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Repositioning of Stern Tube Greaser


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We've recently bought into a shared narrowboat consortium. I've been used to hire boats, where you just lean into the engine compartment and give a twist to the stern tube greaser once or twice a day. The greaser on our boat is so far down that you either have to climb down and stand on top of the engine, risking kicking a vital component, or grovel facedown on the rear flooring and reach out so you can just get your fingers onto the handle. I'm 6 foot, but my 5' 2" wife can't get anywhere near the greaser.

 

Our consortium is happy to discuss moving the greaser - it is attached to a yard of flexible plastic pipe. The least technical member came up with a brilliant suggestion - why not move it up and into the locker just inside the doors of our semi-trad? Easy access, especially when repacking with grease, and less likely to be skipped during daily maintenance. The pipe would need to be lengthened to maybe 6 feet, but you'd be able to exert more force to push the grease down the pipe.

 

So, are there any reasons why a greaser can't be placed above deck in a side locker?

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No reason at all not to move it its on my to do list on my boat ... my last boat was like yours and i moved the greaser as you desribed and was also a good few feet away but on that one i used copper tubing rather than the plastic as i had some kicking about, and fixed using compression fittings, as the fittings both ends are threaded ... primed the pipe before connecting to the sterntube and it worked fine.... also was much easier to shape the copper and keep it neat, ... so long as you prime it first though dont see any problem with plastic if it is well fitted and secure.

 

Hope this helps

 

Rick

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Mine is in a locker and it is fine as long as I make sure the cylinder is attached to the base securely. Grease sometimes escapes and dribbles on to what is below.

 

Back in Ownerships days Allen Matthews said putting the greaser below decks was very deliberate. It would force people to raise the boards and they might just do some basic checks and note anything amiss as a result.

 

I'm not sure to what extent he was spinning a yarn but you can see his point.

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So, are there any reasons why a greaser can't be placed above deck in a side locker?

The greaser on a couple of my boats when I bought them was inconveniently placed under the floor boards.

 

In each case I moved the greaser into the engine room where it stares you in the face each time you go in to start, stop, use the loo etc.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

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Thanks a lot, chaps! Very reassuring answers, and many excellent points. You know how you get an uneasy feeling when you are about to make a change that you haven't considered something vital...

 

The change should also make it easier to access the weedhatch, which for some obscure reason is buried far beyond the access panels as a special treat for the double-jointed.

 

If we go ahead with the work, I'll come back in spring and add notes of how much it cost for the boatyard to do it. Otherwise, its the wooden cleft stick solution!

Edited by Canal Cuttings
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Another alternative. I was fed up with how far I had to reach on our shared boat so I got a piece of mild steel plate about 12" x 4" and bolted it in place of the greaser. The greaser was then attached to the top of the plate.

 

There are loads of places it could be fixed. The boatyard will charge you £40.00 an hour plus parts. I'm guessing at 2 hours.

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  • 1 month later...

Just an update:

We've had the quote for the work, and it was very close to the above estimate.

Parts £25 Labour; 2 hours @ £45.00 per hour £90.00 - total £115.

 

We're going ahead. Expect this is something we could do ourselves, but no-one is willing to make the trip in winter or risk breaking their drill.

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Parts £25!! What will the new pipe be? Unobtainium? 3/8 Copper tube is only about £2-00 per metre in 5m lengths and I'd bet your boatyard has some large coils. The fittings are about £4-00 each from BES.

 

 

See also reg at post #4- Kit, £10 from ASAP.

 

 

N

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Moved one for a friend, 11 quid on the bits from the local chandlery (end fittings and 10m of plastic pipe) and took about 30 minutes to actually move it. Maybe yours is that much harder to get at, but this one was pretty inaccessible before, and I can't see me working hugely faster than a professional.

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If you do it yourself, make sure that the flexible pipe used is nylon ( normally used for air pipes), not polyurethane which is often used as an air pipe alternative but has a much lower burst pressure.

If you are putting the new pipe in a vulnerable position, I suggest you spend the extra and have a rubber hydraulic hose ( probably 1/4" 1 wire grade) made with standpipe ends (probably 5/16"/8mm or 3/8"/10mm - check OD of your tube) by a local industrial hose supplier.

You will need a suitable diameter brass olive for each end, using your existing tube nuts.

This will stand being a lot of abuse and cannot be easily damaged or burst with a manual pump.

A long nylon tube is pretty easy to burst with pressurized grease, particularly at higher engine bay temperatures.

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Just an update:

We've had the quote for the work, and it was very close to the above estimate.

Parts £25 Labour; 2 hours @ £45.00 per hour £90.00 - total £115.

 

We're going ahead. Expect this is something we could do ourselves, but no-one is willing to make the trip in winter or risk breaking their drill.

Seems a bit steep to me but then if it's a shared cost between all the owners and no one needs to take time off to do the work may be it does work out on a cost benefit analysis.

Only you are in a position to answer that.

 

This thread has inspired me to do the same thing but I have the time and kit to do the job myself.

Good luck with it

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  • 2 months later...

Just a follow-up to the earlier posting:

The work is completed, and although it may be pricier than doing it yourself, and the tubing is only standard quality, we now have a very neat installation that can actually be used without employing a contortionist.  We can also replace the grease very easily. Thanks to everyone for their advice.

 

IMG_5583.JPG

Edited by Canal Cuttings
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I would have been happier to see a gland/grommet around the pipe as it passes through the deck, you will need to check that the pipe doesn't chafe and split there. When I moved mine I used a cable gland to protect the plastic pipe but I didn't heat the grease so pre loading the pipe in 4 degree C was a pig as once I had 2-3 feet of grease in the tube it didn't want to move.

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True, Andrew, but in this case you needed a prehensile tail to reach the greaser.  Whichever way you approached it, it was frustratingly 3" - 4" beyond easy grasp.  The ladies, who are shorter, could never reach it without climbing into the engine bay and stomping all over the motor, its pipes, wires etc.

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On Monday, February 27, 2017 at 22:17, Canal Cuttings said:

Just a follow-up to the earlier posting:

The work is completed, and although it may be pricier than doing it yourself, and the tubing is only standard quality, we now have a very neat installation that can actually be used without employing a contortionist.  We can also replace the grease very easily. Thanks to everyone for their advice.

 

IMG_5583.JPG

Rubbish job, you've lost use of that end of the locker now.  Pipe very vulnerable without a grommet. Also looks like they have left the metal shards from drilling the hole, which will turn to rust, along with the hole itself rusting .

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