Sparten Seacocks
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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J Johnson
Sparten Seacocks
I'm new to CD's.... Is it advisible or necessary to dis assemble all seacocks every year?
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Larry DeMers
Re: Sparten Seacocks
I am assuming that your Cape Dory is in the water all summer long or longer.
So...
In short..yes. At least the mainly used seacocks. You WANT to know that they are operating and not leaking, and the only way to do so is to properly remove the tapered plug. It is easy and quick to do. Remove the old grease, replace it with new grease, and reassemble. It takes 20 minutes max.-per seacock of course.
I sail in fresh water (Superior)and there really would be no harm in letting my seacocks go a year if the schedule got tight..but in salt water, you do not have that option. Take apart and reassembly are very easy. There are a couple tricks that make the job easier however.
When replacing the washer, nut and locknut, snug it up by hand, as you move the handle through it's range of motion. There is a flat spot keyed into the tapered plug's shaft, that the washer will fit over..once the washer and first nut are in place, use the Spartan Seacock wrench (a thin box end wrench) to hold the nut in place while you tighten the lock nut with a crescent wrench. Just before the locknut gets tight, back off on the inner nut, against the locknut. This will end up with the seacock's handle tension about right (it should not move out of position on it's own or with vibration, but it also must be possible to close smoothly). The thin layer of grease that you will have slathered all over the plug and barrell (after thoroughly cleaning with turpentine on a papertowel) will provide lubrication for the metal to metal sliding surfaces, as well as acting to seal the seacock from water leaking in. If you use too much grease, the plug will not mate close enough with the barrell, and the seacock will not be able to be reassembled.
So yes.. do check each one. You have only that seacock between you and the sea.
Cheers!
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~Sailing Lake Superior~~~
demers@sgi.com
So...
In short..yes. At least the mainly used seacocks. You WANT to know that they are operating and not leaking, and the only way to do so is to properly remove the tapered plug. It is easy and quick to do. Remove the old grease, replace it with new grease, and reassemble. It takes 20 minutes max.-per seacock of course.
I sail in fresh water (Superior)and there really would be no harm in letting my seacocks go a year if the schedule got tight..but in salt water, you do not have that option. Take apart and reassembly are very easy. There are a couple tricks that make the job easier however.
When replacing the washer, nut and locknut, snug it up by hand, as you move the handle through it's range of motion. There is a flat spot keyed into the tapered plug's shaft, that the washer will fit over..once the washer and first nut are in place, use the Spartan Seacock wrench (a thin box end wrench) to hold the nut in place while you tighten the lock nut with a crescent wrench. Just before the locknut gets tight, back off on the inner nut, against the locknut. This will end up with the seacock's handle tension about right (it should not move out of position on it's own or with vibration, but it also must be possible to close smoothly). The thin layer of grease that you will have slathered all over the plug and barrell (after thoroughly cleaning with turpentine on a papertowel) will provide lubrication for the metal to metal sliding surfaces, as well as acting to seal the seacock from water leaking in. If you use too much grease, the plug will not mate close enough with the barrell, and the seacock will not be able to be reassembled.
So yes.. do check each one. You have only that seacock between you and the sea.
Cheers!
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~Sailing Lake Superior~~~
J Johnson wrote: I'm new to CD's.... Is it advisible or necessary to dis assemble all seacocks every year?
demers@sgi.com
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John R.
Re: Sparten Seacocks
Our CD30 has been in salt water since 1983, year round. I service the seacocks about every two - three years, some have easily gone 4 years. Some folks are pulling their hair at that thought. Experience has shown me that annual servicing is unnecessary in my situation. Servicing technique plays a big role in the life span of the seacock service performed.
I believe anyone that must service a Spartan or any plug/barrel style seacock within a year is doing something very wrong or has a defective or damaged seacock to start with or perhaps an electrolysis problem. The grease within the seacock does the sealing. Use of the best possible grease is imperative. Proper and safe cleaning of the seacock components is very important. All sealing surfaces between the plug and the barrel must be surfaced with valve grinding compound or similar to assure clean and fair mating surfaces.
The components should only be cleaned with kerosene. The kerosene penetrates the porosity of the bronze and helps with lubrication of the interior components and protects the exterior surfaces (use for cleaning winch gears/bearings also). The plug tightening procedure is very important. Tighten enough to create slight resistance in the motion of the handle/plug rotation. Moderation is the key here, Do Not tighten to the point where the majority of the grease is forced out from between the barrel and the plug. Doing so is what shortens the service life substantially. Remember the grease is what makes the seal and the plug and barrel are there to shut off water flow.
