Heater Maintenance

Airtronic L "Troubleshooting and Repair Instructions"
Airtronic L "Installation, Operation and Maintenance"
Airtronic D2D4 Basic Repair Analysis
Airtronic Marine Installations
Espar Digi Controller Manual


With one more winter to contend with we want to make sure our diesel heater is going to be ready.  Over the last two winters we've averaged something like 2500 hours of non-stop running between December and early March.  Last year just as we were going to shut it down with the onset of warmer weather it decided to quit on it's own.  I let it go because it was no longer a high priority item and I had plenty of other stuff to work on.  As August rolled by I realized that time was getting away from me and decided to put the heater back up at the top of my priority list.

I did some preliminary troubleshooting and narrowed the problem down to the fuel metering pump.  It has a screen filter on the inlet and that was totally plugged.  I tried to clean it but punched a hole through the screen in the process.  That did give me better fuel flow but I still had errors and the heater wouldn't run for more than a few minutes.  I priced a new pump through our local supplier and they quoted me $300.  Uhm, sorry, but this little thing is not worth that kind of money.

This is a simple little piston driven pump, nothing complicated.  I saw the same pump priced on-line for $165.  I sincerely believe in supporting the local dudes but this was just ridiculous.  Even at $165 this thing is way over priced.  I shelved the project for a few weeks and gave it some thought.  This past weekend I opened up the manual and did some proper troubleshooting.  Following the error codes I came to the same conclusion, that the pump was bad, but I learned a lot about the system in the process.

Our D5 heater came with a small four button "digi controller".  To get the error codes you have to hold the top two buttons down simultaneously for about three seconds.  It'll then continuously cycle through all the codes in it's memory.  For this problem it showed #11 (under voltage cutout), #13 (flame sensor over temp), #48 (metering pump interruption), and #52 (safety time exceeded).  Espar has an excellent troubleshooting guide (Airtronic L Troubleshooting and Repair Instructions) which explains what to do for each code.  For code #11 I disconnected the main wiring harness connector "S1/B1" and put a volt meter across pins 1 and 10 where I saw 13.2 volts, just as it should be.  For #13 it suggests checking the combination sensor (flame and over temp) but it goes on to mention fuel quantity too and this ties in with the other codes so I moved on to the next one, #48.  This says to check the resistance across the two leads on the fuel metering pump.  It's supposed to read 9.5 ohms but mine reads 0.2.  I also noticed that code #47 suggests that if you have error code #48 then just go ahead and replace the fuel metering pump.  OK, I'll do that.  In another manual (Airtronic D2D4 Basic Repair Analysis) it mentions that the most common cause of metering pump failures is extended periods of non-use causing the piston to freeze.  I suspect this then causes the coil to short out and give the indication I see here.  We don't run the heater from March to December, pretty much nine or ten months straight.  I think that qualifies for "extended periods".  #52 is just a safety feature built into the program that only allows the heater to be in the start-up mode for a short period of time.  If it doesn't go into run mode within that time it switches over to shut-down mode to keep itself from turning into a lump of molten metal.  I went ahead and ordered the $165 metering pump on line.  It's worth mentioning that the screen for the pump is available separately at a fairly reasonable price.  If you don't have an in-line filter upstream from the pump then it might be worthwhile investing in a few of these.

Espar provides some very nice information in these two manuals.  The "Basic Repair Analysis" is intended for other similar models (D2 and D4) but it relates well.  It also has nice color photos and good explanations of what caused specific problems.  The other one, "Troubleshooting and Repair Instructions", steps you through the troubleshooting procedure and provides drawings and schematics.  Another nice one to hold onto is the installation manual that came with the original kit.  This provides a nice electrical diagram with color coding for all the wires.  I keep these in PDF form on my iPad along with most manuals for all of our electronic and mechanical gear on board.  I've attached all three of these, and more, at the top of this post for anyone who might be interested.

Besides playing with the heater I also took on a few other items on my long To Do list.

Our mast is rigged so that all the halyards run down through the inside of the mast and exit about ten feet above the deck where they run down to the winches and cleats.  This is a really nifty setup because it prevents the lines from slapping against the mast when the wind blows, a common nuisance in any marina..  The slots where the lines exit the mast have plastic rings called exit plates (see picture) that prevent chafing of the lines.  The exit plate for the genoa halyard broke off about two years ago and I keep forgetting to replace it.  This weekend I got the bosun's chair out and made a proper repair.  The exit plate is held in place with a rivet and of course this piece was still in place so I had to drill that out first.  These are pretty large rivets and the installation required a Herculean effort with the rivet tool while I was dangling in the air.  I eventually managed though so now we don't have to worry about the genoa crashing to the deck in the middle of the next storm.

