How do you use your blower?

[ghaegele]

Of course one should always run the blower before starting the engine. And a sniff of the exhaust is also excellent practice. Nevertheless, you guys running the blower constantly are forgetting that the engine is itself a vacuum sucking up air from the engine compartment and keeping a steady stream of fresh air entering. Furthermore, I have never, ever, ever had a gasoline drip while my engine is running. Never. A few times in my 30 years of running an Atomic 4 I have had a blockage in the float bowl that caused a drip and I learned to shut off my fuel supply as a precaution. But never while the engine was running. I guess it is possible, but the uptake of fuel by the engine as well as the draw through the scavenger tube makes a drip from the engine nearly impossible. If a fuel line comes undone while you’re underway your blower isn’t going to clear all those fumes anyway.

Somebody posted previously that the history of gasoline explosions is very rare. That has been my experience too. In 35 years on the water I have only heard of one locally—a power boat. I’m all for safety, but what really are you accomplishing by running that poor little electric motor for all those hours?

[keelcooler]

Blower use 101, when and how long is in every boat manual printed in the last fifty years. Some runabouts even have it embossed next to key and switch. Proper use is that important.

[Jesse Delanoy]

I run my blower continuously when the engine is on. I had no problems with it for seven years of ownership (and I think it was original on a 1977 Catalina 30), when it abruptly quit last year at the time of a fairly significant accident (dragged anchor while we were ashore on a rough evening, and ran up against the seawall at the Naval Academy - still not sure how that affected the blower, but it did).

Cost me about $150 to replace - parts and labor.

If I have to buy a new blower every 7 years for $150, I'll consider it money well spent.


Jesse Delanoy
s/v Off the Grid
Pasadena/Baltimore

[ghaegele]

You failed to impress me that running your blower continuously actually accomplishes anything so I don't see how that's "money well spent." But I also don't see how I'm harmed by other people wearing a belt with suspenders. So be it.

[BobA]

Run Blower at start up

I've owned boats with an Atomic 4 for over 30 years now. My fuel tank is higher than the fuel pump/carburetor. So I have a solenoid fuel valve that is in the fuel line upstream of the filter and that is activated by the ignition switch. This would not protect against a leak while motoring, which I don't believe I've ever had. But it does protect against a stuck or leaky float valve at shut down. I run the blower before startup and immediately smell test the blower exhaust. I do not run it otherwise except one time when I had an exhaust pipe failure. I've never been aware of having had a fuel vapor problem except during carburetor removal or filter replacement. I feel that the solenoid valve is a good idea -- it is comforting to know that the fuel is always off when the engine is not running. Also it is convenient when carburetor removal is needed -- avoiding having to remember to shut off the manual valve which is awkward to reach. I have a friend who had a stuck float valve when the engine was off. Someone smelled fuel in the cabin. They found fuel almost pouring out of the carburator and repaired it, thus averting a disaster. The solenoid valve would have prevented that. If one has a fuel vapor problem, it seems to me that the idea of always running the blower when the engine is on would only mask, not solve the problem. If one runs the blower to remove blowby fumes, the better answer to that is to install Indigo's blowby device. To reduce heat, use proper exhaust pipe installation. Moyer is a source for that.

[keelcooler]

Ghaegele, What do you mean it accomplishes nothing. Aboard my boat if I run the blower for 30 minutes I can make a hot grilled cheese wrapped in foil. The wife loves it because she can make believe she didn't hear me when I bark out orders. And of course the sense of security I have when it's running after engine start up is priceless.

Joking aside, make sure the hose induction is located in the lower portions of the bilge 6" above the normal bilge water level. Many owners place the hose under the carb. Any fumes are going to be down deep in that bilge.

Make sure the hose is secured and can not come in contact with revolving machinery. Blower hose wire bird nests will be be avoided around shaft couplers and alternator belts.

As Sastanley discovered no sags allowed in hose, otherwise rain and other waters will puddle blocking off air flow. This also holds true for the air vent hose.

[Mighty Pearson Owner]

Blower Operation

you all are missing the important point of blower operation..the blower hose also sucks up an carbon monoxide fumes...remember all the blue haze that comes out of our engines if we do not have the PVC mod? that is exhaust gases coming from the pistons..the suction of the blower should be in your bilge..

Google CO poisoning - it puts you to sleep and you dont wake up..yes if we smell gas you have a gas leak, my new boat - well the blower runs if the engine is running i do not have an option...and it is a diesel...

[sastanley]

Another good point MPO.

I hadn't thought about it much except that all my inboard powered powerboat friends have one, so I just picked up a AA battery powered CO detector from Lowe's for less than $25. It says it will work for 7 years.

As long as I see the little green light blinking it is supposedly OK.

More piece of mind when the family is down below & the engine is running.

[ghaegele]

The PCV kit does wonders to eliminate blowby in the engine compartment and is a lot quieter than running the blasted blower all the time.

[keelcooler]

As said, CO blue haze in your cabin, the blower hose is in the bilge. Don't think your blower is going to take care of it. Could be a deadly error. Take care of the problem properly for only 80 bucks. Always open/crack the forward hatch when running. With the cabin closed up even a pin hole leak in the exhaust can kill you.

Have a detector at home and aboard. Anything w/a flame will produce CO.
I had big time blow by. The PVC device is the real deal that works.

[wlevin]

We run our blower for a few minutes before starting the engine, and all the time the engine is running. We have a special reason for doing so on our Tartan 34. On that boat the blower stack exits through the cabin top and under our dodger. This arrangement serves as a warning system. When the engine is running right, no smell, but if junk were to stick in the carb causing a gas leak, or the engine were to overheat because of an impeller vane getting stuck in a passage, we'll know it. Both of these things have occurred and we were glad to know what needed attention. Some T-34 owners have moved the exhaust to the stern, but not us.
Bill and Jeanne
T34C #453
Otter

[tony201]

Fumes

What K.C. said

[Baltimore Sailor]

What kind of blowers are in your boats that are so noisy? Mine can only be felt as a slight vibration when it's on, makes barely any noise. And it's at least 6" in diameter.

An electric fan just shouldn't be so noisy unless something's wrong with its bearings, I'd say.

[ghaegele]

I'm sure they make the same generic blower noise that yours makes. With the engine off it's unmistakable, but with the engine running you could forget for a while that its on. Until you go, "hey, what's that humming sound? Oh, yeah, I forgot to shut off the blower." If my anchor light made the same noise when it was unnecessarily left on I'd never forget to turn it off in the morning.

[Rick Estabrook]

What about oil fumes

My A4 has not oil vapor containment, and I'm guessing few of us do. For the comfort of crew and guests, I run the blower continuously to vent these fumes. My boat was built in '75 and I wish the cabin's natural aroma was more like wood than petrol, despite great effort to keep a fresh sense below decks. I run the blower at start for safety, but also as long as the engine runs to do the best I can from a general "engine smell" in the cabin.