petem
Well-Known Member
My partner has found this 'thing' in the bilges between our engines. Any idea what it is?
What is it!
- Thread starter petem
- Start date
jfm
Well-Known Member
Clearly designed as stopper for a port- unusually not threaded. The centre punching is meant to stop the retainer screw coming undone and hasn’t worked. Suggest yr partner finds the hole it came from pdq
Any fluid in bilge?
Any fluid in bilge?
petem
Well-Known Member
Nope, no fluid in bilges. My partner made the same observation that there is no thread.
JerryC
Well-Known Member
The outside of that brass plug looks way too shiny to have dropped out an oldish engine, and if that were the case wouldn't it be painted green? It almost looks brand new and the O-ring doesnt seem to have been compressed either. Maybe it was bought as a replacement for an aging one but lost in the bilges so never fitted?
Sailorsam101
Well-Known Member
Isn't that a golden rivet?
Bouba
Well-Known Member
Or a bung for a piece of equipment that was removed before fitting
petem
Well-Known Member
I agree, apart from it not being green, it almost looks like it's been finished to a decorative / cosmetic standard (e.g. the top face being bevelled).
BruceK
Well-Known Member
A stab in the dark here. Do you have any pasarel fittings in the swim platform that it is meant to blank off.
JerryC
Well-Known Member
Pic number 3 is a bit fuzzy so I can't see exactly what that central screw type fitting looks like is but it's given me a bit of a clue which is nothing to do with engines, phew, or boats even. A bit left field but what's the diameter of this plug, Pete, it's not approx 38mm is it? lol
petem
Well-Known Member
Not that I know of!
jfm
Well-Known Member
Hmm not sure I agree all the above. I think it is a blank for a fluid port designed to take a banjo-ish fitting rather than threaded fitting. Entirely plausible for it not to be painted green. I would look hard for the hole and if there isn’t one and there is no fluid then great it has been dropped in there accidentally or something and is a red herring.
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petem
Well-Known Member
He's had a good look around and can't see any holes, although access isn't great as you'll appreciate.
aquatom
Well-Known Member
It’s the plug out of your automatic fire extinguisher. It is either empty now or has gone off in the past and been regassed.
kashurst
Well-Known Member
pretty sure its not a Volvo part - it's too good, too much wasted material and it appears to be brass
if Volvo made a plug like that it would either be:-
made from a bronze alloy to resist seawater and be part of the sea water cooling system - It looks like brass to me. I am also reasonably familiar with KAD/KAMD cooling bits, I don't recognise it (happy to be wrong though)
it would be hollowed out/machined casting to make it cost less- it's a wasteful design
if it was a plug for inlet manifold/block core plug etc it would be steel and not that high a quality
it's not threaded, so to stay in under any kind of pressure, it must have some sort of clamp piece that goes over it - any more bits in the bilge?
I think its a trim part from a piece of teak garden furniture ( a chair ) to give it an air of quality. The 2 punch marks are to keep another part in the centre hole. Edit just looked at pics again - is it anodised aluminium? the punch marks look a different colour
if Volvo made a plug like that it would either be:-
made from a bronze alloy to resist seawater and be part of the sea water cooling system - It looks like brass to me. I am also reasonably familiar with KAD/KAMD cooling bits, I don't recognise it (happy to be wrong though)
it would be hollowed out/machined casting to make it cost less- it's a wasteful design
if it was a plug for inlet manifold/block core plug etc it would be steel and not that high a quality
it's not threaded, so to stay in under any kind of pressure, it must have some sort of clamp piece that goes over it - any more bits in the bilge?
I think its a trim part from a piece of teak garden furniture ( a chair ) to give it an air of quality. The 2 punch marks are to keep another part in the centre hole. Edit just looked at pics again - is it anodised aluminium? the punch marks look a different colour
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petem
Well-Known Member
Brilliant Tom, the main engine room Fire extinguisher was accidentally discharged a couple of months ago so your answer would make perfect sense.
I think we can mark this as "case closed"!
Thanks for all the suggestions.
JerryC
Well-Known Member
I'm not totally convinced Pete, but keen to learn. I can't see any plugs in either of my FEs but maybe yours are a different type. Pics of the new plug after re-gassing please, or it didn't happen.
Edit: BTW wouldn't the outside of the plug be painted red? lol
Edit: BTW wouldn't the outside of the plug be painted red? lol
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petem
Well-Known Member
The old extinguisher was replaced with a new one. You can see the plug in this post/photo:
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...-bay-fire-extinguishers&p=6395721#post6395721
JerryC
Well-Known Member
Pete, sorry to be a pain in the butt but I can't see the brass plug in your pic, maybe I'm having a thick day (sorry), could you circle it please? BTW I removed two of those from my boat last year and took them to Seafire in Portsmouth for servicing, and obviously I had a really good look at them before removing them to make sure I didn't accidentally trigger one.
petem
Well-Known Member
No problem Jerry, I'll highlight and post tomorrow evening.