Another project was the Mainsail preventer (click here).  I had originally installed the eye nuts on the boom with lock washers but over the last few weeks I kept looking at them and decided it would be better to have the base of the eye nuts flat against the boom because of the sideways direction of force when this thing will be in use.  I pictured the stud getting bent because of the gap caused by the lock washer.  It only took a few minutes to make that correction.  At the same time I added a piece of 3/8" hose over the threaded stud inside the boom to prevent chafing of the out-haul and topping lift lines.  With that done I put the end cap back on the boom and called that part of the project complete.

The folks on the boat next to us asked if that's all I do is work.  I told them that this stuff was more like "play" and the stuff I do during the week is "work".  Never-the-less, I did manage to break away from the "play" and get out and do some fun stuff.  On Sunday morning Cheri and I joined about ten other folks in kayaks exploring Tracy's Creek with a very knowledgeable Naturalist for a guide.  The weather was perfect, clear skies and temps in the low 70's.  The picture above shows the location of the creek with our marina in the bottom of the circled off area.  Our guide pointed out all kinds of plants and critters including some dead fish laying on the creek bank that otters had set out to mark their territory.  Pretty cool! This section of the creek was way back there and is surrounded by woods and wetlands with no signs of civilization.  It's practically in our back yard and I never realized it was so nice back there.  We'll hafta get out there more often, fer sure!

Monitor Rebuild

I've finally gotten through the restoration of the Monitor wind vane.  This turned out to be a much larger project than I first imagined.  When I started in on this I pictured it as a simple cleanup with a few replacement parts.  Silly boy.  The wind vane is 28 years old and although it was well taken care of I don't think it was ever fully taken apart and cleaned up.  These older units built prior to October 1991 were made of 304 stainless steel which tends to develop surface corrosion in harsh environments.  They now make them with 316 stainless which holds up much better.  The 304 stuff is still OK but it requires more attention.  It needs to be cleaned, polished and waxed to keep it in good condition.  There's also a concern about crevice corrosion which can occur in tight areas that don't get fresh air such as in welds or between tight surfaces.  I did find one area that had signs of crevice corrosion but because of the location decided it wasn't going to be a problem.

The rebuild required a complete dismantling of the wind vane.  Once I had it torn down I went though and cleaned and polished every square inch to remove any sign of surface corrosion.  This took the most time and was the worst part of the project.  I used a product called Flitz and it made the job much easier.  Once I got everything polished I went back and gave it all a good coat of wax.

As I went through the restoration I found several parts that needed replacing.  The bushing retainers for the pinion gear were cracked and had to be ground out and new ones welded in.  There were plastic shims and bushings that simply crumbled in my hand due to age and salt water exposure.  The pulley used to adjust the angle of the wind vane on top was made from aluminum and was completely corroded.  It's replacement part is made of Delrin and should last a lifetime.

All the bearings are made of hard plastic and were still in good condition but I replaced them anyway.  The bearings on this thing don't come in one piece with built-in races.  The outer race is the inside surface of the tubing and you have to install each ball or pin roller separately which is a major pain.  I used dish washing soap to hold them in place during assembly but even then I ended up chasing little balls all over the cockpit.  Re-assembly of the pinion gear and it's support shaft into the yoke was by far the most frustrating part of this project.

I think I mentioned before how amazed I was to find that Scanmar kept records of every Monitor ever made.  Most parts were still available too.  The basic design hasn't changed much since it was first introduced back in 1975.  The biggest difference I found was in the pinion gear (part #36).  Where it mounts on the shaft the older pinion gear is shorter and uses a bushing and washers to take up the slack and correctly align it with the ring gear.  I had to replace the bushing and had trouble finding something suitable.  I ended up using a short length of 3/4" PVC pipe used for above ground wiring.  It says it's resistant to sunlight but I'm going to keep an eye on it.  Might make a cover for it to prevent the UV rays from breaking down the plastic.  A nice chunk of bronze would be a better choice.  If I wasn't so cheap I could have replaced the pinion gear ($274) and then wouldn't need the bushing.  The pinion shaft (part #33, $38) also had to be replaced due to wear.  I also ended up buying a "Cruising Parts Kit" (#801,$60) which provided most of the small parts I needed.  One problem I ran into is that there isn't really a manual with instructions on how to rebuild this thing.  The parts list has some very nice exploded diagrams but that's all you get.  Some parts, especially the yoke assembly, all have to go together in a certain order.  If you get it wrong the entire thing has to be taken apart and re-done.  I went through that more than a few times.  Each time you take it apart all the bearings fall out too.  Fun.

