PDQ OWNERS FORUM

Hi John, Unfortunately my original generator packed it in this year after less than 700 hours of use. We don't know the cause for sure, but the failure was likely the result of a frozen/cracked manifold caused by unseasonably cold temperatures that overwhlemed the modest heating element we used. Liv...

Today I fed the strainer bowl using a garden hose. The pump performed as it should, sucking up all the water I could provide with the hose at maximum flow. Bubbles were evident at the discharge outlet. This would seem to confirm that the issue is not with the pump or any part of the system downstrea...

John, yes an air leak could be part of the problem. I’ll be checking for leaks on the intake hoses as part of my next steps.

Thanks for your interest.

For those of you who may still be interested, the saga continues. Today I ran the generator for a short period and observed very little water entering the screening bowl, and very little discharge at the underwater hull outlet. I then shut down to install a new impeller. A relatively small portion o...

Doug, when we were in the Berry's we stayed at Great Harbour Cay Marina, which we liked a lot and can recommend (decent facilities and very good wifi, which was not always easy to find in the Bahamas 10 years ago - it may be better now). My recollection is there were some excellent beaches on the we...

James, thanks for the clarification about the impeller blades. Once less thing to worry about while I sort out this generator issue.

Hope all is well.

Cheers,

John

Doug, appreciate you joining in. Interesting comment about the impeller vanes. This is a first time with this for me and I'm not familiar with what's right or wrong. My mechanic did not say anything about the picture of the pump, but perhaps he did not look at it closely. In any event I have a coupl...

John, thanks for the additional comments. I've not yet run it for any length of time. The appearance of the debris clouds was/is a concern that I may be doing some kind of damage to the system, however my mechanic - who quickly responded to my email, even though it was Saturday night :) - has also a...

Today I had an opportunity to investigate the overheating issue with our new generator. Some of the potential causes were likely eliminated, however I think the cooling system is still being restricted somehow. I was able to use the air pump for our dinghy to ensure the intake passages to the screen...

Thanks John, I'm pretty sure I can spot the cover plate for the pump at the front of the engine. It seems to be held in place with a few screws that look readily accessible.

I'll post an update - hopefully favourable - when I get a chance to investigate this issue later this week.

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll give the water hose a try. Others have suggested using air pressure from a vacuum or dinghy pump, so I might try that too. If no success then I’ll have a look at the impeller. I’ve not done that before. It looks like it’s easy to access, however can one get a good lo...

I’ve just begun the process of breaking in a new Northern Lights generator. The first 7 hours went fine, however today the generator shut down automatically after about 5-10 minutes of operation. I believe this was likely due to overheating as I discovered a heavy concentration of seaweed in the str...

Thanks Josh. I'm sure your boat will look as sharp when you're done. Regarding the 'shadows' left behind, we had similar issues when we purchased His Idea. Even though the boat was only 5 seasons old at the time, the relentless Florida sun already had a good start on the fading process. Fortunately ...

Nice job - very sporty. We also recently replaced all the original bootstripes and pinstriping with vinyl tape. Considered painting as an alternative, but eventuially decided on tape because it was simpler to apply and less expensive. Finding similar colours was a challenge, but eventually we found ...

Dennis, We have the 110hp Yanmars in His Idea (2000 hours). I believe they are quite similar to the 100hp engines, so our experience with them may be of interest. When operating properly both engines run at 175 degrees F, including up to WOT, which I understand is the correct temperature. Last seaso...