Seacock Maintenance

[Didleydude]

Yo Ho All

Boat is currently out of the water. Any views on the best process for lubricating and maintaining the seacocks? One is pretty stiff to open/close.

 

[stevebrassett]

Depends what type. Mine were/are the ball-type, which only cost a few quid to replace. They were very stiff, so I replaced them. You could try taking the hose off and then squirting some waterproof grease at the valve from both sides.

 

[Danny Jo]

I was thinking of using silicone grease. Would this be a mistake?

Mark

 

[Searush]

Conical twist gate valves can be dismantled & cleaned easily (providing the tide is out!) and then reassembled with a waterproof grease. I do mine from time to time if they get stiff.
Slacken the bolt & swivel the handle (use a hammer & or heat gently if actually stuck) The gate will come loose & slip out.

 

[Skyva_2]

If they are ball type the best you can do is squirt liquid grease up and operate them a few times. Any kind of grease will do but the spray is easiest to apply, especially if it has an applicator tube. Do we guess correctly that the stiff seacock is the toilet outlet?

 

[Sheff]

I assume you're talking about Blakes type seacocks as you mention lubricating them.

Just undo the bolts and take the conical shaped part out. Clean off any old grease and relap the parts if there is any bad scoring, you don't need a polished finish. Regrease with the proprietory Blakes grease if you can afford it. I use a teflon based waterproof grease easily available at bike shops which is used for lubricating bike chains.

Oh, and don't overtighten the bolts on reassembly, remember the grease is supposed to be the seal not a metal to metal contact.

The teflon grease is also very good for lubricating the o-ring on the heads pump..... one application at the beginning of the season and you'll have a silent heads all year /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

If you do a search on "seacocks" you find lots of previous posts.

 

[mainmarine]

If they are ball type, try using washing up liquid first to clean the crud from it.

 

[Plan_B]

Not strictly the answer when out of the water, but when afloat - certainly. With ball-valves, I close the sea cock, put about a quarter of a glass of baby oil in the waste pipe or WC pan, then gradually open the sea cock so that the oil gets on as much of the mechanism as possible. With the WC start with a drop of water in the pan and pump gently with the cock half open.

When the oil has gone cycle the levers a few times till you feel it freeing off.

Sometimes you need to do it a couple of times if its fouled or if you are a bit tight with the oil.

I do all mine like this and they last months between each oiling.

Hope this helps.

DD

 

[Didleydude]

Thanks all. The seacocks are the classic ball type and yes, for the 'battleship player', it's the head outlet! Just sunk the frigate!

I'd decided to take off the hose and just try and work some lubricant into the valve mechanism and all the posts lead me to believe my thoughts were bang on! Well chaps! Appreciated.