Engine Zinc - E28+ - Do they have one?

[Dan Hayes]

I often check the "pencil" zinc located in the heat exchanger of my Universal 11 HP diesel. It occurred to me this weekend that the engine really should have an engine zinc, too - as this motor was originally set up as a raw water cooled engine. The fresh water cooling with heat exchanger was an option for those boats with water heaters.

I looked the engine over and didn't see any place for a zinc. I looked over the owner's manual, and couldn't find any mention of one.

Does anyone know if the M11 Universal has such a zinc?

Thanks in advance for the info.

 

[jreddington]

Not really an answer to your question. More of a question and confirmation of the set up I have in my '84 E-28 (still not sure if it is an E-28 or E-28+).

My boat has fresh water cooling although this M-15 engine is a salt water cooled engine. I always assumed a PO had converted her to fresh water cooling early on in life. The engine manual does not show any configurations for fresh water cooling.

However, your note seems to mean that some of the boats (maybe mine) came out of the factory with a fresh water cooling system. Is this the case with yours?

 

[Gary G]

Temperature

I have a 1983 28+ with a fresh water cooling system on the Universal also. How hot do your engines run? The manual says 150 but mine consistently runs quite a bit hotter - closer to 180. I have read elsewhere that the closed systems tend to run hotter and would be interested in the experience of others with the same set up.

 

[jreddington]

Fresh water systems are set up to run hotter because they can run hotter. Sea water systems are run cooler than are optimum for engine efficiency and power because those temperatures will cause problems with the interaction of salt with the insides of your engine.

On a fresh water conversion (or this possible option of original fresh water cooling on these M-15 engines) changing out the thermostat to a higher temperature rating might be part of the conversion. That may be why you're running at 180. 160 in the manual is for running on seawater.

As to my system, it consistently runs cool, I forget the figure but even after running a while I barely budge the temperature gauge. Thinking I had a sender or gauge problem, I've swapped both out but no change in reading so I think the temperature I see is real.

I wonder if I have a stuck open thermostat or maybe missing one completely. New thermostat going in while I have the engine out so we'll see once I get everything button backed up and the boat launched.

 

[Dan Hayes]

Another question for the diesel pros...

Interesting point - that was going to be my next thread...

I checked with the local diesel pros (Boatswain's Locker in Newport Beach) today, and they said the pencil zinc in the heat exchanger is the only zinc. That question is answered...

My second one is - as this engine (Universal 11 HP) is supposed to be raw water cooled, and raw water cooled engines are supposed to run cool (like 155 degrees) - shouldn't I put in a hotter thermostat, so that my engine runs at 180 degrees?

It takes a half hour of very hard engine use to get my engine up to 135 degrees - and it stays there all day. You can almost touch the hot engine, it's just that cool. Everything I've read says you should run a diesel engine hot - like 180 degrees - to keep it running well and to keep sludge from forming in the oil. But mine runs cold. So, I'm thinking - should I change out the thermostat to a hotter one?

I would think that Ericson would have put in a hotter thermostat when they installed the water heater and fresh water cooling. Or, that when the engine was rebuilt that it would have gone in at that time - is there a good reason for the cooler thermostat ?

 

[jreddington]

Dan,

I've never been able to find anything "official" as to what temperature thermostat should be used with one of these engines if it's been converted to fresh water.

I suspect, even if this set up was installed by Ericson, they may not have changed to a hotter thermostat fearing that could void the Westerbeke warrantee. Or, what may have happened is that Ericson originally did install a hotter thermostat. However, whenever a replacement was needed the owner orders the part that's listed by Westerbeke as the proper thermostat and you end up with a cooler one.

Would love to see if there are any Westerbeke references to this but so far, haven't found any. I would be leery of upping the temperature of the engine without that, only because as I paraphrase a departed Secretary of Defense, "I don't know what I don't know." The engine may have been designed so that there is another issue I'm not aware of which would make running hotter detrimental to long term health of the engine.