Vetus exhaust water lock - do these degrade over time?

[West Coast]

After 20 years use, I am replacing the exhaust pipe originally fitted in my VP 2003 installation. The original installation included a Vetus water lock and seperate Vetus muffler box, brown in colour. In close visual inspection, both these seem ok.

Do these types of exhaust fittings have a limited life, can they become brittle for example and fail? Has anyone any experience of these failing?

 

[scottie]

the major cause of failure is lack of water allowing heat to melt them
If your hose has signs of delamination especially the interior then I would assume you have suffered from lack of water
Worth checking all sections of the hose as maybe not all will require replacement

 

[West Coast]

the major cause of failure is lack of water allowing heat to melt them
If your hose has signs of delamination especially the interior then I would assume you have suffered from lack of water
Worth checking all sections of the hose as maybe not all will require replacement

Thanks, am replacing the hose as am re-routing it for a simpler and shorter run (still with the high loop). Keeping the existing water lock and muffler boxes, as they seem fine. But got to wondering about the life of these boxes - if they have a tendancy to age and so deteriorate.

 

[alanch]

I have had these on my last 2 boats with no trouble. The only thing is they melt easily so any lack of cooling is usually fatal, with obvious external signs of damage. I suggest you ask vetus what life they expect out of them.

 

[macd]

I suggest you ask vetus what life they expect out of them.

I've had good and prompt advice from a chap named Stephen Baker at Vetus: vetusuk@aol.com
I'm pretty sure the OP's concerns are unfounded if the parts pass a close visual inspection, but he can advise.