KLC Lewis wrote:
"Flying Pig" wrote in message
...
Hi, Karen,
I have a couple of possibilites for FRP pipe; the reason for using
fiberglass is that the muffler is made of that, and I presume it would be
happier with FRP instead of any other pipe. OTOH, if finding FRP is a
real pain, I guess I'd consider SS - but have no experience in
epoxy/glassing to it, so I'm a bit nervous about it.
It's to repair a muffler which intake inexplicably has virtually
disappeared; I'd abrade and clean the muffler, and the pipe, and lay it up
with light cloth and epoxy after making the right sized hole cleanup in
the muffler can. I think it's a Vetus, but it's round, about a foot high
and wide, with the intake out the side and the exhaust out the top, black
fiberglass...
L8R
Skip
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Ah, okay, I have a better picture of what you're doing now. Stainless
wouldn't work well for that, IMO. But since you're prepared to do layup work
anyway, it would be easy to create the tube section yourself. A mandrel of
the proper diameter for the ID of your tube, wrapped with a layer of thin
polyethylene sheet, then lay up the tube with fiberglass tape until you're
happy with the thickness. You could even do this as an integral part of the
repair, skipping the "make it first, then attach it" stage.
Been there. done that. (2" fiberglass pipe to form the core of a depth
sounder fairing block.) It will take an afternoon with plenty of time
to do other things while you are waiting for the most recent couple of
layers to reach a 'green' cure so you can carry on. If you have any PVA
mould release, USE IT! If you either use a slightly tapered mandrel or
build it up with several layers of glossy newsprint with each layer
taped to itself but *NOT* the underlying layer, you'll find it a lot
easier to get the mandrel out. Make sure the taper is in your favour
though!
However, I'm not convinced that this is a valid repair method. Epoxy is
NOT strong at elevated temperatures and I would be inclined to do the
repair in polyester resin *IF* I could get the muffler clean enough.
I'd lay up the first few layers resin rich with as much glass
microbubble additive as I could use to attempt to provide thermal
insulation for the outer layers then switch to normal laminating,
keeping the resin ratio as low as possible without compromising the
layup. It wants to be about 50% thicker than 'factory' if the
restriction is managable as the original was made under ideal conditions
and was probably significantly stronger.
I would *expect* bonding problems at the joint so it may be better to
make a flange and bed the replacement spigot on sealent with a ring of
self tappers retaining it. If one is going down that road, and you can
get it made up easily you might as well go stainless.
I presume that you are cruising somewhere undeveloped and can't wait for
a replacement muffler as fixing it anywhere you can get one within 3
days is a waste of time and money. You'll probably want to change it
next winter anyway. *FIX* the cooling water supply problem that let the
exhaust eat the spigot! (If it hasn't got a water supply problem now, it
had one in the past)
--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
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