Bolo
Contributing Partner
Having a boat on the Chesapeake Bay that has an AC/Heater unit on board comes with a risk of sucking up a sea nettle (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) or two. For those not familiar with the Chesapeake Bay these creatures are found mostly drifting and undulating around the docks at a marina and can, on occasion, be sucked up into the sea water intake. It’s a fairly common occurrence that happens to me and my neighbors one or twice a year. If you’re lucky you can get them out of the basket strainer (wear gloves because they can sting) where they look like the biggest snot ball you’ve ever seen. But they can also clog the seacock which is what happened to me the other day requiring that I disassemble everything from the circulation pump back to the sea cock. In the process I had to cut the hoses and install new ones because of the tight quarters around the pump, strainer and seacock. In short, it was a real pain in the transom and only happens when you need AC on a hot Chesapeake summer afternoon.
After I made my repairs I remembered that there is no strainer on the outside of the hull, where the seacock is located, just at there is on the sea water intake for the engine. The boat came that way and I never thought to add on till now. But why has there never been one? Is it because the sea water intake for the AC requires much more water then the engine intake and putting a bronze strainer over the through hull would restrict too much water? When the AC is running the amount of water coming out of the boat, after it passes through the AC, is substantial. Water coming out on the engine exhaust is much less.
So my question today? Is it OK to screw on a bronze strainer over the through hull for the AC and not restrict its flow? The pump is rated at 6 GPM. Does anyone have an outside strainer on their AC setup? I think it would great reduce the chance of another sea nettle intrusion. Oh, and how did I clear the clog in the sea cock? After taking everything apart I rigged a garden hose, the one I use to fill the water tanks, and flushed out the sea cock. It took three attempts and about fifteen minutes of full pressure on the hose to clear it of sea nettle snot. This was the worst yet.
After I made my repairs I remembered that there is no strainer on the outside of the hull, where the seacock is located, just at there is on the sea water intake for the engine. The boat came that way and I never thought to add on till now. But why has there never been one? Is it because the sea water intake for the AC requires much more water then the engine intake and putting a bronze strainer over the through hull would restrict too much water? When the AC is running the amount of water coming out of the boat, after it passes through the AC, is substantial. Water coming out on the engine exhaust is much less.
So my question today? Is it OK to screw on a bronze strainer over the through hull for the AC and not restrict its flow? The pump is rated at 6 GPM. Does anyone have an outside strainer on their AC setup? I think it would great reduce the chance of another sea nettle intrusion. Oh, and how did I clear the clog in the sea cock? After taking everything apart I rigged a garden hose, the one I use to fill the water tanks, and flushed out the sea cock. It took three attempts and about fifteen minutes of full pressure on the hose to clear it of sea nettle snot. This was the worst yet.