Seacock removal

Zen Zero said:
Angle grinder from the outside. Grind away with a flap-disk at the corner where the inner bore of the pipe opens out into the flange. You needed that new generator anyway!

Any other method is likely to damage your hull.
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See post #12 above. You cannot do that with a Blakes seacock. There is no flange to grind away. Saves buying a generator when all that is needed to dismantle this item is a drift, lump hammer and patience.
 
Zen Zero said:
Doh! :-)

There must be something on the outside to grind at (or drill as someone else suggested)!
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There is, the head of the bolt, but that will not help as underneath the head is square. You can drift the stump from the inside, but as I said earlier it will be set in sealant so will need perseverence to get it moving. Alternatively it can be drilled out as the bronze is easy to drill - but access is poor.

Anyway it is not necessary to remove the body from the hull to service it. Removal of the bolts is only necessary because the nuts have snapped off so they need replacing.
 
Zen Zero said:
There must be something on the outside to grind at (or drill as someone else suggested)!
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The only thing holding it on mechanically (as opposed to adhesively) is the four bolts. Assuming the holes were drilled the correct size, even removing the heads won't allow them to be driven into the hull as the square section won't fit up the hole. You'd have to drill along the length of the bolt without sliding off into the fibreglass, which sounds extremely difficult to achieve outside a workshop. The only sensible way if you insist on removing it is to either remove the nuts on those bolts or saw through the bolts below the nuts - and perhaps then punch them outwards to increase the range of movement on the seacock body.

Pete
 
It has been some time since I requested help and at last I have had some success. I continued to try knocking out the cones, before the drastic step of completely removing the seacocks from the boat. I took the advice about using a solution of Acetone and ATF oil and it has worked a treat. Having first struggled with removing the hoses in the confined space, I set about adding the oil solution. Since the seacocks were corroded in the open position, I blocked the outlet one with a wooden cone, to enable it to be filled with the oil. The smaller inlet has a metal grill over the outlet, so I have had to cover this with epoxy resin before filling with oil. I left the oil for about a week and then hammered hard from below. The metal grill has a big hole in it now, but I can live with that. Both cones came out with about a half dozen blows from a drift and club hammer.
Thanks for all the help given.
 
A good result then. Now all you need to do is get the two bolts out:nonchalance: then the tough part comes when you try getting the hoses back on:). I am building the heads from marine ply so it can all come to bits when I need to service the seacocks.
 
Have you priced the new bolts yet? £50 for the four if you buy the Blakes phosphor bronze ones. An acceptable substitute is to countersink the hull and use 316 stainless bolts with plenty of sealant. This is the route chosen by Sadler for all their boats. Mine have never been disturbed and remain in good condition after almost 30 years. This means that you will not have the perforated grill plate but that could be seen as a bonus.
 
doug748 said:
As the others have suggested you might consider leaving the seacocks in position and making good the sheared bolt when you have the cones out

If you can do something else for a couple of day's a long soak with your chosen compound will help. It also clears the mind. I have had good results with the ATF/Acetone mix.

When you come back to it give it the bodies some heat, and let the thing cool right down. Then give it some more and give it a razzle with the club hammer. Take care with the acetone mix, don't set the boat alight.

You may have borrow that generator to drill and punch the old bolts out but they are soft. I would replace with stainless.
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Better to replace the bolts with ones of the same material. If you use s/s and you will risk galvanic corrosion which could destroy the fitting
 
my head outlet valve is either DZR or bronze (not blakes though) with s/s mounting bolts - origional equipment I believe of 34yrs - I had it apart this year - no signs of a problem.
(I'm using 2 x s/s bolts for the keep plate also - altough this is rarley emmersed for long periods - I just couldn't part with £12 for two bronze equivalents).
 
Jolly-Roger said:
It has been some time since I requested help and at last I have had some success. I continued to try knocking out the cones, before the drastic step of completely removing the seacocks from the boat. I took the advice about using a solution of Acetone and ATF oil and it has worked a treat. Having first struggled with removing the hoses in the confined space, I set about adding the oil solution. Since the seacocks were corroded in the open position, I blocked the outlet one with a wooden cone, to enable it to be filled with the oil. The smaller inlet has a metal grill over the outlet, so I have had to cover this with epoxy resin before filling with oil. I left the oil for about a week and then hammered hard from below. The metal grill has a big hole in it now, but I can live with that. Both cones came out with about a half dozen blows from a drift and club hammer.
Thanks for all the help given.
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Thanks for reporting back, it is always nice to hear the outcome.

Further to vyv_cox's comment, I suspect that all Contessas also left the factory with ss bolts on the Blakes seacocks.
 
I understand your seacock is not like the modern ones but if it is, then not being an advocate of belting things with hammers, I placed a washer over the end, passed a threaded rod through an axle stand & just gently withdrew the old fitting View attachment 40671
You could use 2 pieces of timber on the outside with a piece of bar across them instead. the main thing is that it is easy & does not damage anything
 
Daydream believer said:
I understand your seacock is not like the modern ones but if it is, then not being an advocate of belting things with hammers, I placed a washer over the end, passed a threaded rod through an axle stand & just gently withdrew the old fitting View attachment 40671
You could use 2 pieces of timber on the outside with a piece of bar across them instead. the main thing is that it is easy & does not damage anything
Click to expand...
That is nothing like a Blakes fitting. The difficulty is removing the tapered cone in the body and the correct way (if they are seized) is exactly what the OP did. Penetrating fluid to try and break the crud and then hammer. Can't do any damage as the cone is in a really substantial casting and once the seal is broken the cone will come free.
 
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