Ford lehman pencils

[jersey]

Hello all.

New member here

Is there any part suppliers in Australia for a ford Lehman 120hp Model 2715E In particular looking for sacraficial pencils? i think i need 2?

Thank you all in advnce.. Jersey
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[Bob Cofer]

Which ones? They are inexpensive here and could be mailed cheaply. I volunteer.

 

[BruceK]

Hello all.

New member here

Is there any part suppliers in Australia for a ford Lehman 120hp Model 2715E In particular looking for sacrificial pencils?

First up, welcome aboard.
As to pencils, there might be, but one course is getting in touch with American Diesel. Run by Bob(ex VP Lehman) and Brian Smith, they know and stock almost everything Lehman.

 

[Peter B]

Bob Smith can be contacted here Bob Smith <bobsmithadc@gmail.com>, or it might be worth trying this…

Replacement Anode for 191134 Ford Lehman and others. - Sacraficial Anodes - Marine Parts

And then there is still Bob Cofer's kind offer..?

Are they for the heat exchanger, or the oil coolers..?

 

[Marin]

There are two sizes that will fit the main heat exchanger: a fat one that's almost the same diameter as the hole, and a thinner one. I strongly advise using the thinner one. These zincs "swell up" with fuzzy stuff as they deteriorate and if you are conscientious about changing them you run the risk of unscrewing the cap only to find you've unscrewed it from the heat exchanger and the zinc, which has jammed in the hole. Getting it out can be tricky and it can easily result in the zinc dropping through the hole into the body of the exchanger.

Not a disaster--- the zinc will most likely go away on its own eventually. But using the smaller diameter anode eliminates the problem. They don't last as long, but long is a relative term.

We switched to the smaller diameter pencils some time ago. We check them every six months, at which time there is plenty of the pencil left. We could probably get away with another six months but we change them anyway. They're dirt cheap and not the sort of thing worth getting frugal over.

We write the date the zincs were changed on the brass caps on the heat exchanger with a Sharpie. That way it's easy to remind ourselves how long they've been in there every time we're down in the engine room.

 

[Peter B]

As an aside, Marin, as the mechanic changed mine last, so I forget, does much coolant escape while you are doing that change, or do the zincs only enter the raw water compartment of the heat exchanger..?

 

[Marin]

As an aside, Marin, as the mechanic changed mine last, so I forget, does much coolant escape while you are doing that change, or do the zincs only enter the raw water compartment of the heat exchanger..?

On our installation removing the zincs does not result in any liquid escape. Now, we only do it when the engines are cold. If the engines and coolant were hot I don't know what would happen. Probably nothing but you never know.

On our main heat exchangers the zinc caps are on the upper side of the exchanger barrel. I have no idea if there are installations that are any different.

I assume the zincs are only in the raw water section of the exchanger but I don't know that for a fact--- we've never had occasion to take an exchanger apart. But there is no reason I can think of that they need to be in contact with the coolant, too. And given that they go away, I would think it would be pretty much impossible to have a zinc penetrate both the raw water and coolant sections of the exchanger and not have a transfer of liquids between the sections.

 

[Peter B]

Thanks. I agree they probably only access the raw water part, and mine is also situated at the top. I better check it/them next time I'm down.

 

[BruceK]

Importing parts from USA

A slight drift, cost of importing from USA vs buying in Australia. I just bought some Racor spin on replacement filters, with freight,allowing for cc charges, they will cost a little over half local retail. Note the Aussie dollar varies, today around 81c US; when it was $1.10 I bought 2 Johnson Ultra bilge pump switches for the price of one here. Always check, it may not be cheaper, sometimes not worth the bother, and though the 2015 Budget did not introduce GST on o/s purchases <$1K, it could yet happen.

 

[jersey]

Thanks bruce , will get in touch with them

Happy boating

Jersey

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard Mr./Ms. j.

