I replace them as a matter of maintenence every 400 hrs (4 years) or
when I feel the top plate beginning to get warm, which ever comes
first.. The weak point in the mixer is the septum between the water
injection and the gas injection point. As the septum corrodes back,
the mixing point moves back towards the engine.


On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 11:02:04 -0400, "Jeff Morris"
wrote:

Actually, I haven't pulled them apart since the first time - most of the buildup
seems to be where the water hits the exhaust. The time they did come apart was
at the mechanic's bench, with a large pipe wrench, a cheater, and a few nasty
words.

When the time comes, I'll probably get both the elbow and mixer together. I
suppose I should have at least one set ready to put in when it blows out in the
middle of a cruise. This is the two sides of having twin engines - twice the
expense of parts like this, but I do have the luxury of the ultimate backup.



"Marc" wrote in message
.. .
How tight do you make up on the reverse threaded union?. Do you dope
the joint? Every time I've had to decouple, its taken a robust bench
vise, a 2' Stilson and a cheater pipe.



On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 07:05:03 -0400, "Jeff Morris"
wrote:

You may be right, but they've looked this bad for the last 500 hours, and
there's still a lot of metal in them. I think I'll buy a pair for the
future,
since the price doesn't seem to go down. One advantage of pulling them
frequently is that I can swap them in about 30 minutes.



"SAIL LOCO" wrote in message
...
If your exhaust elbow looks that bad and nees cleaning with a Dremel tool
you
should just spring for a new one. Your probably not far away from pin hole
leaks.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"No shirt, no skirt, full service"