So, the worst part of the wind vane project is over.  Now I just have to install it.  I need to make up four backing plates for the mounting brackets so for now the wind vane patiently waits in the shed.

In addition to getting projects done for our cruise Cheri and I are also getting ourselves ready.  With less than six months to go we have both made umpteen doctor appointments to make sure we're in good health before heading out.  I've had some serious pain in my shoulder for over a year now and my doctor thought it may be a torn rotator cuff.  If it was actually torn an operation and rehab could take up to six months so I looked into that first.  An MRI showed it to be just inflammation so a cortisone shot and physical therapy will take care of that.  I also got a list of shots for traveling overseas.  Our family doctor helped us put together a medical kit and we discussed the best way to manage our prescriptions as well as assembling a stash of antibiotics and pain meds.  We'll be able to get most of everything we need (Rx-wise) over the next few years by having a family member get our re-fills through a local pharmacy and mailing them to us through our mail forwarding service.  We've submitted ourselves to a complete physical and several other exams not really worth mentioning.  So far we have clean bills-of-health.  I even got an eye exam and bought new glasses as well as a pair of prescription sunglasses with polarized lenses to cut the glare so I can see coral heads better when we're cruising around the islands.

So much to do, so little time.  This is all kinda stressful, ya know?  I need a vacation.

195:07:48:49

Memorial Day Weekend 2014

 Chart for Chesapeake Bay

Between our jobs and the boat projects we've been slaving away pretty much non-stop for three months.  We've had a few weekends on the Bay when family or friends came to visit but we haven't taken any time for just ourselves. Over Memorial Day weekend we decided to take a few days and anchor out, get away from it all for a while.

Saturday morning we managed to get away from the dock at a reasonable time, 0930, and motored out to red #2 in Herring Bay.  The wind was blowing 8 to 12 knots out of the SSE so we rolled out the Main, Genoa and Staysail and headed off for Eastern Bay on a beam reach.  Our boat really likes this kind of sailing and we ran across into Eastern Bay making an easy 6.5 to 7.5 knots (SOG).  There were quite a few boats working their way up towards St. Michaels.  As we passed a Beneteau 38 Cheri grabbed a few pictures of it.  We contacted them by radio and asked for an e-mail address.  They got the pictures right away and promised we would see some of LVD in a few days.  The first two pictures here, above and to the left, are the ones they took of us.

We cut inside the mark into the Miles River and ran close hauled as far as we could up to the Wye River entrance. We had a choice of tacking or dropping the sails and I chose to motor in the rest of the way.  It's a long and winding path to our destination, taking about 45 minutes at 6 knots to meander back to our favorite cove located just beyond Pickering Creek.  Seeing how crowded most of the anchorages were I was fully expecting to find our spot already overtaken.  As we came around the final point and the cove came fully into view I was pleasantly surprised to find we were the only ones there.

We anchored in 10' of water, far enough out from the shore to catch the breeze coming over the trees.  This is a very secluded spot with no homes in site and all the visible shoreline is lined with trees.  As I sat in the cockpit taking in the view a Bald Eagle dove down to the water not more than 40' off our stern.  He skimmed the surface with his talons and rose into the air with a fish.  I watched him fly off and land in one of the large trees on shore.  This is what we came here for.  A nice presentation of Mother Nature with a little slice of solitude on the side.

 We spent the rest of the afternoon futzing about.  Cheri practiced her music for a while and I goofed off on deck.  I got the dinghy out in case we wanted to row around or try our hand at fishing but we never got around to it.  Why ruin a good thing by trying to do stuff?  I spent a few hours in the cockpit catching up on my reading.  Time well spent.

For dinner Cheri made up a new recipe for crab cakes and I honestly gotta say they were the best crab cakes I've ever had.  Perfect.  Everywhere we go we sample the crab cakes and we do have some favorites but her new recipe left them all far behind.  She also came up with a new recipe for a white wine sangria and this combined with the crab cakes and arugula salad made for a memorable meal.  Say that ten times real quick.....memorable meal, memorable meal...

Sunday morning we had blueberry pancakes in the cockpit.  Memorable meal.  After we finished up we debated how to spend the day.  It was beautiful out, clear skies and a brisk wind, 20 knots out of the SW.  We decided the best thing to do would be to get out on the Bay before the wind died away.  As it turned out this wasn't really a concern.

