I recently had some overheating so I pulled out the heat exchanger (partially blocked) and inspected the exhaust mixing elbow. The elbow was down to a 20mm hole caused by the accumulated carbon. When I tried to dig it out, the screwdriver went through the side, so it was toast. So that's all cleaned and replaced and seems to working ok. I picked the problem up earlier than the Volvo alarm would have because I'd installed a third party sensor that runs independently to the Volvo electrics. It's one of the 'Engine Guard' models with two sensors. I have one sensor bolted to the head, and the other I clamp onto the oil filter. So with these I can set alarm triggers at whatever temps I decide.
My D1-30 has a coolant temperature operating range of between 75-95C. Before I had the issue, the head temp would usually sit in the 83-85C range and I had the alarm set at 90C. Would the head temp be much different from the coolant temperature I wonder? The oil temp certainly is higher and I had that alarm set at 100C, but I'm guessing. Does anyone know what the safe working range would be for the engine head and the oil filter?

Also I'm thinking of retrofitting a proper coolant temp gauge to have at the helm. I'd like to have a sensor that can take the Volvo sensor as well as sending to a gauge so there's redundancy. And while I'm at it, a real oil pressure gauge would be nice. What do you all have and what do you think is best?

Good article here - Cummins based and US temp units though.

www.sbmar.com/articles/redundant-alarms-least-expensive-engine-insurance/

Aqualarm seems to have good gear;

www.sharplift.com.au/aqualarm.html

aqualarm.net/exhaust-engine-monitorssensors-c-5/20297-six-systems-monitoring-kit-twin-with-12-detectors-bell-p-30.html

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r13 said..
Good article here - Cummins based and US temp units though.

www.sbmar.com/articles/redundant-alarms-least-expensive-engine-insurance/

Aqualarm seems to have good gear;

www.sharplift.com.au/aqualarm.html

aqualarm.net/exhaust-engine-monitorssensors-c-5/20297-six-systems-monitoring-kit-twin-with-12-detectors-bell-p-30.html

Thanks, I'll check them out.

My favourite engine tool is now the hand held temp gun
est $150 ever spent
engine parts coolant even shaft bearings and stern gland

I like the look of the Aqualarm raw water alarm: aqualarm.net/cooling-water-flow-c-2/20064-save-your-engine-kit-1-and-114-hose-12-volt-p-5.html?zenid=86e6b625f22d0eb69c866c7c45439b3d

My saildrive is quite prone to shellfish intrusion and blockage where I am.

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lydia said..
My favourite engine tool is now the hand held temp gun
est $150 ever spent
engine parts coolant even shaft bearings and stern gland

Yep good idea, which model did you get?

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2bish said..

lydia said..
My favourite engine tool is now the hand held temp gun
est $150 ever spent
engine parts coolant even shaft bearings and stern gland

Yep good idea, which model did you get?

Not sure off hand, but whatever the best one at Repco was!
About $200
Bargain.
amazing to watch the screen with engine running for a while.
Big difference across different parts of the engine.
Also saved us big time when we could identify a dry stern gland as cooling line was blocked.

Depending on your D1-30 model, it maybe possible to add temp and oil gauges from the existing engine harness. I looked for available plugs in the water jacket to add a temp sensor, but from what I could see they were already used. However I'm looking at what is required to either add a compatible gauge or simply add it to the ray marine net work to display on the plotter!
How hard was the exhaust mixer to replace? I've got a stainless one to swap out one day!
cheers Richard

Hi Richard, the exhaust mixer was pretty straightforward actually, just a new metal gasket needed. I have really good access to that side of the motor so that makes it easier. I actually pulled off the heat exchanger/manifold as well and went right through it to make sure everything was clear. The hardest bit is always getting the exhaust rubber hose off the barb. I'd heard mixed reports about going with stainless replacements, so I stuck with the cast iron part and figured it's just one of those components you have to replace every 1,000 hours or so. My diesel guy recommended giving the engine a hard run for 10 mins after every trip at 150 rpm under W.O.T. to burn out carbon build up, so I'll try that and see if it prolongs its life.

