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Empting keel cooling


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Hy!

I would empty and fill the keel cooling tank. Despite my research, I can not find a drain screw. How do you empty yours? Without putting water everywhere :)
The manual states that there are 9.5 liters of cooling water in the engine, but how many in the keel cooling?

The dream On is a narrowboat, equipped with a Beta Marine 43 Green line.

Thanks and my best regards,

Lau

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Take off the return pipe from the engine and fit a piece of hose from the engine outlet to overboard.   You might get a bit of spillage but it can be caught in a bowl/big ice cream container usually.

Start the engine and allow it to run until water stops going overboard.  Stop the engine immediately that happens.

If you have antifreeze in your coolant you should really collect the overboard flow in drums and take it to your local tip/recycling centre.

 

N

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2 minutes ago, BEngo said:

... If you have antifreeze in your coolant you should really collect the overboard flow in drums and take it to your local tip/recycling centre.

 

N

who will tell you to put it in the waste oil tank! Well, they did for me.

Somewhere I have seen a Betamarine figure for a typical keel cooled Beta 43 of 40L for the coolant, assuming you have sized the tanks according to their recommendations.

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4 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

who will tell you to put it in the waste oil tank! Well, they did for me.

Somewhere I have seen a Betamarine figure for a typical keel cooled Beta 43 of 40L for the coolant, assuming you have sized the tanks according to their recommendations.

When I drained mine (a Beta 43), I used a 12 volt pump to pump the coolant out into 5 litres containers. I collected 40 litres, and a further 25 litres from the central heating system. However I had to make a couple of trips to the dump due to insufficient containers. I now have a couple of 20 litre containers ready for the next time.

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I agree with BEngo's method, but not the bit about pumping coolant overboard as Antifreeze is extremely toxic to aquatic life.

My system holds over 35 litres, same engine as yours, so expect 20 or more litres from your skin tank. Draining down from the drain cock on the right hand side of the Beta 43 directly into 5 Ltd containers will empty most of the calorifier system and engine, leaving just the skin tank to pump out.

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Thank you very much to all of you for your answers. I think I found the drain cock on the right side of my engine.
I think it is in red on the picture:


Besides, if anyone knows what the part with the blue arrow can be? 

My best regards,

 

Lau

révision 2017-3.jpg

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5 hours ago, Dream On said:

Thank you very much to all of you for your answers. I think I found the drain cock on the right side of my engine.
I think it is in red on the picture:


Besides, if anyone knows what the part with the blue arrow can be? 

My best regards,

 

Lau

révision 2017-3.jpg

If you didn't know what the part with the blue Arrow is for, I presume that you've never changed the fuel filter of your engine, and suggest to do that now before you'll break down somewhere on the Seine (or elsewhere), as it's no fun getting engine troubles on a big river, or in one of the locks sharing with a bunch of big barges that are (as always) in a hurry.

 

Peter.

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You're right, Peter, I never did it myself. Usually, the mechanic did it but this year I would like to do it myself. I regret a bit to have not better look his work :)
For the cooling water, he had not changed it.
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6 minutes ago, Dream On said:
 
You're right, Peter, I never did it myself. Usually, the mechanic did it but this year I would like to do it myself. I regret a bit to have not better look his work :)
For the cooling water, he had not changed it.

As long as it was done (on a regular base) either by you or a mechanic, as breaking down always happens in the worst situations.

 

There is a lot to say for doing this kind of maintenance work yourself, the most important is that you know your engine better,  as a bonus, you know that filters and oïl etc have been changed, and that the filters not just had a wipe with a clean rag.

 

Peter. 

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Absolutely.

There is a lot to learn about a boat.

The engine was not my priority because the Dream On did not move much.

I was doing the annual maintenance by a company but now I would like to do it myself.

It is better for everything: know how, know the boat and the financial aspect too :)

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