Finishing up the last leg of our vaca, close to 500 miles on the boat. Im wondering what others use for a quick cleanup of the black haze thats around the exhaust ports and back of the boat every 100 miles. On & off works well but i dont like using it that often. Ive come to the conclusion that its common w/ mechanical cummins as the boat performs fine with good ( relatively) economy.
Diesel soot
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What speed do you get at 2300 and are you fully on plane? The reason I ask is that some people run a little off full plane which puts the engines at a heavier load. More RPMs means more air and less soot, sometimes. What is rated WOT RPM and what do you get?
Dawn detergent & soft brush or sponge.
It worked really well years ago when the dry stack diesel downeaster across the dock (up wind) from my boat had a dirty turbo which was causing the stack to spew many millions of oily soot particles all over my white topsides. BoatZoap just made it much worse but Dawn cut right through it to save the day.
Same thing when I had doubled accidently doubled oil filter gaskets with the inboard engine covers off. Oil everywhere instantly on startup and Dawn saved that one too. May that never happen to any of you!
It worked really well years ago when the dry stack diesel downeaster across the dock (up wind) from my boat had a dirty turbo which was causing the stack to spew many millions of oily soot particles all over my white topsides. BoatZoap just made it much worse but Dawn cut right through it to save the day.
Same thing when I had doubled accidently doubled oil filter gaskets with the inboard engine covers off. Oil everywhere instantly on startup and Dawn saved that one too. May that never happen to any of you!
quote:
Originally posted by Sandy
Dawn detergent & soft brush or sponge.
It worked really well years ago when the dry stack diesel downeaster across the dock (up wind) from my boat had a dirty turbo which was causing the stack to spew many millions of oily soot particles all over my white topsides. BoatZoap just made it much worse but Dawn cut right through it to save the day.
Same thing when I had doubled accidently doubled oil filter gaskets with the inboard engine covers off. Oil everywhere instantly on startup and Dawn saved that one too. May that never happen to any of you!
I agree with using Dawn. I have a diesel boat across the canal from me that smokes really bad and the owner runs it at the dock for long periods of time for some reason that defies logic.
Anyway, it's been going on for about 3 seasons and regular boat soap doesn't get the soot off, but Dawn does the job.
The only down side is the Dawn also strips the wax off so you have to re-apply wax wherever you wash with Dawn.
FWIW - I have found that wax itself tends to attract any of the unburnt fuel and haze up quickly.
We have had good results using a sealer like "Gel Coat labs" which is easy to apply, shines, gives UV protection and lasts longer than the waxes we have tried.
Perhaps you have an engine that is slightly overloaded leading to unburnt fuel and extra soot - can each engine reach rated rpm +3-5% as a brief test with the boat fully loaded on a hot and humid day? Perhaps one engine is working harder than the other leading to some extra sooting.
Installing EGT and boost gages have been a worthwhile addition in reading many engine issues in real time and avoiding larger problems.
We have had good results using a sealer like "Gel Coat labs" which is easy to apply, shines, gives UV protection and lasts longer than the waxes we have tried.
Perhaps you have an engine that is slightly overloaded leading to unburnt fuel and extra soot - can each engine reach rated rpm +3-5% as a brief test with the boat fully loaded on a hot and humid day? Perhaps one engine is working harder than the other leading to some extra sooting.
Installing EGT and boost gages have been a worthwhile addition in reading many engine issues in real time and avoiding larger problems.
We use a product called Scuff Orf which I think is a caustic based cleaner, also easily cleans off shoe marks and the like , gets soot marks off quite easily, quick spray on then gentle rub with a brush/broom and rinse off before its dry and would normally be able to do the stern of my boat in about 2-3 minutes. Only ever need to do the boat occasionally after long running in certain conditions. Main thing is not to let it dry as it leaves a temporary slight yellowing.
I`ve used dawn, it does take the wax off, I may have to keep using it because as mentioned above a fresh coat of wax seems to attract it more. I cleaned it 3 times on this trip but noticed the last leg had almost no build up..probably something to do with all the wax gone..?