I did a search on using the plotter for oil pressure and temp. From what I found, temp is supported but not oil pressure on the D1-30 that I have, and I also like the idea of having a couple of gauges independent of the network. Do a search on Cruisers Forum and you should pull it up. I think the guys on there were installing an oil pressure sender on the front of the motor just to the left of the coolant tank, there's apparently a bung there you can utilise. And for the temp sender, I'd like a fitting that I can Y or T off the original sender and then add a dedicated sender for a gauge, that way I retain the original sender and alarm as a redundancy.

How many hours do you have on your motor?

Personally I think anything more than the standard warning lights and/or gauges for oil pressure and coolant temp is an overkill. I must admit I am one for not relying on technology when it isn't necessary.

If the oil pressure drops, heat exchanger blocks, water pump impeller or thermostat fail the alarms will let you know. When you get familiar with the engine you can often tell something is wrong before you get an alarm.

I use a hand held temperature sensor if I have suspicions but it isn't something you are going to monitor the drive train with.

Engine overheating is probably the only problem you are likely to encounter. This could be caused by not opening the valve or sucking up a Mars bar wrapper or just the slow but regular build-up of calcium. The absolute best set up is a visual on a stream of water in the cockpit from the saltwater bypassed from the cooling system. If you want to go high tech then one of these units with the sensor taped to the hose just aft of the exhaust mixer and perhaps one sensor on the faceplate of the saltwater pump.

www.ebay.com.au/itm/Waterproof-Dual-Digital-LED-Display-Thermometer-Temperature-Sensor-DC-4-28V/322940430808?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201210111314%26meid%3De8a6ecbf24f246f9ab1590293b5aeb2d%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dco%26sd%3D383796296730%26itm%3D322940430808%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2544595%26algv%3DSimplAMLv9PairwiseUnbiasedWeb%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2544595.c101195.m1851

NASA Marine do this exhaust temperature instrument , I've been thinking of getting one for a while

www.nasamarine.com/product/ex-1-exhaust-temperature-monitoralarm/

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Jolene said..
NASA Marine do this exhaust temperature instrument , I've been thinking of getting one for a while

www.nasamarine.com/product/ex-1-exhaust-temperature-monitoralarm/

$150 AU or the same thing for 20 bucks posted to your door.

www.ebay.com.au/itm/Motorcycle-Digital-Thermometer-Meter-Instrument-LED-Water-Temperature-Gauge-Temp/373347931652?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item56ed455604:g:kjcAAOSwLgNftPB6&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickk8ihYa55VeJusc0Ydu6jngwtWj4wfE7aZ1cAetMSrcmKCy%252B0Z21qi9NFnZrsWL5uOff7HtU%252FhWnZdbfjRq8%252BS1OnEZ82PVcZVGeHd4fH9fBecDrLmJNUSP7BausxF11yH2z%252BK%252Fy%252FTJaUn1gE8DTy0D%252FDrgFzd9IBfFhcnGXMtM%252FU0uz0BFo8LtM%252F7%252Bo6oX%252BVLaz14qCNED5DshGbI2SigSZfL2GxvP4qBuaUHSZlLTtFh%252BZiB3f%252BeqiVJUoq9pXZ82fyjQLAnAjB4S6tr0K0xeXTBkiBlGfpNWk7Masm0vlsc5gx6tz1VAOPNoSgmOzAwUTAeq7n%252FP9qkdV%252FfTwfhAEEWfHy2Er%252BG8JvOf%252FzGuTamp%252B6GTAVQwmxiMfQWtpQB8UretR9n5xoynK2CrL9jp7cA5t1I69w21TXMSrnbgDfWn59jZyunG1NP1MySeQCn9JpJCWK1PLbi8frDQLelpUBtGKv0JY1lAQC3FG9oaNt1J5RhQB77B%252BbJ0KRlPobONQ%252FWiWIKlOCjGMKudfHy0MdHbNt9rUo5N2w5Wd6Db1fTMZd%252FwUrWhNhrt94cxQRtPe%252F2XEPfL6BTo0lCGhBRceCg0tiCj0v12M5qT8HElTZ1xGb6NQA4jOz6R7XszLsNF2R46ZtUiRNdDZClP7jYIndVbrg7UilyTwqOLP6qYbT%252F3p1uQ13ZW6ehhLZ2X3jdPKQpt4BEQFoRFDhUbvj0oPmSsNQ8asHoXrUbH1FjcCQ1u71%252FUdxhuo1QFI3YiXTBQrnt7aaJVLCO6vKE6K6RyDEFc135TItA5tkqX71zOvI%253D%7Ccksum%3A3733479316525cd845d6857e4c999f8563701621cd47%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524&frcectupt=true

