Recent content by r-rossow

Racor has an aftermarket vacuum gauge that will fit into the T handle on top of the filter. The gauge will stick at its highest position so you not have to be in the ER to constantly monitor the vacuum. The gauge will tell you if the filter element is filling up or not. In my experience in SAR...

The same type of units are very popular over here, only transferring the heat the opposite way. They are primarily used for heating houses. Even with a single (inside) condenser, the installation will a give nice heating to the house, of course unless you close all doors. Mitsubushi are among...

I certainly hope to never dive the bow of Southern Promise into seas making our radar stop! The vessels I was refering to are in SAR operation. Spec RS 139 Uni Oslofjord (Google - translated)

The NavNet2 system I have been using has been super stable. It was installed in 2006 and has been used on average 1.000 hrs/10.000 nautical miles every year since the boat was launched. The only problem I have seen was on one of our boats were the system would shut itself off if we "torpedoed"...

More and more of us are installing AIS transponders in our boats. We have had one for 4 years now. Maybe MMSI number could be added as a vessel information field in the member profile to track forum member vessels? Maybe a direct link via MMSI number to marinetraffic.com or one of the other AIS...

I am on the verge of getting a set of Eartec COMSTAR units. Are you saying there will be new model(s) coming out?

I have a complete unit sitting in my garage ready to go. The great circle route from San Francisco to my garage will take you across Greenland though. 4500 nautical miles

The innards of my Furuno SC60 satellite compass. Battery is the shiny coin shaped unit on top. The battery is fixed in place with melting glue. To the left of the battery is the fluxgate compass (Backup in case of missing GPS coverage. Some of the fjords over here are lined with steep mountains...

Ditto. Observed the same behaviour on my previous boat. Perkins 6.354 with sea water cooled exhaust manifold. Engines were 40 - 50 years old. One with original Perkins manifold, one with custom made manifold.

We have SC50s installed in fleet of 40ish something high speed vessels. They are really good stuff. In one of our boats that was launched in 2006, I know for sure the internal battery has not been replaced since the SC50 was installed 8 years ago. Maybe the longevity of the battery is caused...

Be aware! Base engines were made by VM Motori in Italy. I do not know how they behaved as car engines. As BMW marine engines they have a reputation of having an inferior cooling system. Base engine has a cast iron block with aluminum heads that will fail when heat stressed. I have a friend...

Are you able to access Volvo Penta parts and accessories - MarinePartsEurope.com? This is the official Volvo Penta EU Parts Store If not, please post parts numbers and I will check and post EU prices. VP will not let me access the US Parts Store (Volvo Penta Marine Engine Parts and Accessories...

And you guys think Volvo parts are expensive? When searching for a new boat some years ago, any boat offered with Cummins or Cat had a big minus to them. They are perceived over here to come with astronomically high parts costs. Parts are also much harder to come by locally. It seems like not...

The output flange on my port engine broke loose as the center bolt give in of metal fatigue stress (misaligned shaft). When the flange was pulled out all oil in the gearbox emptied itself into the bilge. This happened on our way into a narrow tidal lock in Holland. Ouch! This was on the 1800 nm...

Where did you get use almost a barrel of the stuff? I mix 4 - 5 gallons of 30 - 50 % of antifreeze. This is for 2 mains, 1 generator, 2 shower sumps, 3 sink drains and 1 dish washer. Installed a new dish washer last summer. Blew the fresh washer intake with compressed air as I did with the...