no heat

[viperjuice]

Bought my 2008 SV211 team last October and after long winter finally got to take it out 2 weeks ago. After wakeboarding behind it in 50 degree water I was really looking forward to using that heater, too bad it didn't work. My temp guage read 156 degrees although I still have cool air coming out of the vents. Has anyone had this problem? When I winterized the boat I blew out the water from the heater pipes with compressed air and put them hoses back on in same orientation that they came off. Anyone have any ideas? For now I ran water both ways thru the hoses and the heater core and had good flow just haven't had a chance to try it out again though.

08 sv211 team,
343 horse excalibur

[jmo]

Was it working in the Fall? trace the lines from the block to the core and see if there are shut off valves - I install them on my boats so I'm not cycling water through it in the warm months to try and prolong the cores life.

[Nautiquehunter]

If it had a shut off valve you wouldn't get any flow when you ran the water through it. Mine only blows hot air when the rpms are higher . Were you checking it at idle? Feel the heater hoses with engine at normal temp are they hot? How is the impeller?

[viperjuice]

I'm guessing there are no shut off valves since the water done come out of one hose if you run it into the other. Hoses felt luke warm but I guess that's cause the temp is at 156. We weren't going very fast when i tried the heat. Sorry my first boat, as far at the impeller I'm guessing you're talking about the raw water? I noticed that the was some debris in the raw water filter moving around quite fast so I guess the impeller is fine. PLus if the impeller was junk wouldn't it run hot?

[jmo]

viperjuice - sorry I missed the last sentence on your original post stating you had run water through it to make sure wasn't any obstruction.

You need high rpms as the flow rate of the water through the entire system is directly proportional to rpms, when your idling the water cools off too fast before it hits the heater and the amount of water circulating through is lower (hence less heat available to transfer per unit time). The engine also needs to be warmed up at operating temperature so the thermostat opens and routes cool water into the block and hence the hot water will be pushed out to the heater line.

If your impeller is in rough shape you might not be getting the same flow rate you should. If the impeller is toast, your engine block will overheat, but the heater will still be cold as the raw water pump isn't circulating any water to cool the block, nor will any water be circulating from the block to the heater. Keep in mind its one open system that is powered by the single RWP.

Was the heater working at high rpm last Fall? Maybe it isn't hooked up correctly?

[viperjuice]

to be honest I didn't check the heater temp when i bought the boat cause it was 80 down in NC that day. I'm putting it in the water this weeken and planning on feeling the hoses going into the heater to see if they get warm.

I'm assuming that the RWP impeller is good cause the enigine temp does not go past 156

[xrichard]

As jmo said, you need rpms to push hot water through the heater. 156 isn't cold as your thermostat is 160. My (dealer installed) heater started out worthless and is now merely mediocre, but I think it's as good as it's going to get.

I improved it dramatically by 1. tracing the lines between the core and engine...I found a kink in one line that slowed the flow of water, 2. Replaced all the 3" cheap flex tubing with 3" tubing from an RV sewer line I bought at Walmart (this increased airflow in BIG way and got all the air out the vents instead of letting some leak behind the upholstery panels), and 3. Added the heatercraft Y-fitting to increase flow at low rpm (this helped a little at idle, but it still cools off quite a bit):
http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=H423

[viperjuice]

xrichard can you maybe post a picture as to where exactly you hooked up the y?? I'm just comparing it to my father in law's 96 mastercraft and that thing's got awesome heat just sitting there.

[viperjuice]

Ok, so I got to play with the boat this weekend and yes I guess I do have great heat during and after cruising. Can someone tell me where exactly you install the Y-fitting to get some heat at idle?

[dan1166]

I installed a y fitting on my Ski Nautique. Tons of heat at idle and high RPM's. The Y fitting is installed before the raw water pump. That is the suction side of the pump. This location allows water to be drawn through the heater core. Make sure that you install the branch of the y fitting to the return hose of the heater core. I hope this helps.

Dan, the Skier Man