On my fishing vessel, I used these for constant monitoring of the seawater temperature.

www.ebay.com.au/itm/LCD-Digital-Fridge-Freezer-Thermometer-Temperature-Gauge-Refrigerator-Aquarius/353435655260?hash=item524a681c5c:g:sPcAAOSwoUBgF3oq

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Ramona said..

Jolene said..
NASA Marine do this exhaust temperature instrument , I've been thinking of getting one for a while

www.nasamarine.com/product/ex-1-exhaust-temperature-monitoralarm/

$150 AU or the same thing for 20 bucks posted to your door.

But are they the same thing??

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Ramona said..

On my fishing vessel, I used these for constant monitoring of the seawater temperature.

www.ebay.com.au/itm/LCD-Digital-Fridge-Freezer-Thermometer-Temperature-Gauge-Refrigerator-Aquarius/353435655260?hash=item524a681c5c:g:sPcAAOSwoUBgF3oq

I have a couple of these to monitor the fridge & hot water temps - they work well because I also have other temp senders in the same spot & they always agree!!

I probably overdo the monitoring of things on my boat but I do like to know what is going on. As well as the normal engine monitoring going to the helm I also have senders going to my Raspberry Pi.





I also like to keep an eye on my batteries. This was taken this morning from home - the beauty of this setup is I can "check in" to the boat from my home PC or phone anytime.

On the House AMPS graph I can see the amps going berzerk yesterday arvo as the HWS cuts in & out as the batteries are fully charged, then overnight the fridge cutting in & out (fridge can be seen in graph above as well).



I have this screen on a monitor at the helm, when motoring, which mirrors the Pi4 at the Nav station. There is another for sailing.



As I said, probably overkill but it's what I like!!


Edit:
Just to prove that I have monitoring overkill!!!

I just took a pic from a remote camera I have which I can "check in" to from my home PC or phone to see if she is doing OK. This camera is infared & also has a mike & records video if there is any movement or sound.
I actually yelled out to my mooring neighbor, with this camera, one day & I was watching him trying to work out where I was!!
I just realised that I have to change the time from DST on this!!



I also get a pic, from another camera, sent to me every few hours or if there is any movement!!





I like to know what's happening on my boat when I'm not there!!

Very cool Lazzz!

My Trek Transponder can do similar. You can have 6 Full HD Cameras on board, monitor 5 temperature sensors and 16 inputs that can come from nearly any kind of sensor. Also see pitch and roll and vessel listing. A big thing is it draws a tiny tiny 12V 0.04A unless you ping it so it wont kill batteries. And its SMS text / MMS not App to be cheap and simple, though it can email you.

For your normal boatie you dont need all that, its overkill. The comments above are right. Maybe just an intruder sensor and camera, bilge alarm and geofence to make sure boat is in the right place. But we have put them on heaps of commerical vessels where its important especially in remote places around WA. Even put them on big marker buoys so if they break free they can be located and recovered.

Below- Two Full HD pics from my boat in Elvina Bay in Pittwater just now. And a Status/Geofence SMS and email. .Excuse mess!!!I am trying to replace cabin ceiling and now get siezed circulation pump off the engine (Volvo 2003) and if anyone has a good one I need one :-)

Wow Lazz, you get to have fun with your boat even when you're not on board! The story about calling out to your mooring neighbour is hilarious, did you ever tell him?

That's certainly a lot of data coming in. The great thing is that you can see the trend graphs too, therefore getting an early warning of anything slowly going amiss and needing attention. That's why I'd rather have both gauges and alarms on the boat. The gauge let's you see if there's a trend towards a problem, once the engine manufacturer's alarm goes off, the problem is already there.

