Engine cleaning

[mariner2k]

Does anyone have any recommendations for cleaning and degreasing an engine while in the boat, without doing damage to the wood Hull? There are a lot of degreasers out there that seemed pretty harsh to skin and I assume to raw wood or any organic material.

[Peerie Maa]

I would go old school. Line the bilge around and under the engine with polythene, laid on top of sawdust to absorb any drips. Then go at it with diesel and elbow grease. Try those sponger paintbrushes to apply the oil and then scrub it off.
When it is done, use an industrial vacuum to pick up the sawdust.

[Breakaway]

^ I would caution you not to use a vacuum to clean up an engine bay,even if the fuel and solvents have absorbed into sawdust.

YMMV

Kevin

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

, Diesel, Gasoline or steam engine?

I like "Gunk" as a degreaser but there are many alternatives look for anything water soluble - I would not use a pressure washer.

[John B]

In case you're thinking aerosol, theres been cases of fires and explosions due to the propellent. think potato cannon ,etc.
ie , don't do it.

[Peerie Maa]

^ I would caution you not to use a vacuum to clean up an engine bay,even if the fuel and solvents have absorbed into sawdust.

YMMV

Kevin

What is this:

if it is not a ginormous one of these?

[Breakaway]

Nick, flammables, when run through a vacuum cleaner, atomize and ignite. Every year, some nimrod in a boatyard blows himself up doing this.
Granted, you suggested the sawdust as an absorbent media. Still, I, personally, would not risk it.
YMMV

Kevin

[ron ll]

I hired a guy to steam clean my engine and engine compartment, including the bilge under the engine. Well worth it. It was done while the boat was hauled out, don’t know if that’s necessary or not.

[robm]

What is this:

The dust collecting system does not have a universal motor with arcy, sparky brushes in the fume-laden airflow.

[Breakaway]

I think I see where we are communicating past each other on this thread.

The solvents used to clean the grease may be flammable; the grease is flammable; any residual oil and fuel in the engine bay is flammable. Just becuase these flammables are soaked into sawdust does not prevent them from igniting.

Kevin

[Geftb]

I have seen a YouTube vid of a guy using aerosol degreaser on his engine. Sprayed it then put the kettle on for a cuppa. Went upstairs to the bow and BOOM. The gas ignited the aerosol and blew up his engine room. Don’t use aerosol anything below decks.

[Peerie Maa]

I think I see where we are communicating past each other on this thread.

The solvents used to clean the grease may be flammable; the grease is flammable; any residual oil and fuel in the engine bay is flammable. Just becuase these flammables are soaked into sawdust does not prevent them from igniting.

Kevin

Where is the ignition source in an industrial vacuum? Don't forget, fine wood dust and flour are explosive when exposed to as little as a spark. Industrial vacuums will be designed to not explode. They keep the dust separate from the motor. I have a small one hooked up to my bandsaw. It was marketed as a dust extractor, not as an IED.

[Breakaway]

Where is the ignition source in an industrial vacuum? Don't forget, fine wood dust and flour are explosive when exposed to as little as a spark. Industrial vacuums will be designed to not explode. They keep the dust separate from the motor. I have a small one hooked up to my bandsaw. It was marketed as a dust extractor, not as an IED.

I don't know where the spark is in an industrial vacuum, Nick.
I do know that if you use the term "industrial vacuum" most people will think of a shop vac. I know I did.

A Google search for " industrial vacuum": netted this variety of vacs:

Screen Shot 2023-01-27 at 6.17.36 PM.jpg

[wizbang 13]

I use simple green , a chip brush and a pump up bug sprayer with fresh water.

[Canoeyawl]

[Canoeyawl]

[Canoeyawl]

Here's some more information
And Don't F**k around with gasoline...



edit to add:

Gunpowder = 11.3 megajoules per kilogram
Gasoline = 46.4 megajoules per kilogram

[mariner2k]

I did neglect to mention it was diesel. I do like the idea of a garden sprayer.

[cstevens]

I'll second Ron's suggestion of steam cleaning. It's not a small job and requires some preparation but the results are worth it. I rented a steam cleaner and did it myself on Petrel some years back. Took me a couple of days. I'd hire someone to do it next time though. The main concern with steam cleaning is disposal of the contaminated water afterward. I did it on the hard and pumped the water into 55 gallon drums that the yard then dumped into their oil separator. But in Seattle there is a company that will do the job in the water from a small boat that has a containment tank for the waste water. Or at least they did twenty years ago when I hired them to clean the engine compartment in Perihelion...

[Paul Schweiss]

Probably overkill for this engine, but I once worked up a proposal to paint the engines in a 70’ motor yacht. Two large engines and a lot of ancillary equipment which was pretty beat up, rusty and some oil and diesel staining.
Found a company that utilized a gun shooting dry ice bullets, so instead of dust the debris and the dry ice made a contaminated pool of water in bilge which was pumped out and disposed of.
It was expensive but would have produced better results than doing by hand.
That cost though paled in comparison to what had to happen to safely spray LPU white paint, so job never happened- thank God. Spent a lot of time responding to owners desire that did not produce a dollar of income.

[willin woodworks]

Simple Green, hot water and Dawn for the final clean up. Flush with lots of water.

[Larks]

It’s really not complicated to clean a diesel engine in a wooden boat: a simple garden sprayer, wet-vac and biodegradable engine degreaser (I use CRC Bio Degreaser: biodegradable, non-toxic, non flammable, non hazardous, pH balanced and water soluble - is it available in the US?)....... Disconnect your bilge pump before starting so that you don’t start pumping out oily water and use the wet vac' to suck up the mess as you go.

[Garret]

While I realize this is a diesel engine, another factoid on gasoline. According to a film I saw during beginning firefighter training - take a tablespoon of gas, put it in a 5 gallon can & shake it really well. Ignite. The resulting explosion is the equivalent of 11 sticks of dynamite.

IMO, steam cleaning would indeed works well, but wouldn't it get a lot of oily residue around the engine bay? I would think that a good degreaser with lots of scrubbing & gentle rinsing would make for the least cleanup after the engine is cleaned. I'd want to use plenty of Dawn or the like in the bilge to get it cleaned up nicely afterwards.

[Canoeyawl]

A US military "manual" that I once had contained a 'note' that one gallon of gasoline has enough power to lift the Empire State building one foot of the ground. Gasoline doesn't burn, but fumes are the sh!t...

[nedL]

A US military "manual" that I once had contained a 'note' that one gallon of gasoline has enough power to lift the Empire State building one foot of the ground. Gasoline doesn't burn, but fumes are the sh!t...

Long ago I heard a similar analogy. the one I heard was that a quart of gasoline, in a correct fuel air ratio would blow the foundation out from under the Empire State Building.

[mariner2k]

I have found that Lestoil does an amazing job dissolving anything. Used a spray bottle. Bilge pads and rinse.

[Todd D]

Buy some 3M citrus cleaner. Spray it on a rag and wipe the engine down. Repeat as needed. The engine will smell like a giant orange after you finish, but residual citrus cleaner (and the orange smell) can be removed with water - i.e., wipe engine down with wet rags. 3M citrus cleaner completely removes diesel and its smell.