Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

[DanielR]

I have an idea for the starter interrupt to vent gas fumes out of bilge area before starting the engine. Most of the time while having people on the boat, I tend to forget about safety procedures of starting I/O engine, running bilge blower, and focus more on people instead.

I based the wiring on the electronic parts that I already have that are collecting dust.
Basic operation is as follows:
You wont be able to start the engine unless the bilge blower is On, PLUS the timer relay will count 90sec after blower is On to allow me to start. After that time I will able to crank the engine. I will be able to keep bilge blower On as long as I wish.

This way i give enough time to vent the bilge, and be aware of safety procedures. Also that is the maximum delay I can get out of the timer relay.

Ill put safety override switch (toggle switch) underneath the dashboard in case i cannot wait 90sec to start the engine.



What you guys think?

 

[ziggy]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

What you guys think?

even with the override switch i would be concerned. i hate to admit, but there've been a few times in my boating history that i needed to move, asap. any hindrance to start and go could have put me in peril.

Most of the time while having people on the boat, I tend to forget about safety procedures of starting I/O engine, running bilge blower, and focus more on people instead.

adj. your boating habits. focusing on safety procedures of starting an i/o engine is focusing on the people. focusing on there safety.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

I'm with Ziggy. You can be so safe, it will kill you.
Atmost, I'd do a 5 second delay with a beeper, so that if under normal conditions you forgot to run the blower, you will be reminded, and not start.
As a boater in salt water with old equipment, I don't need anything else to go wrong. The more stuff, the more soft spots. When your system fails completely due to a corroded connection, worn-out timer, whatever, you will be worse off.

I don't know anything about i/o but from what I've read here, it sounds like a fairly common occurence that people start a boat without runnnig the blower, and obviously they don't explode every time. Am I correct, that a well-maintained boat won't have explosive fumes and loose sparks in the first place?
Anyway, I am certain that if it was a statistically real danger, the boats would already have an override. So while no one wants to take a chance on an explosion, the additional device doesn't seem necessary or prudent. Just pray some overly cautious insurance guy doesn't get them mandated.

 

[DanielR]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

Having timer adjustable will allow me to test what time interval works best.
Mainly I want to have it as a reminder, so 5 sec idea would work. This way i will learn to turn blower before starting, and since there will be no cutting or splicing of existing harness, whole thing can be removed quickly.

Beep would not be enough for me, because by the time it beeps i can (or someone else operating my boat) turn the key all the way and start the engine.
My way would not allow to start it until bilge is turned on for certain time, and that time is anywhere 0-90 sec.

I see my solution as a modern approach of putting sticky note on the gauges saying "Run Bilge Blower first".

 

[ziggy]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

My way would not allow to start it until bilge is turned on for certain time, and that time is anywhere 0-90 sec.

i could be mistaken, but bilge blower operation prior to starting the boat is now suggested to be 5 min. per the uscg. a few years ago it was 4 min. back in 75 the sticker on my helm says 2 min. they (the uscg) keeps raiseing the length of time to run the blower. i assume for safety reasons.

like i said, in an emergency. you may need to start your boat, NOW. 90 sec. would be way to long

I see my solution as a modern approach of putting sticky note on the gauges saying "Run Bilge Blower first".

all boats i've seen already have the sticky. at least they come that way from the oem.

example: if i'd have had your modern approach on my boat. it'd be sunk on the river for my drive snagging a can chain. or i could have been t boned by another boat once. both times it was start and go once the threat had been id'd. both times i'd have been catastrophic for me, + others too in my second scenario. yes, i made errors at the helm in both cases. but i would assume that everyone makes mistakes at some time or another and that i'm not unique. imho. there will be a time you want your boat to go, NOW.

how about just disconnect your safety lanyard every time ya stop. that way it'd make ya think about starting your boat prior to doing so. fwiw. i wouldn't have had enough time to connect a safety lanyard (my boat is not equipped with one) in either of my examples above. the wreck would have occurred if i'd have had that obstacle. yes, that's very close to a wreck.

good luck in your mod and i hope it works out for you..

 

[Bondo]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

I tend to forget about safety procedures

Ayuh,... I'm glad you're just a boater, 'n Not a Pilot.....

 

[DanielR]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

Tough crowd.

Ayuh,... I'm glad you're just a boater, 'n Not a Pilot.....

Haha. I'm an aerospace engineer, not practicing in that field anymore though, but that was spot on Bond-o.
Never crossed my mind to be a pilot, too many variables, too many things that could go wrong.
At least on the water I can float.

Maybe we should come up with boat safety check list?
Gas: check; Women: check; Beer: check, and... running blower: Check

 

[ziggy]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

Maybe we should come up with boat safety check list?

good idea...

Beer: check,

beer and safety check list don't seem to me to go together... too much beer and you'll forget to turn on your blower...

At least on the water I can float.

only if ya got yer pfd on...

Tough crowd.

yep....

 

[legoman67]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

Working at a marina, i see many cases where a minute and a half longer of no power would have resulted in chaos... I also agree that an electrical system is only as strong as its weakest link, add more links, and the odds of the system staying strong decrease exponentially.

You can buy big dash decals at any marine store that you can attached right above the ignition, big yellow signs(may come in other bright colors too) saying to run blower for x minutes before starting.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

take the key out and hang it on the blower switch.

Seriously, does anyone run a blower a full 5 minutes before every start or restart?

 

[ziggy]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

Seriously, does anyone run a blower a full 5 minutes before every start or restart?

i probably do for the first start of the day. specially if i'm launching. easy to do. turn it on when your prepping at the loading ramp.. + i usually open the dog house and have a sniff or two.
as for when i'm on the lake and restarting???? probably not. 2-3 min. yes, 5, no. might not have a sniff either if i've only been shut off for a short time.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

There is another option, but it won't be as cheap as building something out of spare parts that you have lying around.

1) Replace the black blower switch with a red one. It will catch your eye 10x as often. I switched mine to red because i kept forgetting to switch it on while at idle speed.

2) Put a fume detector in the bilge (~125.00). If there are gas fumes present, the alarm will tell you. Forgetting the blower won't be as big as a deal then, but if that alarm goes off, you'll be glad you have it. I'm adding one to my boat within a month...if I don't blow up defore then...

 

[DanielR]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

Got Xintex M-1 fume detector for this season. Havent installed/tested yet.
Doesnt hurt to have one, plus Idont want to excuse myself in the future because I didnt buy one.

Tested my starter interrupt today, two relays and 528T timer did the trick. Second relay is only to maintain the same wire gauge from starter since timer relay has thinner wires. If i find it somehow annoying Ill remove it, and put it back as it was.

 

[telstar1]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

Get the xintex, forget about the timer. MHO.

 

[brhodes]

Re: Starter Interrupt Idea, Safety

I'm in a coastguard boater safety course, the instructor actually suggested running the blower at all times. This seems a tad bit excessive, but you could make the argument that if you are doing a lot of idling, no air getting pushed into the fresh air intake, etc. This would solve your issue, just buy 10 extra blower motors if you employ this theory