typical spring questions;roller furling, hot water heater, life of Glassmat batt

[crieders]

I am embarrassed to ask some of these questions, but everyone is always so helpful on this site that I will simply go ahead and ask away:

1.            My roller furling furls the sail counterclockwise with the UV cover on the port side of the boat.  Unfortunately, this results in the window of the hark and roller being almost perpendicular to the port side and therefore an unacceptable angle on the reefing line.  However, I did move the "window" so that it faces more towards the port/stern.  This is a decided improvement, but I wonder if, in such a circumstance, I should move the window over to the starboard side and bring the reefing line on that side of the boat.

2.            Hot water heater.  I installed a new Atwood 6-gallon hot water heater two years ago.  I get no hot water whatsoever.  Yes, I have checked the lines to make sure that water is flowing freely through.  I also have a photograph as to my setup, which I assume is fairly typical in this Universal 25 MXP.  The lines into the tank do not get hot, even when I run the engine for 45 minutes, and I wonder if it is possible that somehow the water is not getting through, but the engine otherwise is running fine and is staying at its correct temperature?  I am not sure what to test next.

3.            I have a Glassmat battery and the engine is reluctant to turn over.  What is the life of those?  I would suspect mine is probably in there 4 or 5 seasons now.  It is sealed and no way really to test it.  Do you think it is ready to be replaced?  What is the latest technology people are using for a starting battery?  Mine is a size 27.

[Ken Juul]

1.  The only way to find out if moving to the stbd side will be better is to try it.  I would move the window and remove the line from the guide rollers.  Before moving the guide rollers try it.  If better move the guides, if not keep on the port side.  

2.  You said there was flow through the water heater.  But is the water leaving and returning to the engine?  Remove the line attached to the thermostat.  Elevate the hose to above the engine and poor some water/antifreeze mix into hose.  If the hose accepts and drains the water then the water pump end is clear.  Put a short piece of water heater tubing onto the thermostat outlet, run it to a bucket.  Start the engine and see if you get flow.  You may have to wait for the thermostat to open, can't tell from the picture.  When you ran your engine did the guage get to 160°?  Did you feel the line to the heat exchanger getting warm?  Your picture looks slightly different than my engine.  I know I don't get hot coolant flowing until the thermostat opens on mine.

3.  Before giving up on the battery, check all your connections.  They need to be tight and clean.  Don't forget the "master" ground on the back of the engine.  If they all look good, take your battery to any auto parts store, ask for a load test.  That is the easiest way to check battery condition.

[Ron Hill]

Cliff : 1. Sorry, but I don't understand your terminology "window of the hark"???   If you are talking about the roller furling line? it must be 90 degrees to the drum or it will wind into the furling drum on the top or the bottom and jam things up.  
2. I do believe that if I installed a new water heater and it didn't heat, I'd be worried and ask questions on DAY two not Year two.  Do as Ken suggested or remove both heater lines and blow thru them to make sure the complete system is clear - then refill one line with coolant until it flow out the other - then reconnect to the thermostat and water pump.
3. I believe that you have a AGM or Absorbed Glass Mat battery.  Only a load test will really tell you it's condition.  If the battery still won't crank the starter, the most likely problem is in one of the wire connections from the battery, battery selector switch, to the starter solenoid is bad.
4. AGM batteries usually have a 5 year warrentee rather than a 4 year like other batteries.

[crieders]

But if the water is not being circulated wouldn't engine overheat? Its runs very nicely at 160 degrees

[Stu Jackson]

Cliff, I thought you'd asked this hot water heater question a few weeks ago:  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5649.0.html  If the heating hot water, i.e., freshwater coolant, the stuff with the antifreeze in it, IS running, and you have no engine over heating then either there's something wrong with the Attwood heater or the hoses from the engine are not connected to the hot water heater.  Did you install the new heater yourself?

[jmnpe]

Cliff,

The coolant running through the water heater is not related to engine cooling fundamentally. The coolant flow path through the water heater is in parallel with the primary heat exchanger coolant flow, so complete blockage of the water heater flow path would have no long term effect on engine temperature. If the engine is up to a normal temperature and the water heater flow lines are cold, the is no coolant flow through the water heater loop, and you almost certainly have either a plugged flow path through the water heater loop, or you have an airlock in the water heater flow loop ( i.e. - see "burped" discussion).

