SO36i watertank sensor corrosion
Nov 15, 2012 3:06:09 GMT
Post by chaika on Nov 15, 2012 3:06:09 GMT
We recently bought a 2010 SO36 which had spent a couple of summers in the Med. We noticed the water tasted funny (sort of bleachy) and there was a fair bit of sediment so we decided to have a look in the water tanks to see if they were dirty.
Getting them open was the first part of the saga! After expending a lot of brute force to no avail we created a tool comprised of a piece of wood cut to fit into the recess in the access port which was bolted onto a heavy duty gate hinge. After bending the hinge we finally got the access port out. We applied some silicon grease (Molykote – food grade) to the thread on the access port so it now opens reasonably easily.
Peering into the forward tank we had a surprise - there was a big slick of rust and the sensor screws were clearly corroded (one had disintegrated). It looked very much like electrolysis. The aft tank, on the other hand, had a good couple of handfuls of sand and a bit of seaweed, but the sensors were pristine.
We contacted our dealer who contacted Jeanneau. They were very good about helping out even though the boat was out of warranty by a matter of days. We had the screws replaced and Jeanneau sent a new connector box, which will hopefully fix the electrolysis problem (if it is electrolysis).
After cleaning out the tanks as best we could we refilled them. I can't say that the water tastes great, but it's definitely better than it was.
Getting them open was the first part of the saga! After expending a lot of brute force to no avail we created a tool comprised of a piece of wood cut to fit into the recess in the access port which was bolted onto a heavy duty gate hinge. After bending the hinge we finally got the access port out. We applied some silicon grease (Molykote – food grade) to the thread on the access port so it now opens reasonably easily.
Peering into the forward tank we had a surprise - there was a big slick of rust and the sensor screws were clearly corroded (one had disintegrated). It looked very much like electrolysis. The aft tank, on the other hand, had a good couple of handfuls of sand and a bit of seaweed, but the sensors were pristine.
We contacted our dealer who contacted Jeanneau. They were very good about helping out even though the boat was out of warranty by a matter of days. We had the screws replaced and Jeanneau sent a new connector box, which will hopefully fix the electrolysis problem (if it is electrolysis).
After cleaning out the tanks as best we could we refilled them. I can't say that the water tastes great, but it's definitely better than it was.
