ZINCs in our BETA engine! - Video #38 - Westsail 28 - "Starwhite"
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- čas přidán 3. 12. 2022
- BETA's freshwater cooled diesel engines have a small zinc anode to protect the heat exchanger manifold from corrosion. Regularly checking the anode and replacing it as needed is part of a basic engine maintenance program. Replacing the anode takes only minutes and costs very little, replacing a heat exchanger is expensive.
So today I learnt: where to put my tool box! Many Thanks.
Glad I could be of help!
Put an old beach towel under the anode. The small amount of leakage you had won't get near the mount. I do it around the through hull when fitting/removing my paddle wheel log.
A stunning boat.
You should hire yourself out:) You’ve done such an amazing job. There are at least 20 boats in my marina that desperately need your services:) Mine included:)
Looking for a westsail 32 or 28 in Europe. Great looking boat. Good indication how someone takes care of their boat is the condition of the engine room.
The nicest West Sail on the planet.
Agreed👍🏻
Thanks !
I come to your site daily just to look at her. To my mind this is one of the finest little boats on CZcams and the way you keep her is a testament to your skipper skills. Sail on sailor.
Thanks for the video!
Where do you get your replacement zincs?
You may be able to ser a small ziplock style container on the motor mount to catch (at least some of) the drips.
I buy the zincs from Fisheries Supply in Seattle.
Doesn't the Beta Marine engines also have a zinc in the block? Or is that subject to size of the engine? If so what would be a good check schedule? Every time you change the oil?
The BETA 25 we have has only the one Zinc. It is possible that other models may have more than one. I check ours every 3 months. The need for replacement will be determined by the location where the boat is moored. I seem to get 6 months out of the zincs here in our marina. I change our engine oil every 100 running hours.
Great video. Were do you now buy your anodes ?
I got the short ones thru BETA West in the San Francisco area. 415-332-3507
Thanks for making this video? I am confused about one thing I hope you can clarify. I thought that the Beta heat exchanger is female 1/4 inch BSP thread which is close to but not the same as the 1/4 inch NPT male brass plug so more prone to leaking or getting stuck from my reading (see excerpt below):
“NPT threads differ from BSP threads in the tooth angle, which is 60 degrees instead of 55, and the edges are more pronounced.
Another difference is in the pitch: NPT threads have 11.5 threads per inch while
BSP threads have 11 threads per inch.”
So just curious if you have experienced any issues? Thanks!
Thank you for the question.
The heat exchanger anode plug on my Beta 25 is 1/2" -14 pitch.
Coincidently both BSP 1/2" and NPT 1/2" have the same thread count (14) and pitch (.0714 inch). There is a slight difference in the major diameter .84 vs .825 .
I have installed both the original Beta plug and my modified (shortened) plug in the engine over the past year and both have worked well with no leakage issues.
I tapped the inside of the original large Beta Plugs with a 3/8" - 18 tap. I threaded the piece of 1/4" anode rod using a 3/8" - 18 die.
I just noticed that I said a 3/8" - 16 Tap and Die in video! I'll have to see if there is a way I can correct this!
Kevin
Have you considered pipe tape on your zinc bolt threads to reduce the leakage?
I have considered it, but pipe tape might isolate the zinc and cap from the engine block rendering the zinc useless.
Have you figured a way to unscrew the old zinc?
Since I made the new threaded plugs, I've only needed to change the zinc once. I found that a short portion of the wasted zinc was still protruding from the plug base, so I just held it with a pair of pliers, unscrewed it from the plug and screwed a new zinc back into the plug.
@@Westsail28 Thanks for feedback, I'll give it a go.
Just confirming do you make the threaded plugs yourself or are they availableto purchase?@@Westsail28