Salt Water Engine Ssystem Descaling

[REBrueckner]

A mechanic I know and trust recommended RYDLYME (rydlyme.com) to descale (clean) the salt water side of engine cooling systems. He suggested it as a preventive procedure. Anybody have firsthand experience or knowledge of this product?

According to him, there is little need to disassemble engine cooling systems for cleaning of the saltwater side. His boss later told me they used Rydlyme in a cooling system that had already been disassembled and cleaned but still had overheating problems:it cured that system and he, too, is an advocate.

It's a biodegradable cleaner that is introduced via a hose connection from a container to a salt water pump (plug or zinc), pumped thru the engine and discharged into a container where it is again picked up at the salt water pump. Let it sit four about four hours and "presto", the engine cooling system is ready to go....if all this is accurate...

Edit: It just occured to me that I was told the product cleans intercoolers as well, but how does the Rydlyme get up there if it's recovered for recirculation at the saltwater pump??

 

[Genesis]

I'm sure it works, but PhOsphoRic is cheaper and easier to get

And.... it works too....

 

[GERRYS6434]

Genesis, I've tried to find PhOsphoRic up here in New York with no luck.
Any suggestions where I can buy it? Gerry...

 

[Walter P]

Rob, What you are describing sounds like a procedure I have used very successfully. The process in my case involved removing the raw water impeller and reinstalling the cover plate. I then made up a hose connection to the top plate of the raw water strainer, very similiar to a popular unit which is marketed for winterizing. The next step was to remove the connection where the raw water enters the exhaust flow and install a hose to return the liquid back to a 30 gal pail (a clean heavy duty garbage can works fine). Now comes the good part.... get hold of a good high volume pump such as a swimming pool pump and rig it to draw from the 30 gal container (it does not need to be full, just make up enough to do the job). The pump pushes it into the raw water strainer and through the entire raw water system. Run this mix for 4 -6 hrs then shut it down, reconnect the plumbing to the exhaust end and pump the stuff through for the last time. When the container is empty, shut off the pump, re-install the impeller in the raw water pump and take care of the raw water strainer and start the engine. It should be allowed to run for a few minutes to ensure that all the residual is gone.

I used a material called TRAC Barnacle Buster which I got from the manufacturer in Hallandale, Fl. The stuff is biodegradeable and is safe and approved to be used as I described. My nephew skippers a large Mega Yacht on the west coast told and me about it several years ago. He used it to run through the Air conditioning systems on their boat and the result was spectacular. It is safe for rubber hoses and any materials which is normally encountered in engine cooling systems.

I never heard of the other product listed above but I would like to get more info incl. price, safety etc.

Walt

 

[Beckytek]

You can get "ospho" from Jamestown Distributors, 401-253-3840
>www.jamestowndistributors.com< Ron

 

[Genesis]

I get it at Home Depot. $12/gallon or so. Very nice price.

 

[MikeP]

And, if the OSpho isn't available - I couldn't find it in NY either, didn't think to try and order it - you can use the DD recommended Oxalic/Muriatic acid. It works very well and is extremely cheap at any hardware store. But as Karl has pointed out in previous posts, the acid mix is more agressive - to the parts AND you, so due caution is in order. When preparing the mix, remember from high school chemistry, pour the ACID into the WATER, not the other way 'round!

 

[lisaann]

i found "ospho" packedge by Skyco in Huntington NY at Compass Rose Marine
speak to mike he is familar with the product and its uses. phone # is 631-673-4144 hope this helps mark

 

[REBrueckner]

Are the Ospho type products used the same way as Rydlyme...in a running engine??

 

[REBrueckner]

For detailed information on Rydlyme, go to rydlyme.com and then select rydlyme marine from the list on the left.

There is extensive info there...The procedure described matches that posted by Walter. The rydlyme website says to remove the salt water impeller and all zincs. And use a separate pump to flush the system. Looks like rydlyme is far safer than acid type washes but likely is more expensive as well.