An excellent grease with very long service life and high tenacity is available at NAPA stores. The grease is 100% waterproof and is impervious to salt water, a very important factor. It is called MOREY'S RED "EP" #3209. The grease itself is red. It comes in a standard grease gun cartridge. I remove it from the cartridge and put it in a different container. It is very stringy, like gum when it is highly stretched. This grease is the best I've ever found over the past 18 years, twelve of those in the marine service business. It is far better than Spartans grease, typical wheel bearing grease, bicycle chain grease etc.,. Contact Spartan and ask them to send you an illustrated seacock service guide. They will probably do so. That should help guide you through the steps or find someone highly experienced to show you the proper technique.
......................................................................
I am assuming that your Cape Dory is in the water all summer long or longer.
I believe anyone that must service a Spartan or any plug/barrel style seacock within a year is doing something very wrong or has a defective or damaged seacock to start with or perhaps an electrolysis problem. The grease within the seacock does the sealing. Use of the best possible grease is imperative. Proper and safe cleaning of the seacock components is very important. All sealing surfaces between the plug and the barrel must be surfaced with valve grinding compound or similar to assure clean and fair mating surfaces.
The components should only be cleaned with kerosene. The kerosene penetrates the porosity of the bronze and helps with lubrication of the interior components and protects the exterior surfaces (use for cleaning winch gears/bearings also). The plug tightening procedure is very important. Tighten enough to create slight resistance in the motion of the handle/plug rotation. Moderation is the key here, Do Not tighten to the point where the majority of the grease is forced out from between the barrel and the plug. Doing so is what shortens the service life substantially. Remember the grease is what makes the seal and the plug and barrel are there to shut off water flow.
An excellent grease with very long service life and high tenacity is available at NAPA stores. The grease is 100% waterproof and is impervious to salt water, a very important factor. It is called MOREY'S RED "EP" #3209. The grease itself is red. It comes in a standard grease gun cartridge. I remove it from the cartridge and put it in a different container. It is very stringy, like gum when it is highly stretched. This grease is the best I've ever found over the past 18 years, twelve of those in the marine service business. It is far better than Spartans grease, typical wheel bearing grease, bicycle chain grease etc.,. Contact Spartan and ask them to send you an illustrated seacock service guide. They will probably do so. That should help guide you through the steps or find someone highly experienced to show you the proper technique.
......................................................................
I am assuming that your Cape Dory is in the water all summer long or longer.
Larry DeMers wrote: So...
In short..yes. At least the mainly used seacocks. You WANT to know that they are operating and not leaking, and the only way to do so is to properly remove the tapered plug. It is easy and quick to do. Remove the old grease, replace it with new grease, and reassemble. It takes 20 minutes max.-per seacock of course.
I sail in fresh water (Superior)and there really would be no harm in letting my seacocks go a year if the schedule got tight..but in salt water, you do not have that option. Take apart and reassembly are very easy. There are a couple tricks that make the job easier however.
When replacing the washer, nut and locknut, snug it up by hand, as you move the handle through it's range of motion. There is a flat spot keyed into the tapered plug's shaft, that the washer will fit over..once the washer and first nut are in place, use the Spartan Seacock wrench (a thin box end wrench) to hold the nut in place while you tighten the lock nut with a crescent wrench. Just before the locknut gets tight, back off on the inner nut, against the locknut. This will end up with the seacock's handle tension about right (it should not move out of position on it's own or with vibration, but it also must be possible to close smoothly). The thin layer of grease that you will have slathered all over the plug and barrell (after thoroughly cleaning with turpentine on a papertowel) will provide lubrication for the metal to metal sliding surfaces, as well as acting to seal the seacock from water leaking in. If you use too much grease, the plug will not mate close enough with the barrell, and the seacock will not be able to be reassembled.
So yes.. do check each one. You have only that seacock between you and the sea.
Cheers!
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~Sailing Lake Superior~~~J Johnson wrote: I'm new to CD's.... Is it advisible or necessary to dis assemble all seacocks every year?
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Neil gordon
Re: Sparten Seacocks
>>At least the mainly used seacocks.<<
The one that you use the least is the one that will be the hardest to open and close. It's also the hardest to disassemble. I would do all of them every year. It takes no time to maintain seacocks that are in good condition... but once they sieze up, it could be an all day project just for the one that's stuck.
It's a good idea to work all of the seacocks from time to time during the sailing season.
Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167
neil@nrgordon.com
The one that you use the least is the one that will be the hardest to open and close. It's also the hardest to disassemble. I would do all of them every year. It takes no time to maintain seacocks that are in good condition... but once they sieze up, it could be an all day project just for the one that's stuck.
It's a good idea to work all of the seacocks from time to time during the sailing season.
Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167
neil@nrgordon.com
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Mott Blair
Re: Sparten Seacocks
There was a good article in "Cruising World" in their Spring Fitting out edition about a year or two ago- The author used the spartan seacock in his illustration. He suggested using OMC Tripleguard as a waterproof grease for the seacock. I used it for several seasons with good success (salt water coastal North Carolina) but I did regrease them at the yearly haulout.John R. wrote:
mblair@coastalnet.com