Seacocks and skin fittings

[StevenJMorgan]

Boats coming out next week and one job is to check / service / replace all seacocks and skin fittings.

Question is how do I check and know that a seacock is ok or should I just replace?? If I think it is ok should I just grease and bang it back on. Gut feelings are that I should just replace the lot, but don't want to waste money.

Also how do I check the integrety of the skin fitting - ideally I don't want to remove them!

Lastly when I am buying new seacocks how do I know a good one. I'm in Dubai and there are lots of different types available, different materials and colours. Trouble is here that generally if I ask a guy in a shop if something is say brass he will say yes, but go back the next day and ask if the same item is stainless he will say yes - they just tell you what you wan to here ! There must be a way to tell what they are made of ??

As always and help appreciated -

Rgds

 

[twisterkai]

If they're a bronze type fitting, scrape off any paint/antifouling and look at the colour. Generally, if it's pink in colour (dezincified) it's probably time to change. If they're still bright then you're ok. When you've scraped them back to expose the metal use a piece of emery paper/wet & dry, about 240 grit, to clean the surface - it'll make seeing the colour easier.

Unless you know you can get bronze, then you're looking for DZR brass fittings, which if memory serves is stamped on the casting of the valve body.

 

[Mirelle]

The quiet fizzing sound of dissimilar metals in warm salt water...

Umm...Dubai...

As an Englishman I am massively biassed in favour of Blakes' cone type seacocks, rather than the type with a separate skin fitting, but since I don't know what is get-able in Dubai that's not a helpful comment. When I lived in Hong Kong and the Philippines I found that the local fishermen knew a good deal about this sort of thing, and had sources at non-yachty prices.

I'd agree with Twisterkai - scrape it. If it is meant to look yellow, but looks pinkish - condemn immediately. If it looks OK, bang it with a hammer. If it survives that - grease it and renew the bolts!

Good luck!

 

[VicS]

Re: The quiet fizzing sound of dissimilar metals in warm salt water...

[ QUOTE ]
bang it with a hammer

[/ QUOTE ] That sounds like advice from an engineer /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Partly crack it so that when someone is a bit heavy handed with it when the boat is a afloat it breaks is that the idea?