tarbill
New Member
Can you safely use car engine thermostat in a marine engine. I think mine has been running on one for at least two seasons.
engine thermostat
- Thread starter tarbill
- Start date
rob2
Well-Known Member
Yes, they appear to be the same , so long as you've an indirect cooling system. This will permit the head temperature to be taken to 80+ degrees for efficient combustion. In a direct cooled system, such a temperature creates too erosive an environment with the hot salt solution. Cars nowadays run above 80 deg, so check the actuating temperature if you're direct cooled. On most thermostats the temperature is stamped on the flange.
VicS
Well-Known Member
You should use a thermostat that opens at the temperature specified for your engine. As said salt water cooled engines are generally run at a much lower temperature than fresh water cooled engines to avoid excessive corrosion and scaling rates.
If your engine is fresh water cooled then you are almost certainly Ok but if it is salt water cooled then get the proper one before it is too late. It'll be a lot more expensive though!
They are almost always marked with the temerature at which they just start to open. Some are also marked with the temperature at which they are fully open, I believe.
If your engine is fresh water cooled then you are almost certainly Ok but if it is salt water cooled then get the proper one before it is too late. It'll be a lot more expensive though!
They are almost always marked with the temerature at which they just start to open. Some are also marked with the temperature at which they are fully open, I believe.
conolan
Member
I was surprised last year to discover that my BUKH 10 engine from 1979 had no thermostat. Had been removed. A maintenance guy in Milford Haven told me that was quite common. Didn't try to sell me one. Engine is salt water cooled.
Parsonsheath
Well-Known Member
2 years back I did the diesel engine course, and with confidence levels high, decided to attack my old volvo engine, I had a hell of a job getting the fixing off to check the thermostat, and no wonder!
The engine was about 25 years old, and from the look of it the thermostat had seized at open some 20 years ago, and the waterways were nearly totally furred up. I know the previous owner had had a total overhaul a few years earlier, so that part had not been touched for years.
I did not tell SWMBO the cost of the Volvo part, perhaps it is reasonable if you only do it every 25 years?
The engine was about 25 years old, and from the look of it the thermostat had seized at open some 20 years ago, and the waterways were nearly totally furred up. I know the previous owner had had a total overhaul a few years earlier, so that part had not been touched for years.
I did not tell SWMBO the cost of the Volvo part, perhaps it is reasonable if you only do it every 25 years?
VicS
Well-Known Member
If the thermostat is removed the engine will not reach its "correct" operating temperature. That means that it will be running less efficiently and, possibly, more importantly will lead to condensation of moisture in the cooler parts and a moisture build up in the oil.
Condensation of moisture (containing dissolved acid gases) around the valve springs can cause surface rusting which leads to cracking and failure. If you've ever seen the result of a valve spring failing and the piston hitting the valve that's dropped into the cylinder you'd avoid anything that might be the cause or contributory to it!
It is also often said that running without a thermostat affects the water flow distribution around the engine. I'm not sure I entirely buy that one but it may be so with some engines.
Condensation of moisture (containing dissolved acid gases) around the valve springs can cause surface rusting which leads to cracking and failure. If you've ever seen the result of a valve spring failing and the piston hitting the valve that's dropped into the cylinder you'd avoid anything that might be the cause or contributory to it!
It is also often said that running without a thermostat affects the water flow distribution around the engine. I'm not sure I entirely buy that one but it may be so with some engines.
