Pearson Yachts Forum

Pearson Boats - Common Systems => Engine and Drive Train => Topic started by: Coppifan on June 28, 2011, 07:44:23 AM

Title: Engine drip pan
Post by: Coppifan on June 28, 2011, 07:44:23 AM

My mechanic suggests I keep the pan area under the engine free of water collected from the stuffing box to help prevent rust. Any suggestions as a good way to do that?

Title: Re: Engine drip pan
Post by: OZ on July 05, 2011, 10:53:20 AM

has anyone tried making a gravity path for the water to enter bilge from the drip pan?   making some holes in the glass or a drain tube?

Title: Re: Engine drip pan
Post by: Griswald on September 16, 2011, 04:11:48 PM

I haven't made a pan, but one thing that REALLY works is to use a disposable baby diaper to adsorb the water.  I use 2 Huggies under the front of my MD11C diesel engine (under Walter V-drive), and those things adsorb 5 times their initial volume of water, and trace oil.  I find that if I change them out every 2-3 weeks, it keeps things very dry and clean.  You can pick them up by a corner, and go straight to a trash bag.  I keep a couple of packages of diapers to use as adsorbent when changing oil also.

Now...I have gone 6 weeks without changing the "baby", and the diapers adsorb so much water, they open up, and the polymer resin (beads) spill out.  A mess, but it was easy to clean up, and nothing got into the main bilge.  Now that I know the change frequency, I keep up with it.