Run Bilge Blowers continuously?

You will also have to probably increase the circuit breaker size to 15 amp.
 
You guys have too many rules.... How in the world is running a blower the entire time going to make any difference ?
 
It certainly doesn't hurt to run them all the time as long as they are rated for it and at idle they may help some with heat in the engine room - but really an engine running even at idle is pulling more air through the engine room than the blowers. Besides the obvious purpose of venting fumes before yo start the engines, running the blowers for a few minutes AFTER you shutdown probably helps the most with heat.
 
You guys have too many rules.... How in the world is running a blower the entire time going to make any difference ?
Keeping the air in the ER as cool as possible can provide significantly better combustion and happier engines that don't work as hard to produce the HP you want. Simple physics.
 
To be honest, I only run the Jabsco blowers after getting back to the slip to help get temperatures down in the ER and more times than I can count I forget to turn them off - they are quiet....
If I'm working in the engine room I usually run the blowers which helps get some of that "Florida Heat" out of there...
 
To be honest, I only run the Jabsco blowers after getting back to the slip to help get temperatures down in the ER and more times than I can count I forget to turn them off - they are quiet....
If I'm working in the engine room I usually run the blowers which helps get some of that "Florida Heat" out of there...

Another reason my next boat will be diesels.... run the bilge just to cool it off, not to keep an explosion from happening
 
To be honest, I only run the Jabsco blowers after getting back to the slip to help get temperatures down in the ER and more times than I can count I forget to turn them off - they are quiet....
If I'm working in the engine room I usually run the blowers which helps get some of that "Florida Heat" out of there...

I monitor the Ambient Temp near the Starboard Air Filter while at cruise, with and without the Blowers ON. Zero difference either way. I do run the Blowers below cruise speeds...
 
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You guys have too many rules.... How in the world is running a blower the entire time going to make any difference ?

It doesn't, but it saves having to remember to turn them back on when coming off the plane and doing no wake speeds, and vice versa.

Unlikely to lead to cooler temps as hot air rises and the blowers evacuate air at the lowest part of the bilge. I thought there purpose was to draw out any potential fuel fumes which are heavier than air and which will settle at the lowest part of the bilge, hence the location of the blower intakes.

But if they are in diesel boats I'm not so sure. I've previously ran a rock lobster fishing business with my brother and we never had it have blowers on our surveyed boat, but that was some time ago.
 
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So, following this thread as I have always let my blowers run all the time in every boat I have owned since 1993. I have piece of mind not worrying about fuel fumes. In fact, after a complete fill up in a Silverton I owned, the fuel tank started leaking at the start of a 50 mile trip. I am convinced that the fact that I kept the blowers on all the time kept this trip from being my last! (Obviously I was not aware of the leak at the time, but only upon returning to home port and the boat sitting for a few days) Now the question is, I purchased my first diesel boat. Any reason to run the blowers? Is this just for heat build up for the diesels?
Rob
 
So, following this thread as I have always let my blowers run all the time in every boat I have owned since 1993. I have piece of mind not worrying about fuel fumes. In fact, after a complete fill up in a Silverton I owned, the fuel tank started leaking at the start of a 50 mile trip. I am convinced that the fact that I kept the blowers on all the time kept this trip from being my last! (Obviously I was not aware of the leak at the time, but only upon returning to home port and the boat sitting for a few days) Now the question is, I purchased my first diesel boat. Any reason to run the blowers? Is this just for heat build up for the diesels?
Rob
Love those 420/44 DB Sea Rays, that’s on the wish list, but 2 years out...
 
Engine room ventilation requirements are set by ABYC H02 (gasoline powered boats) and H32 (diesel powered boats). Different standards, different requirements, and different reasons.

For diesel powered boats the ventilation system can supply air into the engine room or draw air out; Large yachts supply air into and smaller boats like ours draw air out. Drawing air out reduces odor and fumes in the cabin spaces as the engine rooms are not as tightly sealed as in the big yachts. So for most of our SR diesel boats the ventilation is to draw out engine crankcase fumes, battery outgassing, other odors and fumes, and provide temperature management. The SR yachts are designed to ventilate with forward motion; I believe there are ABYC guidelines for plaining boats for ventilation and SR follows these guidelines. Is the engine room ventilation system there to prevent combustible gasses from accumulating in diesel boats? No.
 
Wish there was a way to rig a "slow speed" alarm which is just a reminder to turn the blower, which would turn off the alarm.

Put a switch on your NMEA2000 network that will read SOG from the GPS. Below 5 knots, switch on, above 5 knots, switch off.
 

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