How do you use your blower?

[Administrator]

At Dave Neptune's request, here's a poll asking you to describe how you use the blower to vent the air in your engine box when running the engine.

[roadnsky]

I run the Blower 3-5 minutes before starting and continuously while the engine is running.
I NEVER start without the SNIFF test.

[MikeB.330]

I sniff the bilge and engine compartment, more time then not as soon as I enter the cabin. I always do this before I turn on the fuel or water 100% of the time, but sometimes it's not as soon as I enter the cabin.

After that I run the blower for a minute or two and if it smells clean coming out of the vent I turn off the blower and start er' up.

I feel 100% safe doing this. Regular maintenances and inspections , not just a quick once over are the key to safety in my opinion. That also includes not using automotive parts on my boat!

After fueling I always sniff test the lockers around the fuel tank and vent line areas. I also run the blower before start up after fueling.

As for the failed Facet fuel pump in the other tread, I'd have to hold it in my hand before I would make the comment that raw fuel would gush out of it. For all I know that hole is in the casing from the factory and covered up by the lable. Again,as others have said, proper fusing would have prevented that from happening in the first place.

Running the blower while the engine IMHO is overkill on a properly maintained vessel. I would go so far as to say I would think it odd to run the blower all the time. sort of like driving down the road with your hazard lights on all the time just to be extra safe....

flame suit on. :-)

[sastanley]

It depends. I ran it a lot early, when I had a new galvanized hot section that was off-gassing a lot.

Now I tend to cycle it..if there is no wind and the engine is working hard, I might run it, especially if I think the ice-box might be suffering.

I always do a sniff test too, as my fuel tank seacock is the first item on my checklist (even before the blower which allows me to pre-check for smells) but I usually start the blower, and then after a few minutes pull the engine housing (under my galley) and open the intake, etc..

No problems yet..if I don't feel warm air from the blower exhaust when the engine is running, I usually turn it off.

[Marian Claire]

Normal first time starting procedure on the MC. Check the bilge. This puts my nose at the lowest point in the boat. Sniff. Open the main hatch to the engine and open thru hull and gas cutoff, check oil level and general visual check of engine. Sniff. Run blower for 1 minute or so. Sniff. With hatch open I start her up. The man who built the MC gave her a large engine compartment with good ventilation. While motoring I often open the main hatch, in the cockpit sole, and give a good look/see. I always run the blower before restarting after sailing but do not do all the other steps. So yes I use the blower before each start but not constantly while the engine is running. Dan S/V Marian Claire

[Kelly]

I do about the same as sastanley: sniff test down in the bilge/engine compartment, run the blower three minutes while I prep the engine, sniff the blower outlet pipe for odors and start the engine. If the weather is fine I open the forward hatch and get good ventilation going into the boat- and I turn off the blower. If not, I run the blower while the engine is running.

Kelly

[charles@pricefarrington.c]

I am am at heart a power boater, my wife is the Captain of the Alanna Michele. Power boating since I was 10, my Dad, a former Navy man, taught me the blower is never turned off unless the engine is off. Just pure safety, plain and simple. I've taught my kids the same.

[67c&ccorv]

I voted with the "don't run the blower at all while running the engine" crowd but after reading the stories I am beginning to rethink this matter and am planning another renovation that will cycle the blower electronically while operating the motor.

Say, every 10 - 15 minutes operate the blower for 1 -2 minutes?

My current procedure is -

1. I approach my vessel with my "nose-in-gear";

2. open the companionway - sniff - look for evidence of spilled fuel;

3. open the starboard cockpit locker and sniff - look at and feel my fuel petcock and fuel line for signs of leakage;

4. then I start the blower which is activated by a Water Witch timer set to 4 minutes.

5. after the blower times out I then go below, open my engine compartment door and check for signs of leakage at that section;

6. if all is OK I turn on the fuel, open engine raw water intake and start the motor.

Cheers!

[knitchie]

Bilge Blower

I need to wok in quieting my blower. The admiral doesn't like hearing both the engine and blower racket.

[CalebD]

Surprising poll results

I am a bit surprised to see that there were 12 people who voted for 'continuously running the blower' and 12 who voted for 'never running the blower'. If you count the 8 votes for 'sometimes run the blower' then the majority of us do run our blowers.
The biggest nightmares of an A4 powered boat owner should be:
- fire, gasoline does not just burn; it can and will explode. Propane is no joke either.
- lightning
- getting holed
- being caught out in a tropical storm or worse
- running out of food or beer
(to list only a few potentially life threatening possibilities).
Most of the items in my list can be controlled by us by exercising due diligence and maintaining our systems. Lightning is obviously beyond the control of most of us.
Since it is a CG requirement to have a blower on a gas inboard engine I am a bit puzzled as to why so many folks voted that they never use the blower on their boats when it is clearly one of the reasonable best practices with a gasoline engine located in your boat.
Most of the posts to this thread are from the 'run the blower' camp so I wonder if some of the 'never run the blower' camp would care to post here with their reasons for doing so.

[rigspelt]

I am a bit puzzled as to why so many folks voted that they never use the blower on their boats

My guess is they meant they use the blower to vent out for four minutes prior to starting, but not continuously while running?

[MikeB.330]

That's what the pole question says. People who never run the blower WHEN the engine IS running.

I'm sure at least 95% of us at least run tbe blower before starting and after fueling. The other 5% will become statistics with enough time.

[CalebD]

I am not so high and mighty.

There have been enough times that I have started our A4 without running the blower and then just motoring out of the mooring field. I have become quite a bit more sensitive to this issue/safety precaution since cleaning the carb. and finding out that some fuel does leak out of it. We now turn off the fuel as well as close the raw water intake as part of our normal shut down procedure.
I suppose that it helped that I hand cleaned our bilge and painted as much as I could - there was some scary stuff down there that resembled tar. It is not a job that you want to have to do that often so minimizing spills of any kind into the bilge is more of a priority then it used to be.
Tonight I saw the aftermath of a car accident in Brooklyn, NY from a few blocks away. There was no explosion but eventually flames engulfed one car that I could easily see from 3 blocks away. A conservative estimate is that the flames were twice as high as the Caravan type vehicle, so about 10' high. I really don't want to think about what a fire like this would do to my poor old boat or me and my crew.
Running the blower before starting up the engine is the minimum we should all be doing. Since we have to open the fuel and raw water valves we get to do a free nose test in the process as well.
I am not all that crazy about the noise of the blower either and I would rather be sailing then motoring but there are other gasses (CO) that can build up in the cabin so for long stretches of motoring the blower can be powered by the alternator.
I suppose the poll questions could have been a little more finely graded.
I also hope that it is not 5% of A4 owners who are 'bound to become statistics'.

[alberg]

I do a sniff test when I open the boat and before I do anything else, then at the blower exhaust after running the blower for 5 min. Since my blower is not designed to run continuesly transport canada regulations do not permit me to run continuesly.

Alberg

[Dave Neptune]

Noise

Hi guys, lots of interesting opinions on this one. Personally I am a safety nut since handing off a 4 year old boy missing his leg from just below the knee to a coastie out of a chopper. Before they lifted off I dove for his leg and found it in time to get it aboard as well. It was reattached and he was unable to attend the funeral for the seven dead relatives. Shook me up!

RE noise, I mounted my blower on vibration isolators which hang off a bulkhead. The blower is sort of suspended from a bracket attached to the blower with isolators and the bracket is mounted to the bulkhead on isolators as well. It's very quiet and you have to be in the back of the cockpit to hear it. I have even left it on for a while because the music drowned out the noise of the blower itself.

Dave Neptune, Thanx