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Sea Strainers - How do I determine the size I need

H

hakunamatata

New member
This is going to sound like a stupid question, but I have a 1998 Silverton 360 Express with twin Crusafer 454XLi's on her. When I bought the boat, I took for granted that it had sea strainers installed....dumb assumption on my part which I discovered while winterizing her this season she didn't have. Anyways, I want to rectify this and see that these are installed in the spring.

1) How do I determine the size strainer I'll need
2) Is this a do it yourself project, or do you recomend having the yard handle this

Any feedback will be great.
 
The official (factory) answer is one that will flow 30 gpm.

Practically, you need to find one that fits the area and that has 1.25" (or larger) pipe fittings on it. Usually the pipe-to-hose barbs are sold separately.

If you have basic mechanical capabilities installation isn't too difficult. Big items are to consider maintenance BEFORE you install...
 
Sorry if stating the obvious, but location should be considered, mine are large and take up a lot of room.
I would guess at 24 inches wide by 14 inches high, just a guess for the space they take.
 
I remember installing them on our 34C and the wire reinforced 1.25" hose is not too forgiving. Bends and turnarounds need to be considered and while I would have preferred a more symmetrical installation, ours are in different locations for each engine. EASE of access is important. When you need to get to them for cleaning or air leakage, it makes a difference. Also consider if you might enjoy having those built in fresh water hose flusher attachments. While a little pricey, I wish we had them. Mine are all Perko, never really needed cleaning but have leaked air in the suction stages of use
 
..."Mine are all Perko, never really needed cleaning but have leaked air in the suction stages of use "

That's an area t be really caeful about. Mine, San Jaun strainers, are MUCH smaller that the above. They had a seriousd gasket leaking air problem (solved by making my own o-rings).

Jeff
 
I have to clean out the baskets every 2 or 3 months because there are all kinds of shells trapped in there. Mine are located
on the forward wall seperating the engine room and cabin. A little crouch and climbing in there, but I have fairly good access.

This brings up a good question I have been meaning to ask. When I first got the boat and cleaned out the baskets, the
chamber was filled with water. After cleaning then and many times after, the chamber is never filled with water like the
first time I did it. I wondered of there was a problem here, suction lost or something. My temps are fine at 155/160.
 
Mine stay full all the time after use...I'd start checking the hose clamps and the gasket under the lid.

They must be mounted high (above the waterline) otherwise a loose connection would yield a leak of seawater.
 
The cork gaskets were in bad condition, it appears they were the original ones. These gaskets were very compressed and took a while
to get the covers for the strainers cleaned up.

I made new gaskets for the covers today and now the chambers are holding water. Thanks
 
That is exactly how I knew where to check when our temps started to rise a little... knowing that all of the typical suspects were in fine shape. I had read this so many times here posted by Jeff himself. Those gaskets were expensive for what they are. $14.00 each set for 3 cork rings? Our strainers remain full also. The seal is good so they don't leak down. A good test of the integrity of the system.
 
Good advice, the strainer caps are tight now, but I will tighten them down by 1/8 to 1/4 turn more just to be sure they seat correctly. The prices I saw for the Perko gaskets were $28 a set, when I saw that I went to Advance Auto to buy cork gasket material for $4.00.
 
So, they went UP? Doing same thing this year as it is probably time after 3 years to change them. Did you find something that can punch them out or did you use a blade?
 
After suffering occasional air leaks in mine, I made an O-ring from small rubber tubing glued together with a wire running inside. The things now seal perfect every time--and it didn't cost me more than a few bucks.

Jeff
 
I cut some discs from a sheet of surplus neoprene sheet ~ 1/8" thick. (groco SA strainers, so none of the dimensions are really critical.)

I'm pretty certain the rubber has been there for 15 trouble free years.
 
With my homemade cork gaskets, I used a compass/divider to draw 2 circles, outer and inner and cut them out carefully
with scissors. I didn't want to spend time trying to find something with the same diameter, i.e.hole saw. I did cut them
larger and trimmed to fit each one because I did not think the casting of the two caps were exactly the same.

The rubber sounds like a better long term solution. I have seen packages of o-rings of many different sizes for sale online
and at Harbor Freight, but it may be the smaller sizes only.
 
All good ideas. I will need to experiment to see which becomes the quick and easy method for me. I have some super soft squishy surgical tubing that seems to be the ideal stuff for Jeff's method but I know I cannot glue the two ends together. I did find some Permatex weatherstrip glue in Pep Boys that REALLY works. I know its nothing more than GOOD rubber cement but it works better than any I have ever used. I also remember using something for a fuel line in a remote controlled airplane years ago that was very soft also. Wonder if that is the same stuff

Mark, where do you find neoprene rubber sheets?
 
knuckle47 said:
All good ideas. I will need to experiment to see which becomes the quick and easy method for me. I have some super soft squishy surgical tubing that seems to be the ideal stuff for Jeff's method but I know I cannot glue the two ends together. I did find some Permatex weatherstrip glue in Pep Boys that REALLY works. I know its nothing more than GOOD rubber cement but it works better than any I have ever used. I also remember using something for a fuel line in a remote controlled airplane years ago that was very soft also. Wonder if that is the same stuff

where do you find neoprene rubber sheets?
Click to expand...

Several places I think, although I may have the names spelled incorretly:

McMaster Carr
Ace Hardware (I am always amazed at the inventory, I find many things in there)
Grainger
 
Thanks.... Always more fun to go into a store and hunt... I too am amazed at some of the things I see that spark alternative ideas. There are some Grainger stores in our area that are small but some of the bigger ones are just loaded
 
We got ours surplus - they put it in front of a bunch of shop tables at work, over the concrete. Grainger sells a few different kinds - a square foot for under $10....
 
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