Psi setting in steering hynautic reservoir please

[puncta2000]

During the sea trials a couple of months back ( I was not on the boat due to unforeseen circumstances), the broker lost all steering and managed to get the boat to the dock using the B & S thrusters.

Once he got to the dock, he added 15psi in the reservoir and got steering right away. The surveyor indicated that pressure should be between 25-35psi.

I got around to checking the system and found the reservoir to be too full, so using a turkey Baster, I took some fluid out and added air up to 30psi.

The original Hynautic manual initially describes that I have a system the needs 20Psi, as you read on it does mention setting the pressure between 40-50psi.

The boat has only one helm.. I did not try bleeding the air procedure as it appeared to not behave like there is air in the system.

Any thoughts or input would be much appreciated.

Thank you

[Turtle Blues]

My system manual says 3/4 full with fluid and fill to 40 / 50 psi. System likes to stay at 30 psi so I don't try to keep it higher. Know it works down to about 15 psi without issue.

[Bycrick]

I had a Hynautic system 20 years ago, so this is from old, maybe broken, memory. I kept the pressure at 15-20 PSI. Another similar system, both on single-helm sailboats has been running for years at about that pressure. IIRC the manual talks about more pressure if you have helm stations at higher elevations. The pressure was apparently used to make sure that fluid was pushed up to the highest helm station. Having the reservoir half full of air, I would guess, is to insure that there is enough air to push all of the oil the full distance without the pressure dropping too much.

At a distance, which is not the best way to diagnose things, I’d think that carefully bleeding the system according to the Hynautic book will resolve the loss-of-steering problem. That’s also a good time to check for leaks.

[rslifkin]

Mine mentions 40 - 50 PSI while doing the system bleeding procedure. After that, reservoir should be above the minimum mark but no more than 3/4 full. And 25 - 35 psi is normal.

[skipgundlach]

We keep ours at 30#...

[Seighlor]

The label on my system recommends 30 to 35 PSI. I keep a bicycle pump on board and try to keep it within that range. It does leak down but very slowly.

[waterman46]

I keep the Hynautics at 20 to 30 psi as recommended in the owners manual for my boat, with reservoir half full and almost never have to add air or fluid, definitely less than once per year. The boat was built in 1983.

[GoneIsland]

Manual states 25 to 35 operating psi. That’s what I go with.
John
Boatingmadeez.com

[GeneM]

If I remember, mine says 30 psi. I don't have the manual with me.

My reservoir has two windows. The bottom one is flooded. The top one is partially flooded when full of fluid.

I use automatic transmission fluid, which is slightly thick and makes for a little resistance at the wheel. I hear that power steering fluid is better, but much more expensive.

I did a repair once, and had no difficulty bleeding. Just go hard left and hard right a bunch of times. If there was an air bubble, it either went away or was not significant.