Maintenance on seacocks.

[BobFino]

I have the Apollo 3" flange mounted ball valve seacocks. They have two 1/8 caps, one on either side. Trying to get info from Apollo has been difficult but I am told they are to flush fresh water to clean out the salt. Does anyone out there have experience on doing this? Just curious on the method since they are small. Thank you.

 

[km1125]

Usually those are used to DRAIN the trapped water in there for winterization. GROCO (IIRC) also suggests (but doesn't require) that they can be filled with a lubricant so draining isn't necessary and it also protects the ball from growth which can make them harder to turn (and I'm sure the lube helps with that too).

 

[BobFino]

I thought the same, they are for draining water. The tech people at Apollo said I can flush fresh water through there. Can't imagine getting a whole lot of flow for flushing through an 1/8-inch opening. My valves can be opened and closed with some effort but definitely doable. Again, the tech people at Apollo said do not exercise it anymore or I can damage it. Well, that would keep me from cleaning the intake strainers or doing any repair like impellers unless I replace the valves or pull the boat. Seems kind of crazy.

 

[km1125]

If they're difficult to operate, then you need to resolve that. I would suggest using GROCO's suggestion and adapting a grease fitting there and pumping in some grease to fill the cavity. Then exercise a few times and see if it becomes normal again. Prior to doing that, you could even run something like Ridlyme or even vinegar through there to dissolve any accumulated solids. It shouldn't be that hard to adapt some 1/8" plumbing to get that done.

 

[BobFino]

Thank you, that is the goal. I will do vinegar or Salt Away. Apollo was pretty adamant about not using grease on their fittings which is the opposite from Groco. Groco recommends it.

 

[km1125]

Thank you, that is the goal. I will do vinegar or Salt Away. Apollo was pretty adamant about not using grease on their fittings which is the opposite from Groco. Groco recommends it.

I could see not using a petroleum-based grease, but maybe using some kind of teflon. Groco says theirs has some kind of anti-microbial in it too.

 

[Alex F]

... Again, the tech people at Apollo said do not exercise it anymore or I can damage it...

It sounds like the tech never dealt with a frozen seacock. When you have to deal with the one that is most difficult to get to, then you'll realize very quickly to avoid these type of recommendations.

These don't belong to "maintenance free" category. If you leave them alone for a while (especially in a salt water), they'll just freeze. That's a guaranteed result.

I'm speaking from experience as I had mine freeze few years ago. I exercised mine periodically. The one for genny was getting a bit stubborn, but still ok. I guess I waited a bit longer one time and that was it. It froze and the way the handle is facing it was very difficult to get something on it for leverage. At some point I gave up and planned to have marina to replace the whole thing during scheduled haul-out. When I got her hauled, I made a last attempt by taking the top elbow out and spraying lubricant. It was a real PITA project but I was able to get it loose and eventually moving free again.

Lessons learned, from that point on, I exercise all seacocks on the monthly schedule. Every couple years I grease them by putting zerk fittings in the drain hole.

 

[km1125]

I built a little jig one time to help a friend who had a stuck seacock. He was at risk of twisting off the stem using force on the handle it already started distorting the flats so the handle was a little loose. Luckily he had pulled the boat for off-season storage, so we could access from the outside (it was an exhaust discharge through hull). It's just really two bolts threaded into a long rod. You can adjust the bolts in and out depending on the inner diameter of the seacock.

This is what the jig looked like. It applies force right on the ball and you just had to get the ball moving a little bit to break it free. From then, you could lube the ball and just use the handle. Worked great.

 

[BobFino]

I did try to remove the drain plugs; they will not budge. I bought some freeze out and will give it a try. Thank you for all the info, very much appreciated.

 

[northern]

Past summer I had the boat out of water for service. A sail boat beside me was getting service. The owner of the sail boat sprayed a Lithium grease into all the valves from the hull side. Said he has done it for many year. I have no idea if this is a good idea or not. I have never done it.