blower hose connections

[crznhwy1]

I'm a new owner of a 1973 Ericson 27. 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

[glen_dc]

the same puzzle on Ericson 29

I had two mechanics working on my boat recently and they noticed the same thing and were totally perplexed. Two hoses are not connected. You might ask on http://ericsonyachts.org/ since it's very vendor specific.

[Kurt]

My setup was strange when I bought my boat also. All you really need is a hose attached to the blower motor and the cowl. The typical set-up is to have a hose running under the motor (preferable under the carb) which then attached to the intake side of the blower motor. Then attach another length of hose to the output of the blower motor and to one of the cowl vents (usually the one facing aft). The other cowl vent should face forward so that when you are traveling forward (hopefully the usual direction your boat travels....) fresh air is forced into the engine compartment. You don't need a hose attached to this intake vent unless the engine compartment is separated from wherever the vent pulls air into - although some people attach a small length of hose to the vent and just let it hang there. If your engine compartment is separated from the area directly below the cowl vent, you should attach a hose to this fresh air "intake" vent to direct fresh air into the engine compartment area.

[tenders]

Quite possibly, the "B" in your diagram should be connected to the blower intake and the other end should be loose in the lowest part of the bilge.

It's helpful, I think, to have hose "C" attached just like it is to the forward-facing intake cowling. It allows any splashing to be directed straight into the bilge instead of meandering through everything from the deck, through the lockers, down to the bilge.

[bayareadave]

gas fumes are heavier than air

Perhaps it helps to note that the blower should suck air from the lowest part of the engine compartment because gas fumes are heavier than air. With that in mind, it seems like you could improve your system by routing a hose from low, up to where the blower intake is. Also keep in mind running the blower for a few minutes periodically when motoring to vent any carbon monoxide that leaks out through the recirculation valve or the exhaust system. CO mixes evenly with air as I understand it.

[High Hopes]

USCG regulations specify that all engine compartment vent ducts can be no higher than the lower third of the compartment height.

[Dave Neptune]

Blower hoses

Michael, I had an E-27 for a few years and worked on many. From the factory the hoses were all over depending on what the rest of the equipment options were. If you reverse your Cowl vents on the transom (by name only intake to exhaust and exhaust to intake) you should be OK. The gap between "B" & "C" is where the blower should be mounted, preferably closer to the cowl vent near the transom. You don't want the blower exposed to the fumes you are trying to vent a "SPARK" inadvertantly in the engine box if it is full of fumes always GOES BOOM!!! The Intake should ba as low as possible and the vent on the upper starboard side should be the fresh air intake side from the cowl on the transom. Cut a hole in the side of the box as low as you can for hose "C" to get the suction side as low as possible "IN THE ENGINE BOX".

I have been running a gas powered A-4 for 30+years and since it is GAS (very flamible) I always run my BLOWER FULL TIME WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!! It keeps the cabin clear as well as keeping a constant positive fresh air flow around the engine. I feel this is a good safety practice.

Dave Neptune
Volador E-35 Mk II

[rheaton]

Folks, the Catalina 30 site had a nice diagram describing how they configure their blower. Perhaps this can provide some information.

http://www.catalina30.com/TechLib/PartsManual/Engine.pdf

[High Hopes]

Interesting.... It looks like they vent the fuel tank area and not the engine bilge area. Also, the two transom cowlings point the same way. Go figure.

[msauntry]

Michael,
Looks like the blower sucks air from the engine compartment, which is in turn sucking air from the gas tank area. With the engine as a likely source of sparking, you don't want it getting its air from the likely source of gas fumes!

Try to add a tee to the engine/blower line and run that to the gas tank compartment so it can suck from both of them. Block off the hole that will remain from the fuel tank/engine bulkhead.