Earlier in the year when I was motoring through the Denison Canal. We had an outgoing stream against us, probably a good 4 knots. I had to keep the revs up high to make headway. Add to that a dirty bottom and prop and everything was against us. The third-party alarm I have on the engine head went off, not the Volvo alarm. I'd set the third party engine alarm at 90C (I think), so I got an early warning and I could reduce the revs a bit and nurse it through the rest of the transit. And this is the whole point of the exercise for me really, issues manifest when you're putting the boat/engine under stress, and if you're in an already tricky situation when an alarm goes off, it may be too late. I would have been in a real pickle if I'd lost power or been unable to push against that tidal current in the canal, it's pretty narrow and there wouldn't be much time to prep and drop the anchor (I do have all this ready to go now before a transit).

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Trek said..
Very cool Lazzz!

My Trek Transponder can do similar. You can have 6 Full HD Cameras on board, monitor 5 temperature sensors and 16 inputs that can come from nearly any kind of sensor. Also see pitch and roll and vessel listing. A big thing is it draws a tiny tiny 12V 0.04A unless you ping it so it wont kill batteries. And its SMS text / MMS not App to be cheap and simple, though it can email you.

I think your Trek Transponder should be a "must have" for all boats to protect themselves!!

I'm pretty lucky that I can "tinker" with stuff & I enjoy the challenges of setting up these sensors etc!!

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2bish said..
Wow Lazz, you get to have fun with your boat even when you're not on board! The story about calling out to your mooring neighbour is hilarious, did you ever tell him?

I love the fact that I can work on the computer from home to "play" or update stuff on the boat. It means I don't have to do it when I'm onboard.
Nah, I haven't told him - it's good fun saying g'day to kayakers as they paddle past as well!!

Hi 2Bish,
thanks for response on removing the exhaust elbow, I figured the rubber tube would be the hardest part to remove, mine is accessible but I have to reach right over the engine. But I'll do the job soon. My engine is blocking 1800 hrs now, the trip to the Whitsundays added sone hours. I've done more hours in the 4 years of my ownership, than the previous owner did in 10, more sailing mike too I expect. I am getting a little steam from the exhaust, possibly water intake restrictions, I blow it out with compressed air regularly, but I suspect critters are still inside the leg cavity? The elbow was replace d prior to my ownership in 2013, and I use salt away to flush out the heat exchanger. I like the idea of a temp gauge, just so you can be ahead of impending cooling issues, before you are in a situation and find the engine getting hot and bothered. I'm not sure a tee fitting would be a good thing for tapping into the cooling circuit. Typically the sensors are protruding into the water stream.
I was considering making up a stainless adapter to introduce a sensor into the rubber hose from the thermostat to the heat exchanger!
cheers Richard

Hi Richard, I saw a lot of youtube vids where they worked a lubricant under the levered up edge of the exhaust hose. I just used some lanolin spray and it seemed to help in the removal. I didn't realise the temp sender was poking in that far, I'll have to rethink that then. I'll catch my local Volvo diesel guy and have a good chat, he's always very generous with advice. Your idea of a stainless adapter is interesting, so would that be placed somewhere along the hose (19) in this schematic?
www.marinepartseurope.com/en/volvo-penta-explodedview-7746500-26-8337.aspx

Sounds like you're having similar saildrive issues with shellfish infestation inside the leg. I had a dive on my boat over easter and gave it a scrub. I found one of the water holes in the leg was completely blocked and another was partially blocked with hard growth. When I pulled the leg out 2 years ago to replace the rubber hull seal, I found several muscles growing just inside the outlet where the seacock screws in, they must have been reducing the flow by 50%. With that in mind last week, I closed the seacock and removed the rubber hose. I then wrapped a very large flat screwdriver with a tea towel to seal the top edge and placed it in the hole, opened the seacock and worked it right through into the sail drive leg. Definitely some crunching sounds as I broke up some shells in there and later I had confirmation with broken shells in the raw water filter. I doubt that I got them all, probably just pushed some aside. But the flow out of the sea cock before I replaced the hose was good and strong. I wish I'd had the foresight to do a visual flow test before I poked the screwdriver in, just for a comparison.

