Strataglass glue

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » Sep 24th, '06, 14:52

Katrina inflicted about a 5" cut in AJ's Strataglass enclosure on a part that does not roll up. I have some scrap Strataglass and plan to glue a strip over the cut. Anyone got any ideas on what kind of glue to use?

My canvas guy reinstalled the cockpit sun shade this week after repairs from Katrina damage. He did a real nice job and the price was right to boot. So ole AJ is finally about back to normal.

Both Cummins had been steaming a little more that normal at cruise, especially the port, so I went straight to the "secret" sea water strainer, a/k/a the gear cooler. Popped the inlet hose off the port one and lo and behold, enough Sherwood impeller bits to fill half a zip lock. Had to pull a lot of shreds out out of the cooler tubes with pliers. Hard to beleive the engine was cooling at all. About half the shreds in the stb. cooler. I had been back flushing from the main heat exchanger after impeller failures, but obviously did not get the shreds out that had lodged in the gear cooler. Have not had an impeller failure since switching to Tony Athens' aftermarket super impellers about 2 years ago, so what I pulled out Friday had been there for years. Guess its a testament to how overbuilt the Cummins 6B cooling systems are, and my lack of throughness in insuring all the impeller bits were tracked down.

Anyway, took AJ for a hi speed test run and all is very well, no steam, both running right on the money. You Cummins guys put this one in your "to check" file. One hose clamp, pop the inlet hose off the gear cooler and it's right there.

UV

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Sep 24th, '06, 14:58

Uncle Vic...

Thanks for the tip.. I also have 6B's and I feel they run a little on the warm side.. about 190-195F usually. What temp do yours run now, and what is the raw water temp in your neck of the woods?

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » Sep 24th, '06, 15:07

They both run about 185 now which is normal for me. Water temp right now is about 85. 190-195 is a little on the high side. Pull the inlet hose off the gear coolers and check. You should also run a wire thru all the tubes to be sure they are clear. I use soft aluminum ground wire since the cooler core is soft copper. A skinny piece of vinyl tubing works good too.

You also need to check the inlet and outlet grates on the raw water pump for impeller pieces too as they like to lodge there.

UV

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Sep 24th, '06, 15:14

Thanks again..

I am also wondering about the intercoolers.. Tony Athens recommends taking them apart and cleaning the tube bundles yourself.. I plan on doing them after I get the boat up here in a few weeks.. it is 150 miles away in Charleston now. I suspect if they are gooped up they might not be cooling the inlet air very well and wonder if that might be causing higher temps. My mech also suggested I check on the accuracy of the temp gauges, as they are not always accurate. Since I am in the InfraRed imaging business I plan on doing that when I get a chance.

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » Sep 24th, '06, 15:34

If you have a seawater cooled aftercooler you should clean the seawater side pretty often since it can cause a flow restriction. My 6BTA 250s have fresh water cooled aftercoolers so that's not a problem. The higher h.p. Cummins use the seawater cooled units and as I recall they are the first thing in the seawater circuit after the raw water pump, so a "must check" item for impeller fragments. On my 250s the gear cooler is the first in line after the pump.

Doubt elevated intake air temps would affect coolant temps enough to measure. The Cummins Bs have an awful lot of excess cooling capacity. My experience has been that most all overheat problems on these engines can be traced to a restriction in the raw water side. For sure check the actual temps with an IR gun. Another indicator of a restriction is slow cool down after cruise. I noticed that on my port, along with excessive steam, and after clearing the impeller fragments, it cools down much faster. When checking with the IR gun, do a scan at cruise on the main heat exchanger - you should see about a 35-40 degree drop from the front to the back, if less, clean the exchanger.

UV

seacanvas · Post by **seacanvas** » Sep 24th, '06, 17:21

To patch your strataglass try one of the following.

VLP...Its a liquid vinyl in a tube. It usually dries clear and not too quickly.

You can try it without the patch as it will fill in the cracks. It leaves a small scar like ribbon over the tear. If you use a patch put on enough vlp so it just oozes out the edge. It will dry clear.

