Convert to Freshwater Cooled ?

[Sailorman375]

I've got an '84 Universal 5411 raw water cooled engine that was recently rebuilt. Is it possible to conver to fresh water cooling? If so is this a costly upgrade? Are there model specific parts available?

[Bergovoy]

how are marine motors 'fresh water cooled'? is it a radiator system? with fans and cool air ventilation...where is the radiator mounted?

[atoll]

normally acheived by heat exchanger,oil cooler,exhaust manifold and coolant reservoir then impellor pump for salt water in jecting in to the exhaust running parrelel to the conventionall fresh water/antifreeze engine circulation cooling system,no radiator nessecary.
except in air cooled engins,these have a salt water radiator to cool the air.

bergovoy,lots of info available on marine engines on the net

[Bergovoy]

ahh, the heat exchanger... got it... i guess without the radioator and air flow for it, you would need to cool the engine water system...

how hard or expensive is it to swap out the heat exchnager on these engines...

and yes, i know ther eis all kinds of info all over the place, including here.. i figured i would ask here then go looking as necessary..

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Bergovoy

ahh, the heat exchanger... got it... i guess without the radioator and air flow for it, you would need to cool the engine water system...

how hard or expensive is it to swap out the heat exchnager on these engines...

and yes, i know ther eis all kinds of info all over the place, including here.. i figured i would ask here then go looking as necessary..

bergavoy, see these guys have used them alll over the world for various marine engine repairs and conversions.
very helpful and will air freignt to timbuktoo if nessacary,though it helps if the engine is one of the more common industrial engines ie ford ,new holland,etc....
Welcome to Lancing Marine andhttp://www.lancingmarine.com/Guide_to_DIY_marinisation.pdf

[James S]

What about adapting a keel cooler?

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by Sailorman375

I've got an '84 Universal 5411 raw water cooled engine that was recently rebuilt. Is it possible to conver to fresh water cooling? If so is this a costly upgrade? Are there model specific parts available?

Try here.http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ion-36861.html

or Google with "Universal 5411 closed cooling water system", not really called fresh water cooling.

[atoll]

would recomend old adage"if it ain't broke don't fix it"

keel cooling can work but you need to get your sums right, and on a 28 ft boat will create a lot of drag.

have included a few photos of a maranised 75 hp toyota on one of my boats,a 50 ft ferro,the boat i bought for a dollar then sailed it 5000 miles so dont laugh, "you pays ya penny ya gets ya ride"

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by atoll

have included a few photos of a maranised 75 hp toyota on one of my boats,a 50 ft ferro,the boat i bought for a dollar then sailed it 5000 miles so dont laugh, "you pays ya penny ya gets ya ride"

So please be clear. You paid a dollar, and if we pay a penny we get to laugh? Or sail with you for 5000 miles?

Seriously, I love a story like that.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

Something tells me that the guy who did the Toyota conversion wasn't thinking about your dollar when he spent the money for the cooling system.

[atoll]

the laugh part was about the shiny engine room installation........

/dollar part was for getting title on a holed sunken yacht.............from some one that had had enough

the penny ride,5000 miles was just for fun,engine ran great alll the way up the red sea into 30 kt headwinds

[Minggat]

Yeah, I got that. Still a good story. Nice pics too. Which shot is of the wreck??

30 kts headwinds sounds like good reason for going for a little bigger engine.

[atoll]

OIY !!!!cheeky thats the motley crew and skipper on the left...............wreck on right,mind you by the end of the voyage it could have been the other way round,,,one tries to remember the good bits..........

[Brent Swain]

What kind of boat? What hull material?

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by James S

What about adapting a keel cooler?

A keel cooler usually is the "heat exchanger" part of a freshwater system, the "freshwater" being coolant, like Dex, in a closed circuit that simply runs along the keel in big U-shaped runs.

While it's certainly effective, keel cooling has struck me as vulnerable. Here on Lake Ontario, I've actually only seen it once. The British used it commonly back in the day.

[Sailorman375]

Boat is an O'day 28 Fiberglass Hull