heating hot water with engine

[Andrew Troup]

Yanmar specifically advise against extended running at low load/revs. They say if you have to do this, at least run the engine up to the speed at which maximum power is rated for a short period, several times each hour.

One problem with light-load running is that, because diesel engines have no throttle, they cannot modulate the amount of air ingested at low loads to match the fuel delivered.

This results in very far from optimal combustion, with rapid buildup of carbon in the exhaust manifold and particularly in the exhaust elbow, at the zone where the cooling water is injected, the sudden temperature drop causing the carbon to drop out of the low-velocity exhaust stream.

Carbon, being the one non-metal which conspicuously appears in the galvanic series (in an undesirably noble location), tends to rot even a stainless elbow from the inside.

Once there are pinholes, the salt water seeps in (even in a fresh-water cooled engine, the water injected at the elbow is salt water), and a corrosive atmosphere gradually spreads back towards the exhaust valves as the holes get bigger.

And no good comes of that, together with the increased back pressure and poor breathing, from the elbow becoming increasingly choked up with carbon.

Many sailboat auxiliary engines suffer from some variation of this syndrome, because they often run for short periods and do not reach running temperature (which has similar problems), so the problems arising from charging duties may not be as obvious from anecdotal info as would otherwise be the case.

[Ketchgould]

I will someday get a hot water exchanger but in the meantime could I put a t in the cooling lines on my gas engine and then run a flexible hose to fill a few times a year our cockpit for a bath, etc. We have a tiller and I glassed the footwell for such a purpose?

Will the muffler overheat?

[dennismenace111]

Here in South Florida we use a HOME MADE REDNECK shower for hot water showers... its a garden sprayer, painted black. Take the spray wand off and replace with a sink sprayer... hang it in the sun for an hour, pump it up and youve got 2 1/2 gallons of really hot water to wash with.

[Pegu Club]

The thread title reminds me of a George Carlin bit, What does hot water need with heating ? It’s a cold water heater.....

Fair winds,