Oil Change - One step forward, one step back
After sorting out the fuel filter and renewing the glow plugs, I really thought that the oil change would be plain sailing (ahem) but it's turning out to be very far from the case.
You may or may not know that you change the oil on boats by sucking the old oil out of the dipstick tube (rather than draining it out through the sump plug - there generally isn't room underneath the engine on a boat. Arthur had told me that there was an electric pump on Alison, in one of the many compartments under the floor. I managed to find it, ran the engine for a few minutes, then tried sucking the oil out using the pump.
After running the pump for a good 10 minutes with only a trickle of oil, I decided the pump obviously wasn't working and decided to think again.
So that I would be able to start the engine again I decided to top up the oil. Unfortunately I put far too much in! This meant I wouldn't be able to start the engine again until I'd removed the excess oil, for fear of blowing the oil seals and anyway I was out of time for the weekend.
After doing some research it seemed that vacuum pumps were the way forward, so I plumped for a Sealey TP696 Vacuum pump from Toolstop as 1) it seemed to be the best option and 2) I don't buy stuff from Amazon.
It arrived during the week but unfortunately, some home maintenance meant that I didn't get to try it until the following weekend.
The next weekend family commitments kept me away from Alison until Sunday afternoon but I was determined to give it a go as I didn't want to leave the engine for another week.
The thing I learned was, cold oil takes ages to pump! Even though the vacuum pump worked, it took about 2 hours to get from the starting point (just above the MAX wording on the dipstick) to the max line, at which point I thought it would be safe to start the engine.
I packed away the pump, put the covers back on the engine, turned on the ignition and pressed the glow plug button. Nothing. No reassuring click from the solenoid. Nothing.
Annoyed and dispirited, I closed up Alison and left her for another week.
You may or may not know that you change the oil on boats by sucking the old oil out of the dipstick tube (rather than draining it out through the sump plug - there generally isn't room underneath the engine on a boat. Arthur had told me that there was an electric pump on Alison, in one of the many compartments under the floor. I managed to find it, ran the engine for a few minutes, then tried sucking the oil out using the pump.
After running the pump for a good 10 minutes with only a trickle of oil, I decided the pump obviously wasn't working and decided to think again.
So that I would be able to start the engine again I decided to top up the oil. Unfortunately I put far too much in! This meant I wouldn't be able to start the engine again until I'd removed the excess oil, for fear of blowing the oil seals and anyway I was out of time for the weekend.
After doing some research it seemed that vacuum pumps were the way forward, so I plumped for a Sealey TP696 Vacuum pump from Toolstop as 1) it seemed to be the best option and 2) I don't buy stuff from Amazon.
It arrived during the week but unfortunately, some home maintenance meant that I didn't get to try it until the following weekend.
The next weekend family commitments kept me away from Alison until Sunday afternoon but I was determined to give it a go as I didn't want to leave the engine for another week.
The thing I learned was, cold oil takes ages to pump! Even though the vacuum pump worked, it took about 2 hours to get from the starting point (just above the MAX wording on the dipstick) to the max line, at which point I thought it would be safe to start the engine.
I packed away the pump, put the covers back on the engine, turned on the ignition and pressed the glow plug button. Nothing. No reassuring click from the solenoid. Nothing.
Annoyed and dispirited, I closed up Alison and left her for another week.
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