John

[crieders]

they do get nice and hot and yet the water is cool!

[jmnpe]

Hi Cliff,

Now you have me confused  In your initial posting, you said that "The lines into the tank do not get hot, even when I run the engine for 45 minutes..." In your current post, you say "they do get nice and hot and yet the water is cool!" and I assume by "they" you means the engine coolant lines going into the water heater.... What am I not understanding here??? It can't be both ways.

Could you post a picture of the front of the water heater where the engine coolant lines and fresh water lines are attached, and also provide the full model number of the Atwood water heater? Maybe I/we can glean something in the "what am I missing here" category 

On your original starting battery question, what is the brand and model number of your present battery? There are now many different varieties of AGM ( i.e. - "glassmat" ) batteries out there, and some of them are much better than others. The useful life of an AGM battery in starting applications is a function of both the original quality of the battery AND the consistency of proper charging of the battery in your installation.

I have some Lifeline AGM batteries that have been in starting applications for 6 to 8 years that are still performing very well. Of course they are a premium AGM battery, and they have been properly cared for their entire lives.

It is hard to generalize about battery life based only upon the generic battery chemistry differences. The only way to get an objective assessment of your battery's current status is to fully charge it properly and then have a properly performed load test conducted on the battery. A comparison of the current performance and the published new performance specs of the battery will then give you a good idea of what shape your battery is in.

Regards,

John

[Ron Hill]

Cliff : Somehow the coolant is NOT going thru the water heater and is bypassing those water heater hose connections inside the thermostate housing!?!  Exactly how, I'm not sure - but that's what's happening.
The reason for burping the air out of the water heater hoses is that the air forms a blockage and prevents the coolant from flowing causing the engine to over heat.

[crieders]

Its the 6 gallon Atwood. I will have to check the model number. Only 2 years old. The hoses going into the unit, at the bottom, get hot when engine reaches 160 but the water that comes out of the faucets is cold. A mechanic who looked at it for me last year swears that he ran antifreeze from the engine through the heating lines.
I will have to check battery brand but I thought I purchased Lifelines, 3 27's; two house and one starting.

[horsemel]

Tried replacing the water heater this weekend.  Got out the old one with no problem.  Got the hose off with no problem.  Went to buy hoses  BIG PROBLEM!!  My chandler did not reorder any after selling all his 5/8" last week! (I called last Monday and was told it was not a problem.  I went to every possible source on Saturday and nobody had it except one guy and he was 2' short (no jokes please).  I have also been to every possible place in my town as well. Called the chandler today to make sure he has it so I can get it Friday and all I could get was voice mail.  The hardest part of this project is going to be getting the d%$#*^d hose!
Mark Mueller

[pjcomeau]

Cliff,

I hope you don't take offense to this question. Are you sure the fresh water lines are running in and out of the tank.

When I got my boat, I found wiring problems with water tank, so I did not use AC part of heating. Then I wondered why I was not getting hot water after hours of motoring on first couple of trips. That is when I realized the hot water tank was being completely bypassed (leaky, so replaced it with matching seaward). You installed yours, so this should not be that case, but since, like me you are feeling hot hoses going/coming in/out of tank, but no hot water, I thought I'd ask.

Just a thought.

[jmnpe]

Hi Mark,

You can get 5/8" heater hose at most any automotive parts store. O'Reilly sells 5/8" Gates home for about $.89 / ft. Some may argue that you really need to use wire reinforced hose, but I personally haven't had any problem with good quality cloth reinforced types.

John

[horsemel]

John, I went to three auto stores, include NAPA and none had anything.  Apparently 5/8 is not used much.  Anyway, my chandler called today and promised the hose would be there tomorrow and he is holding it for me.  I think there should be a corollary to Murphy's Law that says the difficulty of a job is exponentially increased by the amount of time it takes to get everything together to do the job.
Mark Mueller

[Ron Hill]

Mark : Call around and if an auto store stocks Gates products they should stock 5/8" heater hose.  I had no problem locating 5/8" nylon reinforced heater hose last year when I installed my new engine.  

If nothing else, get the expensive wire reinforced 5/8" at West Marine.  A thought