 

[Floating]

I use cut down anodes from small Beta engines, at least that's what my engineer fits.


j

 

[Bay Pelican]

Jersey
If you are buying zinc pencils you may want to buy one or two extra caps. Frequently the pencil will break off leaving the cap filled so you cannot install a new pencil. This may occur when you don't have time to remove the balance of the zinc from the cap. I keep a small supply of muratic acid on board for that purpose.

 

[RNL]

I will just mention that on my Lehman (American Diesel) 6N140 there is no problem with the heat exchanger zincs replacement but I do lose some raw water, minimized by being ready and quick and closing the raw water seacock. The one on the port side of the exchanger is on the bottom and will leak, just rinse her down with fresh water after. On the oil transmission cooler the zinc is a thin one that enters at an angle on the end of the echanger but I usually cut about 50% of it off due to the angle of entry causing the tip of the new zinc contacting and bearing down hard on he copper tubes. May not be an issue on yours? It may not be a problem but I consider it as a potential if I tighten it down too much.


Glen

 

[dwhatty]

As an aside, I have found that using Loctite Blue on the threads of a new zinc when installing it greatly improve the odds of the zinc coming out still connected to the cap when its time to change it.

 

[psneeld]

Sure is a lot of disagreement on putting anything on zinc threads through the years....what's the most recent thoughts?

 

[Marin]

The problem of the cap unscrewing from the zinc during removal doesn't exist if one uses the thinner of the two sizes of zinc for this engine's heat exchanger.

 

[Doug]

Sure is a lot of disagreement on putting anything on zinc threads through the years....what's the most recent thoughts?

Recently changed the zincs on my Lehman heat exchanger and trans cooler. In the past I have noticed some electrolysis around the caps where they thread into the exchangers. Thought about using Teflon tape to prevent this but was concerned that it would insulate the zincs thus making them less effective. So I checked them with an ohmmeter with and without the tape. No difference! I therefore used the tape. We'll see if it prevents electrolysis

 

[Marin]

The threads will cut through the tape and make contact with the body of the exchanger. So you'll get the same connection between the cap and the exchanger body with or without the tape. The tape will make the cap easier to remove, though.......

 

[psneeld]

Recently changed the zincs on my Lehman heat exchanger and trans cooler. In the past I have noticed some electrolysis around the caps where they thread into the exchangers. Thought about using Teflon tape to prevent this but was concerned that it would insulate the zincs thus making them less effective. So I checked them with an ohmmeter with and without the tape. No difference! I therefore used the tape. We'll see if it prevents electrolysis

Seems many things actually get scraped off by thread interaction and form an adequate electrical connection.

Dielectric grease is a good example f something that doesn't really isolate yet provides decent corrosion protection.

 

[jersey]

zinc pencils

First of all I apologise for the late post as I am a shift worker 7 days straight. and secondly thank you so much for all the wonderful information and Bobs generous offer.
I have been in touch with Bomac marine in the states and they can ship these pencils for me and have quoted around $12.00 US dollars each plus postage does that seem about right?
it seems I need one for the raw water line between the oil cooler and the heat exchanger and also one for the transmition cooler. im not sure if there is one in the heat exchanger as its not visible from the top. any ideas, and once again thanks to the wonderful trawler family.
By the way I have a 1985 mark 3 chung hwa 34 clipper aft cabin. only purchaed her in january this year, very happy so far, i will post a pick soon. Jersey

 

[Marin]

Our two FL120s have only one zinc apiece. It is installed in the main heat exchanger. The small oil and transmission fluid coolers (they are identical units) have no zincs.

There are, or were, manufactures of these smaller coolers that incorporated a zinc anode and also had a tab for the attachment of a bonding wire. We buy our small coolers form American Diesel; we get the cupro-nickel coolers and they do not incorporate a zinc or a have a bonding tab.

We connect our small coolers to the boat's bonding system via the engine they're mounted on simply by removing the paint on the body of the cooler where the metal mounting clamp fits around it and making sure the metal of the clamp is clean to make a good electrical connection to the cooler body.

 

[RNL]

I am about to get a new transmission cooler from American diesel and will get the CN model. I must not have that one as mine (original) does have a zinc. I'll follow your bonding rec's for it. Thanks