What is the rated WOT?? Can you reach or exceed it? Does sound like you are well on plane and the engines should be running free with good air flow but soot says otherwise. So as Smitty said I suspect some overload. At only 300 off the top you are running hard. Any overload will put you even higher than the calculated approx 75% load, assuming thaat 3000 is actual rated load and you actually reach that.
"I found it seems to stick to wax more the Rejex it cleans off much easier from the Rejex!"
I agree - any of these synthetic sealants will work great to lessen sooting as well as black streaking form rainfall. Any wax will tend to attract that 'organic' stuff no matter the brand. On cars I have tried Rejex but I prefer Meguires #21 which I sue all the time now - on boats (gelcoat) I prefer the GelCoat labs but any good synthetic will outperform wax. If in doubt do one part of the transom with a synthetic and the rest with wax and see the differences -same with the topsides. (Your own test)
"At only 300 off the top you are running hard. Any overload will put you even higher than the calculated approx 75% load, assuming thaat 3000 is actual rated load and you actually reach that."
Agreed - if he has 370 hp Cummins the rating would be 3,000 rpm but for the 330's it would be 2,800. If they are 370's and not reaching 3,090 with accurate tachs I would at least add EGT gages ASAP.
I agree - any of these synthetic sealants will work great to lessen sooting as well as black streaking form rainfall. Any wax will tend to attract that 'organic' stuff no matter the brand. On cars I have tried Rejex but I prefer Meguires #21 which I sue all the time now - on boats (gelcoat) I prefer the GelCoat labs but any good synthetic will outperform wax. If in doubt do one part of the transom with a synthetic and the rest with wax and see the differences -same with the topsides. (Your own test)
"At only 300 off the top you are running hard. Any overload will put you even higher than the calculated approx 75% load, assuming thaat 3000 is actual rated load and you actually reach that."
Agreed - if he has 370 hp Cummins the rating would be 3,000 rpm but for the 330's it would be 2,800. If they are 370's and not reaching 3,090 with accurate tachs I would at least add EGT gages ASAP.
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I have tried just about every wax on my car and I have found the Rejex works the best on my Corvette I even use it on the rims. My other cars I tend to use Mequires products mostly. I use Maquires detail spray all the time and I mean all the time sometimes twice a day ( before and after I drive the car). I have never tried it on the boat but I may have to try it.
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LOL I was on a road trip this past week and everyday I wiped down the car with detail spray I only cleaned the rims once while I was away. On the way home I found a laser touchless car wash it was the first time I ever took it to a car wash it worked well.
On corvettes and similar cars I owned I used the synthetic sealants under a coat of good wax - my preference was "Blackfire" system but have seen others work equally well. In those cases the goal was a deep shine based upon the colors of the cars but the sealants added both protection and depth.
Many of the coated metal wheel waxes are actually these synthetic sealants as the wheels see more of the contaminants and lose waxes quicker that body areas for the most part. The Meguires detail sprays are good I mostly use them when claying a car the #21 sealant is not too much harder to work with and lasts a very long time.
Many of the coated metal wheel waxes are actually these synthetic sealants as the wheels see more of the contaminants and lose waxes quicker that body areas for the most part. The Meguires detail sprays are good I mostly use them when claying a car the #21 sealant is not too much harder to work with and lasts a very long time.
rated rpm is 2850, I hit 3000, (o.k., maybe 2950,) on a 90 degree day with 3/4 fuel, 80 gals water, dinghy,motor, all the "stuff" I carry for a 10 day trip.
I will say, loaded up as above it does take a good hard push to get it on plane, maybe thats when I get some soot, also if its really lumpy I`ll slow it down some to 2100, 2200, which still shows me 20 mph +- 2, also when I might get some,
I`ll use Dawn to clean it.
I will say, loaded up as above it does take a good hard push to get it on plane, maybe thats when I get some soot, also if its really lumpy I`ll slow it down some to 2100, 2200, which still shows me 20 mph +- 2, also when I might get some,
I`ll use Dawn to clean it.