Cheers Bishwa

Sorry Bishwa
I can't see the schematic you sent. But I was thinking the rubber hose on forward end of the heat exchanger.

you can buy these type of fittings, just need to get the correct hose size.

Re the leg growth with shellfish, I have a dive hooker compressor, so I blast this through the feed hose, to try and unblock, unfortunately the ones that take up residence inside the water ways tend to re-block the system. I have heard soaking the inside with a vinegar solution can help to turn them to mush. That would mean a dive, fit some outboard flush muffs and soak.
Richard

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lydia said..
My favourite engine tool is now the hand held temp gun
est $150 ever spent
engine parts coolant even shaft bearings and stern gland

These things are awesome. I had a yuppie one that was a thermal cctv camera so you are looking at a real time picture on the screen. Heat showed as varying color bands across the whole image, but there were crosshairs in the centre of the image that gave you the digital readout of temp.It was the same principle as what Lydia mentioned, just yuppified as it was marketed as a fever detection hand held unit for Covid 19. Cost is $1500, so you pay a lot just for the pretty picture compared to Lydia's, but the accuracy isn't much different.

We used it a few weeks ago on a 1000 horsepower drag car to check exhaust gas temps per cylinder and cross referenced the results to the readings from the EGT sensor on each cylinder.It was bang on, dead accurate.

It came in handy for things I didn't think about too. For a bit of fun we measured all the bits on a DI-30 after a service. Once we had a reference , it was the simplest thing to wave it around your engine every now and then and check if temps had increased anywhere.

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Stockie said..

I'm not sure a tee fitting would be a good thing for tapping into the cooling circuit. Typically the sensors are protruding into the water stream.
I was considering making up a stainless adapter to introduce a sensor into the rubber hose from the thermostat to the heat exchanger!
cheers Richard

This a stainless fitting I made for my boat for tapping a sensor into the exhaust hose.
I just smear some roof and gutter silicone around it and clamp it up with a couple of hose clamps. I went with a barbless design so it is easier to remove. I pulled it out a few months back to check it for crevice corrosion and it was fine.

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Stockie said..
Sorry Bishwa
I can't see the schematic you sent. But I was thinking the rubber hose on forward end of the heat exchanger.

you can buy these type of fittings, just need to get the correct hose size.

Re the leg growth with shellfish, I have a dive hooker compressor, so I blast this through the feed hose, to try and unblock, unfortunately the ones that take up residence inside the water ways tend to re-block the system. I have heard soaking the inside with a vinegar solution can help to turn them to mush. That would mean a dive, fit some outboard flush muffs and soak.
Richard

Yep that's the one. Jolene's fitting above looks perfect. Interesting tip with the vinegar, no detrimental effect on the aluminum I hope?

With the $5 digital temperature gauges just tape the probe to the outside of the exhaust elbow. Wrap the section of elbow and probe with crumpled up Alfoil and secure with a couple of cable ties. The difference in temperature will be minimal and will last longer than a probe in a mixture of exhaust and seawater.

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Ramona said..
With the $5 digital temperature gauges just tape the probe to the outside of the exhaust elbow. Wrap the section of elbow and probe with crumpled up Alfoil and secure with a couple of cable ties. The difference in temperature will be minimal and will last longer than a probe in a mixture of exhaust and seawater.

Yep, that's how I have mine - the difference in temperature is very, very minimal. Much easier than manufacturing a nice SS fitting.
I have one tied to the alternator as well!!

It is easy to lengthen the wiring, if need be, as well.

Some interesting uses for the cheappo digital temp sensors and hand held ones too. I need to get a watch dog type for engine temp, seems the best / cheapest/ easiest way to introduce an alarm. As for exhaust temp, my system is semi dry/ wet, ie the raw water doesn't join the exhaust until the last 1.5m, no bong bottle thingo and it's very audible when the raw water has reduced flow, fouling from Mars bar wrapper etc, the tone is louder & ballsyier