Monday, 12 Feb: Today is generator day. Der-der-der-dunnnn! Glen is determined to fix this overheating issue. So it’s up and off to the chandlers to buy some sort of flushing liquid to clear the blockage in the heat exchanger. This chandlers, Budget Marine, is well stocked but they don’t have exactly what Glen is looking for. Still, he buys what they have (Salt Terminator – engine flush, salt & corrosion terminator).
We also pop next door to the riggers and ask them to make us a security strop for the dinghy. We notice everyone locks their dinghy here, using a wire strop and padlock. Best we do the same. On the walk back to the boat, there is a huge plume of black smoke rising from behind the hill. Something serious is on fire close by, but we cannot see what. Luckily the smoke is not drifting over Cloudy Bay.
Back on board Glen sets to work in the hot engine room. The cheapy electric fan that we bought from a Chinese store in Spain, is again put to good use to at least move some of the steamy air in there.
He flushes the generator cooling system, but it’s clear this stuff from the chandlers is not strong enough. So it’s out with the heat exchanger. As usual, all sorts of other things need to be removed to even get to the heat exchanger. One odd thing, Glen needs to disconnect the 12v supply to the generator as the starter motor needs to come out too. Disconnecting the start battery should do it …. but no, there is still voltage there. Hmmm, ok let’s disconnect the 12v house battery too. Even with both 12v batteries disconnected there is still 13v on the generator. What on earth is happening?? Just what, or who!, is sending 12v to the generator?? Removing all the 12v fuses finally isolates it …. but something will need to be investigated later. Hmmm boats 🙁
After a lot of sweat, grunting and hanging upside down over the back of the generator, the heat exchanger is off and delivered to the galley. Luckily, Oana still has some domestic descaler that she used for the kettle. So, with gloves and glasses on, Oana pours the stuff into one of the ports in said heat exchanger, followed with boiling water. Instantly there is a fizzing and bubbles as chlorine and hydrogen gas escape the H-E. Good, the descaler it’s doing it’s stuff. After 30 mins we rinse out and can now look inside to what looks like a new gleaming heat exchanger. Brilliant. So much for the expensive flushing rubbish from the chandlers – Oana’s flushing agent saves the day!
Some of the hoses also seem to have calcium/salt build up inside, so it’s off the the chandlers again to replace some of the hoses.
Ok, so the heat exchanger is clean and we have new hoses all cut to the same length as originals. Now it’s time to get it all back together. Glen says should be easier than taking apart… Five hours later it is finally all back together. It was actually a nightmare getting some of the securing bolts back in place. We guess putting it together on a work bench was a tad less challenging than upside down in the depths of the engine room.
While all this was going on, Oana realized that the “bananas” that we harvested from the countryside 2 days ago, are actually plantains. She googled what to do with them and experiments different way to cook them.
It’s late evening now and all we have done all day is tackle the generator. We didn’t even manage to have lunch till 5pm. So we sit in the cockpit, have a rum punch and taste the plantains that Oana has cooked. The verdict is that the best are the fried ones, with a touch of salt.
Glen doesn’t have the courage to try the generator today, that will happen in the morning. So we go to bed with all fingers and toes crossed – that it will work OK tomorrow.