Note: This appears to be a good procedure to use when changing raw water impellers...Sounds like I'll add this procedure to my winter list for 06/07.

 

[GERRYS6434]

Thanks to all for info on where to buy cleaners.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I was just in HD tonight. FYI, I saw the cleaner on the shelf in the paint section, right next to the strippers and next to TSP. I think the bottle was green and said Phosphoric Rust Converter on it.

 

[Genesis]

Yep - that's the stuff.

Works great for this purpose. Don't tell the guys who sell the "marine" stuff at 5x the price...

 

[REBrueckner]

When using phosphoric rust converter for descaling raw water cooling,

What mix is used? (How much dilution?)
Are zincs removed prior to its use?
How much is required?
Is it necessary to have it in the cooling system for, say, four hours like Rydlyme??
And if it's flushed through an engine briefly, say for just a few minutes, it is again used for a second engine or is a fresh batch required?

I'm a little leery of putting acid in my engine without some further advice. The Rydlyme is likely a lot more expensive, but not if it avoids some potential cooling system damage I might unwittingly inflict!!! Thanks.

 

[Genesis]

Dilute 1:1 with water.

Remove the zinc pencils first. It won't eat 'em fast, but it will eat 'em.

I mix it up in a 5 gallon bucket and put a "disposable" bilge pump in there as a circulation pump.

Circulate for about a half-hour. No need to let it sit for hours. 30 minutes to an hour will do the job just fine. Keep the circulation going the entire time as it DOES bubble and of course airlocks will stop the process since the surface won't have any liquid in contact with it.

Resuable for second engine, etc if you wish - no problem there.

Note that this stuff is a rust-converting primer used for prep before galvanizing and such on ferrous metals, and is typically NOT neutralized before overcoating when used for that purpose. I would not use it on a cooling system that had aluminum in it, but then again I wouldn't own a boat that had aluminum in the raw water circuit in the first place - IMHO that metal has no place in the raw water side of a cooling system anyway.

IMHO its MUCH safer to use than the Oxalic/Hydrochloric mix that DD recommends. The latter is extremely aggressive - both to metals and to you, if you manage to get some of it on you.

Oh, and Rydlyme IS an acid......

 

[REBrueckner]

Gensis..thanks for the feedback....

I checked in my local Home depot paint department (in NJ) for "Phosphoric Acid metal cleaner.."
"We don't have that" all three guys in the paint department said, so I said
"Sure you do, it's in with the paint preparation chemicals, strippers"....

So one took me along to strippers and sure enough it was alongside the TSP...called Phosphoric Paint Preparation of something similar, large containers (about a gallon) were just under $7...The can says to dilute 3 to 1 for cleaning metal in preparation for painting....It's on my list for the next impeller change....


Any suggestions on how to make a convenient fitting to feed the chemical mix in the cooling system?
I guess a flat plate, center hole drilled to permit mounting to the raw water strainer assembly, maybe an old raw water pump cover, with a hose connection fitting soldered over a drilled (off center) hole would enable me to fasten it on my intake strainer ....any simplier solutions??? (I knew I should have saved that last raw water pump cover I discarded!!!)

 

[Maynard Rupp]

I would drill and tap the old plate for 1/4" pipe. Buy a brass 1/4" npt. to hose for whatever size hose you want. Put some teflon tape on the fitting and screw it into the old plate. Apiece of hose and a clamp are the only other needs.

 

[Genesis]

Remove the impeller and run a hose off the tap on the gear cooler for one of its zincs. Close the seacock so you don't lose solution down that direction.

Remove the outlet hose from the H/E and make up an adapter for that end too.

There 'ya have it.....

 

[REBrueckner]

Genesis..that's a clever idea to circulate the cleaner via a gear cooler connection...
That way it seems like it would not even be necessary to remove the raw water impeller since there is nothing on the inlet side except the strainer and pick up pipe...no heat transfer elements there...hence a simpler approach overall..or am I missing something??

 

[Genesis]

My gear coolers are on the suction side, so I have to remove the impeller