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Old 21-06-2015, 13:23   #16
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

This is different than my previous post. My wife and I cruised Baja for 4 years, 2005 to 2009. Being that we were in Mexico and obtaining parts was problematical, we had a lot of spare parts. And we replaced a motor, a Perkins 4-108 that I had used soy diesel in and leaked horribly. The mechanic that did the work (Bob Buchannon) didn't want the old engine and said that we could take what we wanted off it. So, except for the block, head, pistons, rods, drive shaft, oil pan, and valve cover, we took about everything else. Now that I'm not cruising and don't see any in the future I'd like to sell (hopefully) or otherwise get rid of my spares. Is this forum the proper place to list what I have, and it is a LONG list?
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Old 21-06-2015, 16:03   #17
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

Sam,

Put it in the Classifieds.

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Old 21-06-2015, 23:20   #18
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

As a cruiser I've continued to follow the same policy as we used to have when offshore racing: no new spares on the boat. Run everything to about 80% of its service life then replace it and keep it as the spare. That's the only way to guarantee the spare fits and is ready for instant service.
If the boat hasn't seen much use then replace things like belts, hoses and impellers way before their use by date and keep the old ones as the spares.
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Old 22-06-2015, 00:13   #19
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

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Originally Posted by Kiwi. View Post
As a cruiser I've continued to follow the same policy as we used to have when offshore racing: no new spares on the boat. Run everything to about 80% of its service life then replace it and keep it as the spare. That's the only way to guarantee the spare fits and is ready for instant service.
If the boat hasn't seen much use then replace things like belts, hoses and impellers way before their use by date and keep the old ones as the spares.
That makes a lot of sense for parts which turn over frequently. But I'm not sure that it's such a good idea with regard to parts which are likely to time out besides wear out. I would certainly never rely on old belts, hoses, and impellers -- the OP's question. Much better to have fresh ones, well stored. There are other ways to verify that they fit, other than by taking them off near the end of their lives.
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Old 22-06-2015, 01:29   #20
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

I agree, toss the old stuff. From a lineman who works for our local power company they would never trust their lives to any rubber gloves that looked suspicious. Ozone eats the rubber even the new gloves stored on a shelf. They would do a visual inspection then pressure test them with air and soapy water.


I took this bit of wisdom and toss all old impellers, belts, etc. that look suspicious. I don't save old stuff to use when the new stuff breaks, like impellers. I've read many post that use this kind of logic. Why use an old impeller that was removed to keep for an emergency?


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Old 22-06-2015, 02:04   #21
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

As has been mentioned rubber hoses and parts have a manufacturers recommended shelf life of about 5 years, but that is presumably to allow a decent service life after they are put into use. The actual life in service is dependent use: on heat, contaminant exposure and stress. So hot fuel hoses under pressure wil not last long at all. 5 years from the factory only, with max 1 year fresh hose. This is the compulsory change frequency on aircraft hoses. I have pulled off cracked 6 year old hoses and had 'o' rings of that age crumble in my fingers. They don't make it up to get you to give them more money.
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Old 22-06-2015, 02:46   #22
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

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Originally Posted by GordMay View Post
The recommended shelf life generally associated with products fabricated from various polymers is listed below and is based on information provided in MIL-HDBK-695D Military Standardization Handbook Rubber Products: Recommended Shelf Life. These numbers represent average shelf life under normal dry/cool storage conditions and should be used for guidance purposes only. Shelf life varies depending on product specifications and compound design.

Common or Trade Name Recommended Shelf Life
Silicone 20 years
Viton®, Fluorel 20 years
Neoprene 5-10 years
EPDM 5-10 years
Butyl 5-10 years
Nitrile, NBR 5-10 years
SBR 3-5 years
Natural Rubber, Pure Gum 3-5 year

See also Technical Reference Bulletin - Rubber Shelf Life
http://www.cmrubber.com/pdf/rubber_shelf_life.pdf

And ➥ http://www.emtengineering.com/wp-con...Shelf-Life.pdf
Thanks Gord, most helpful
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Old 22-06-2015, 03:11   #23
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

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Originally Posted by hellosailor View Post
"What is the shelf life of common engine spares? "
What is the length of a piece of string?
You have to ask what each spare is made of, and how that material ages, and what the environmental factors are.


For instance, "rubber" parts may be silicon, butyl, Viton, all kinds of materials that age differently. I've seen the "rubber" straps on swim fins crack and rot in ten years, whole others have gone 20 without any sign of age. The ones that went 20? Were fed ArmorAll once in a while (which replaces plasticizers that normally gas off, and blocks oxygen absorbtion) and similarly, I've dusted other "rubber" parts with ordinary talc, which apparently prevents oxygen damage just as well.

The folks who make your belts, hoses, and engine mounts (Gates, Goodyear, Firestone, all of them) say to replace at five years, used or not used, because the materials WILL break down in that time. So the 12-year-old impeller? I'd toss it now, they are not designed or packaged to stay flexible and strong for that long. Then I'd take the 2 year old and apply some protection, and seal it up to keep more air out. I'd bet the newer one is significantly more flexible and springy when you compress the blades.


Distribution? You can only guess from the condition of the packaging, and the likely turnover at that supplier.