Or you can try HH 66 ,a contact glue for vinyls. It will scramble your brain if you breath too much, You also can patch your Stamoid with it. With strataglass or other clear vinyls, cut the patch, dry mount it marking the outline of the patch.
Apply the glue on the patch and on the big piece to the marking and wait approx 4 minutes then put the patch on. You only get one chance as the glue sticks like crazy.Don't try to clean this stuff.It makes a mess of the patch.

If you have some scrap strataglass practice can help.

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » Sep 24th, '06, 17:28

Thank you sir. Where does one get either of those products?

UV

seacanvas · Post by **seacanvas** » Sep 24th, '06, 18:53

Vic,

Your canvas man should be able to provide..If not let me know . I will send some to you. The HH66 is hazardous so must ship special.

Dave Mechem
Seacoast Canvas
McKay's Wharf
Newburyport MA.01950[/quote]

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » Sep 24th, '06, 19:15

Thanks, Dave. Think I'll try the VLP since my luck with contact cement has always been poor - I'm too slow and too shaky......

Nothing like advice from the experts. But remember, we are MEAN experts........

Thanks again,

UV

IRGuy · Post by **IRGuy** » Sep 24th, '06, 20:54

Vic.. I have the 315 HP 6B's.. 1996 models, the previous owner had them installed as one year old takeouts from a new sportfish that the owner felt was underpowered. as you said they are raw water cooled. I suspect he never had them cleaned, as he was clueless as far as maintenance goes. The engines run fine.. I plan on doing the aftercoolers as my first project once I get the boat home.

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » Sep 25th, '06, 08:12

I sent an email to Strataglass and the reply was to butt glue the edges of the cut with Super Glue, no patch........???????

UV

In Memory Walter K · Post by **In Memory Walter K** » Sep 25th, '06, 10:00

Vic- If you check the tackle shops, they sell a glue for knots. Very small bottle. The latest version has a little brush in the cap rather than a dropper type. It's a "crazy glue" for knots but the little built in brush is what makes it easier to handle for small applications. Walter

CaptPatrick · Post by **CaptPatrick** » Sep 25th, '06, 10:06

UV,

Yup, super glue will work good... But before you try it, put a wide piece of masking tape just below the split so that any drip or run from excess glue will not run onto the Strataglass. Also put a strip of tape on the back side of the split to hold it closed.

Super glue bonds well to most acrylic type materials, almost as well as it bonds human skin...

Br,

Patrick

TailhookTom · Post by **TailhookTom** » Sep 25th, '06, 10:17

Can I apply some to Dave from CT? I will be in his part of the state all next week? I can think of a few places to apply some to adjust his attitude!

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Sep 25th, '06, 10:18

UV,
Tell me about Tony's impellers. I am about to get him to make a cross-over exhaust for my port engine so while shoveling larges in his direction I will add this to the list.
Thanks

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » Sep 25th, '06, 10:22

Good ideas guys. Think I'll do it from the inside & put some wax paper under masking tape on the outside, tape off the inside for drips. Wipe down with alcohol first. Like the idea of the little brush too.

If that does not do it I'm gonna go with some clear packing tape.....

UV

In Memory of Vicroy · Post by **In Memory of Vicroy** » Sep 26th, '06, 17:18

Mikey - the impeller story is long, but the short version is that Sherwood's impellers started blowing up after 2 years, then one year, then after a few months, regardless of hours - they just dry rotted. Everyone bitched, then Tony took the bull by the horns and got an outfit in Korea (think it was Korea, somewhre over there) to knock off the Sherwood impellers with much better materials and better cross sections on the impeller blades. His hub is naval brass vs. pot metal Sherwood was using. Anyway, he now has them for the 15000 and 17000 series Sherwoods and probably for others too. You can just hold them in your hand and tell they are better. Mine have been in AJ for over 2 years and are fine. Get them. One less thing to worry about. Tony@sbmar.com and tell him UV and B31.com sent you. Good guy, very innovative - thinks outside the box.

UV

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Strataglass glue

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