So that’s why they are called Hospital Silencers

Nick, the engineer, has been busy in the empty hole down the back of Waiouru.  After several days of  listing to cheerful (but tuneless) whistling and singing, progress has been made.  The Hurricane heater is now fully plumbed and is also connected to the dedicated secondary diesel tank.

Nick is particularly proud of his copper piping fitted to the “swirl pot” (the largish copper cylinder in the upper middle right of the above photo).  It’s the first Hurricane he has fitted and the first time he has come across a swirl pot for a heater.  Apparently the Webasto and Eberspacher heaters don’t have one!  The swirl pot is fitted into the hot water return pipe.  The returning water is forced to swirl around in the pot separating any water and air.  The water passes horizontally through the pot back into the heater, whilst the air goes out the top of the pot through the copper pipe into the header tank which is located above the heater in the port locker.  Nick has ensured all the plumbing and fuel pipes between the boat and heater have a rubber hose connection in them to reduce possible heater vibration migrating into Waiouru.  All the heater now requires is an electrical connection.

He has done a very tidy job installing the diesel fuel lines to the heater.

The send and return lines have been protected by enclosing them in ½” braided plastic hose and secured to a horizontal steel rod using cable ties.  There is a fuel filter behind the deck drain hose (left arrow).

I hadn’t realised the boat muffler was known as a hospital silencer because it gets wrapped in a blanket!

Nick was fitting the thermal blanket in the workshop this afternoon when I called out to him whilst I had my finger on the camera shutter.

“Oh Nick…. Are you there?”   “Would you like to try again?”

All the silencer now requires are three bands of 32 gauge wire to retain the blanket in place and it can then be fitted.

Apparently the plan is to fit the engine later this coming week.