Air filter? Is it foam, cloth, or paper? Foams tend to be chemically bubbled in "rubbers" and often have cheap chemicals that eventually burn or melt the foam without any extra help. If it is crumbly or gummy, throw it out. Otherwise, clean cool dry storage is all you can do. Cloth doesn't have that problem (there are some made of cotton fibers over a metal matrix) and paper generally is cheap enough to make so that it also is stable.

" I am thinking the 12 year old belts will be reasonably safe to use if required as the original belts in service are still quite good." Nuh-uh. The folks who make them say otherwise, as above. Talc the spares, seal against air, and then they won't age as badly. Untreated? They're pat their designed lifetime already.

"The fuel filters (in original packing) should be fine - I assume!!!!"
Probably. Paper over a metal matrix, so that's relatively stable.

Some stuff has a shelf life of "forever". Some can be extended. The rest? Like fresh produce, it doesn't matter what you do, it rots as it sits there. Nothing you can do about that.
Most of this sounds reasonable but my real word experience of belts contradicts the manufacturers advice you cited, at least for V belts. 45 years of driving and always doing my own maintenance, I've yet to have one break and many had 10+ years of service under very hot and dusty conditions. I only change them out when they show small cracking on the inside surface or excess edge wear. Their operating conditions are far more severve that my boat engine and are usually under higher loads.

Toothed cam belts are a different story, I change them religiously. I've had one break but that almost intentional. It was an older Subaru with two cam belts and the engine was designed so that the pistons could not foul the valves in any possible way. So I drove it until one belt finally broke. Limped home on the other two clyinders IIRC, it failed around 120% of it's stated service life which seemed a bit close for comfort especially for other engines where a failed cam belt can catastrophic.
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Old 22-06-2015, 04:06   #24
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) states in RMA Bulletin IP-3-4, that the quality of a belt will not change significantly within seven - eight years of proper storage.

See ➥ http://www.emersonindustrial.com/en-...Form_9418E.pdf

Page 45 ➥ http://www.gatesaustralia.com.au/~/m...OPE%202009.pdf
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Old 22-06-2015, 04:12   #25
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

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Originally Posted by Dockhead View Post
That makes a lot of sense for parts which turn over frequently. But I'm not sure that it's such a good idea with regard to parts which are likely to time out besides wear out. I would certainly never rely on old belts, hoses, and impellers -- the OP's question. Much better to have fresh ones, well stored. There are other ways to verify that they fit, other than by taking them off near the end of their lives.
And it also needs a definition of "spares", which was the OP's question. If "spares" means a part that you are going to use, when your old part reaches its use-by-date, then why are you carrying that "spare" for years at all? I find that for my programmed servicing, I get those "spares" delivered all over the world, with only a few months notice. The "spares" I thought the OP was talking about were the spares that you need when something breaks miles from no-where. Then the spare that fits and still has 20% plus of its working life left is the best and cheapest option. Everything the OP mention should have been replaced by the new "spare" in the time frame quoted.
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Old 22-06-2015, 04:53   #26
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

So how many people are replacing EVERY hose etc on their boat every 10 years


I tell people that every boat problem can be solved with the proper application of cash!
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Old 22-06-2015, 06:22   #27
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

We replaced our saildrives' bellows this spring. They were 14 years old; Volvo recommends a 7 year replacement interval and the PO hadn't done it. You will read on CF that these bellows last forever. It's true a catastrophic leak is unlikely. However... Our 14 year old bellows were looking old in spots, plus this job involves taking the saildrive apart enough that you replace all sorts of seals, gaskets and o-rings that aren't going to be replaced otherwise. They needed replacement. I learned a lot about saildrives; thank God for You Tube and the people who take the time to post videos of projects like this.

Removing the saildrives made us take a good look at the entire exhaust system and we replaced the exhaust hoses, mufflers, and mixing elbows. The mufflers had holes rotted through the stainless, hidden under the hose bodies. The mixing elbows still functioned, barely. Then we replaced the raw water hoses (and found THREE impeller vanes, only one of which I knew had (just) disappeared). All of these hoses were manufactured in 2000 and all of them were due for replacement. Now the fuel hoses are on the list for next year.

Yes, the hose and other parts were very expensive. It's a boat. It needed to be done.


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Old 22-06-2015, 06:35   #28
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

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So how many people are replacing EVERY hose etc on their boat every 10 years
Might not be such a daft idea as I think you think it is. I recently had a watermaker feed hose break. I gave the pump a push to check its supports and the hose started spurting a jet of water out. It had aged and gone hard and developed a crack. had it gone all the way when I was absent and had the bilge failed from debris or a flat battery or some other problem then the boat would have sunk. Only a 13 year old hose.

If not replaced then for sure they should be checked regularly to look for this sort of problem.
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Old 22-06-2015, 07:42   #29
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

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Might not be such a daft idea as I think you think it is.
I don't think it a daft idea at all!
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Old 22-06-2015, 09:54   #30
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Re: Shelf Life of Engine Spares - ???

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Sam,

Put it in the Classifieds.

Ann
Ann

Which "Classifieds"? I was hoping for a website, that is probably wider distribution than, for instance, Latitude 38. I have so much stuff that Susie used to say "We have one and three quarters of a Perkins 4-108".

My regards to Jim.

Sam
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