E27 blower hose connections

[crznhwy1]

I'm a new owner of a 1973 E27. This is my first sailboat and it's a real project. The previous owners left it in poor repair. One of my projects is to remount the engine compartment blower which was broken off its mounting and left dangling from it's wires when a rebuilt A4 was installed. I'm puzzled over how the hoses are supposed to attach. I am attaching a drawing showing the location of each hose. Hose "A" is still attached between the engine compartment and the exhaust cowl vent, so there is no question there. I'm puzzled over the two remaining hoses. Hose "B" and "C" are laying on the bottom under the fuel tank. "B" attaches to a hole low in the engine compartment on the port side. I assume it connects through the hole in the upper aft side of the compartment to the intake of the blower. Where then does hose "C" connect to? Its connected at one end to the intake cowl vent, but I do not see an opening in the engine compartment for it. Any suggestions?

Michael Downie
1973 E27 #359
Great Salt Lake, Utah

 

[Gary Schroeder]

B to C ?

Could the extra hole have been the original location of the blower, or of the air outlet to a remote blower? Eyeballling your drawing, it looks like B should be attached to C so that you have fresh cooler air entering the bottom of the compartment. Airflow would then be pulled to the top, where the now hot air would be sucked into the blower and out the exhaust.

I'd then cover the extra hole in the top to slow down heat getting into the boat.

 

[crznhwy1]

Makes Sense

That makes a lot of sense. Looking at how rough the hole is where it is mounted now, it looks like the PO had moved the blower around.

Thanks!

 

[Loren Beach]

Gas engine note

Only for a diesel would you want the air exhaust inlet at the top --- But for a gasoline engine, you are *required* to have the exhaust ventilation air intake at the bottom of the compartment. Remember that gasoline vapors are heavier than air and highly explosive.

As you might have noticed, you cannot (!) count on the prior owner doing this stuff "to code."

This particular part of the engine ventilation system should be caught (red tagged) on any survey, and if not corrected would probably void your insurance coverage. Insurance companies and undertakers both take quite an interest in safe gasoline engine installations...

Loren

ps: we have an Atwood "in line" blower, and it runs all the time the engine is on. No problems.

 

[crznhwy1]

more questions...

Thanks Loren. I just found a picture of an A4 engine in an Ericson on the Moyer Marine Atomic 4 website. It shows the blower in the same place mine is, with the hose I labeled "B" connected to the intake of the blower. So it would be drawing air from the lower port side and exhausting it out of the upper starboard side. That still leaves the question of where the intake hose "C" goes to. I'm assuming it connects to the engine compartment somehow, but maybe not.

I'll post this to the Moyer forums and see if anyone has the answer.

Thanks.

 

[paul culver]

By the way -- nice looking A4.

--Paul

 

[crznhwy1]

Hopefully it runs as well as it looks. I've only had the boat a couple of weeks and don't want to crank it up until I get the blower situated and the rusty fuel tank replaced. This boat was given to me by a friend who decided to chuck it all, buy a 42' catamaran, and move to Aruba. From what I can see, its structurally sound, it just needs some TLC. I'll be asking lots of questions!

--Michael

 

[CWM]

Michael:

Per my 1973 E27:
Hose B should go from the bilge area to the blower intake.
Hose C on my boat ends near the battery.

 

[crznhwy1]

CWM,

Where is your battery located? Mine is on the starboard side of the engine compartment. I've seen some drawings showing them closer to the head.

Thanks,

Michael

 

[CWM]

Michael:

On my 1973 E27, the battery is located on the starboard side of the engine compartment.

 

[maggie-k]

If you have the original squirlcage blower. Get rig of it and put in an inline one. You can mount it anywhere the outlet hose runs . Then you will only need a place in the engine box for fresh air inlet and outlet hoses.

 

[obiwanrazzy]

uh oh..

Funny. On my E27, hose "C" is the blower exhaust and hose "A" is freash air intake... Considering the way the vents face, this seems bass-ackwards now that I think about it. Maybe a PO re-routed them incorrectly? Think I should change it?

Hose B does snake around to the bilge just like others mentioned.

 

[crznhwy1]

the plot thickens...

Hmmm,

Seems like we have quite a mystery here. I don't feel so bad about being confused!