The good thing about a nice boat is that even time working on it is quality time. We have the added benefit of a slip within walking distance of our house.
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Smart approach. The lack of qualified marine service people was a significant factor in deciding to go with a new, well built boat. I have gotten to the point where I don’t trust anyone when it comes to doing work on my boats. I find that doing the work myself is entertaining.

Well, there is one exception. He decided to move on from marine work because of the unreasonable demands from boat owners. Good friend of mine and a diesel guru, so hopefully he can be persuaded for the “heavy lifting” work.
 
One of the decisions we made for the boat was to go without the wood blinds. My wife wants to offset the teak and holly with Roman shades. We have just begun looking at them. Does anyone have suggestions for finding Roman shades for boats/RV’s? I am not sure if there is a place that makes them specifically for boats.

We may order some through one of the retail home stores, or may have them custom made if we can’t find what we are looking for.
 
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