engine bay cam - which one

[simonfraser]

i still have a slight leak in the bilge, 500 ml after 24 hrs afloat with a 3 hrs engine run
a few days ago it tasted salty, but has tasted sweet too, confused.com

after cleaning it out, again, ran the engine at 1200 revs for 30 mins on the hose whilst ashore, nothing
been chasing this for over a year ....

so will put some LED strip lights up in the engine compartment

but it's a tight area, so will need a wide angled lens
and def want to be able to see when the puddle forms !
the float switch on the bilge pump does not even come on, so the alarm on this is no use to me for the above

wifi to link direct with my phone / ipad

any suggestions ?

 

[matthewriches]

To the bigger boats I use a lot of Dahua and Hikvision equipment. These can do an IP stream or video feed to a phone, chart plotter, ships PC, etc.

I've seen a few boats that have a cheap and cheerful eBay car reversing camera with a little monitor at the helm. Maybe something like this would work?

 

[petem]

Have you considered some strategically placed talcum powder to ascertain where the leak is?

 

[Portofino]

Need to see a pic inside the ER particularly the inside rear area .
How the bathing platform is attached , and the top mould fits —- thinking leaks in when semi planing and water wets the platform .
Also the belows ( assume sterndrive ) integrity .
Then once the above has been given the all clear the water plump shaft seals , end plate , and other seawater pipe connections.

A camera if it’s tight in there and lights an issue may not help .

Next is the ER bilge in anyway via limber holes connected to a fwd space ?
So water runs back from somewhere else when planing accumulating when docked in the ER ?

 

[simonfraser]

Need to see a pic inside the ER particularly the inside rear area .
How the bathing platform is attached , and the top mould fits —- thinking leaks in when semi planing and water wets the platform .
Also the belows ( assume sterndrive ) integrity .
Then once the above has been given the all clear the water plump shaft seals , end plate , and other seawater pipe connections.

A camera if it’s tight in there and lights an issue may not help .

Next is the ER bilge in anyway via limber holes connected to a fwd space ?
So water runs back from somewhere else when planing accumulating when docked in the ER ?

tnx Portofino, yes all good points.
def not the platform as that is moulded with the hull, the water pump seals have been done and def not leaking there.

i still dont understand even When the water gets in the ER. so have ordered an IR camera, should work in the dark with the build in LEDs.
going to put it up at the front of the engine first, if nothing shows there, will mount it on a pole with a long lead and leave it on whilst under and behind the engine.

 

[Croftie]

Sterndrive or shafts?
If sterndrive then as Portofino says could be bellows.
If shaft then shaft seal or rudder stock, either could let in water only on the move and not when just running the engine

 

[simonfraser]

Sterndrive, recently had the bellows changed as they were 5 yrs old, has made no difference to the ingress.

 

[petem]

For future reference, bellows should be done every two years. I do find it hard to believe that you'll see the water entering with the sort of camera you are considering. As for a camera, try a GoPro or something quality like that.

 

[simonfraser]

Ha, sure they should. Previous owner had not done so.
They apeared ok to the suveryor at the time, boat kept ashore over the winter and stored for some time too.
UJ joint was rust free and dry when the bellows were replaced.

It’s on a trailer now, be an interesting decision to make re the bellows in a few years time.

Re the camera, i dont even understand When it leaks. The saloon needs to come apart for me to check the ER.

 

[rubberduck]

This is going to be like watching paint dry, go for powder or similar & trace from there.
Sounds to me like a combination of causes.

 

[simonfraser]

Ok, not like watching paint dry
And yes the water pump leaked too, sorted now. Water in the bilge now def fresh only.

Camera, they all need a modem and an internet connection to register and run with the app, the ones i tried can not install direct to an ipad or android phone.

As its such a small amount of fresh water and the saloon needs to come apart to check the camera is helpful.
It’s less than a cup in 24 hrs.
Collected in the bilge overnight, so not the pump when its going or when the sinks / taps are being used.
Have put some blue paper down in several areas, now i can see one discolour on the camera, the hunt continues.