We were on our way by 1030.  As we motored out the last leg of the Wye River into the Miles River we were running head on into the wind.  I waited until just before we made our turn up towards Eastern Bay before unfurling the sails.  We ran on a broad reach up to R4 and cut across the shallows off Tilghman Point.  Running close hauled we raced down the bay but never had a real chance of making it past Kent Point without tacking.  I knew that as we got closer to the entrance the wind would channel more from the south but we still needed another five or ten degrees.  "Ready about..."  We tacked down to R2A and then came about to run just clear of the shallows off Kent Point.

A lot of people say that Island Packets are slow.  I disagree.  With more than about eight knots of wind they take off pretty well.  What they don't do is point up into the wind very well.  This is due to the design of the boat where compromises have been made to build a boat that's better in other respects.  It's got a full length shallow keel which doesn't point up as well as a fin type, deep keel.  Another thing is that the shrouds that hold up the mast from port and starboard are attached to the boat right at the toerail on the outer edge of the boat.  The Genoa sheets are led outside of the shrouds at the widest part of the boat preventing the sail from being drawn in any tighter, closer to center line.

When we were sailing down Eastern Bay we were in a group of about five boats.  The wind was blowing a steady 20 knots and I suspect that several of the boats  weren't pointed up as well as they could simply to make the ride a little nicer.  There were a few boats that could point up into the wind better than us though and I could see that they were going to make it out into the Chesapeake Bay without having to tack.  Just a few more degrees would really make a difference at times like that.

The guy next in the slip next to us back at the dock just added a track inside his shrouds and he has a really sweet rig he got from Garhauer for adjusting the Genoa from the cockpit.  I talked to him about it thinking maybe this was something we might try.  I came away with two reasons that this wouldn't work for us.  The first is that new track.  The walking area on either side of our cabin is narrow to start with and when you go forward you have to swing around the inside of the shrouds to get by.  The deck is clear though and I've had to go forward a few times in some nasty weather and was glad I didn't have to worry about tripping over anything.  The other reason is that he said he has to either run additional sheets or move the sheet around the shrouds to use the inside track.  That sounds like work to me, more effort than I want to put in.  I think I'll just continue to tack.  What's the rush anyway?  It's a sailboat for gosh sakes.  We're only gonna go about eight or ten mph max.  According to Answers.com a human can outpace us easily if he could run on water:

Sprinting up to 100 yards - record is ~23 MPH - average ~14
Running up to a mile /1600 meters record is ~16MPH - average ~10MPH
Marathon distance record ~26 Mile/42 Km is ~13MPH/21KmPH
reasonable 9MPH 14KmPH (NY marathon qualification time)

For figuring out how fast you can get between two points these are probably better values as they assume you can actually not spend too much time recovering.

The Average walking speed is 3-4 MPH 5-6 KmPH or about 100 yards/meters per minute

Running speed sustained is about twice that 8 MPH, 12 KmPH or 200 yards/meters per minute.

I think I'll just stay in the cockpit and enjoy the ride.

So, back to the story.  Once we cleared Kent Point we had a straight run to Herring Bay on the western shore.  We were running under full main and Genoa making about 7.5 knots.  As got got clear of the influence of Poplar Island the wind swung a little more to the south and increased to as much as 25 knots.  We were OK with this but the waves were really building up now because they had a clear run across the Bay.  Something like 6 to 8 miles of clear water, completely unrestricted.  With 20 to 25 knots of wind the waves will build up pretty well in that short of distance (imagine what happens out in the ocean with hundreds or even thousands of miles of unrestricted space.  Yikes!)  Rather than run with the rail in the water we reduced the Genoa to about 70% and the boat ran on nicely heeled over about 15 degrees.  We had a pretty wild ride taking the wind and waves at 45 degrees off our bow.  Lotsa spray in our faces with our feet propped up on the low side (leeward) cockpit seats.  Bella has lived on board almost her entire life, all but three months, but she doesn't like it when things get rough (ruff?).  She curls up in Cheri's lap and pretends to sleep.  We crossed the Bay at a steady 7 to 7.8 knots and sailed right up to R2 in Herring Bay where we furled the sails and motored home.

Sweet!  This was just what the doctor ordered!  Two full days of R+R to remind us why we're doing all this work.  Ya gotta take that break now and then or you start to lose sight of the goal.  I think it's an "optics" thing.

This is the official countdown to our departure.  The latest date we'll accept with little-to-no humiliation is March 31, 2015.  That's exactly 200 days, 13 hours, 26 minutes and 34 seconds from now.