Chasing Elegua

[Sweare Deep]

The PAYS guys are great. Very helpful, not pushy, just good guys. The guys in the Pitons need to take a lesson.

Agree about the PAYS guys — we used Edison. Wish Roseau was as well organized, though SeaCat (aka Octavius) was great. Roseau is a better base for touring the island, though Portsmouth is a far better anchorage.

We also had a good experience a couple of weeks ago between the Pitons at Jalousie, just off Sugar Beach. We had contacted a boat guy, Jean-Claude, ahead of time and that avoided any hassle of competing boat guys — he does great tours, too.

 

[Elegua]

Bumped the bottom trying to find a depth less than 40’, but a really nice anchorage.

 

[accnick]

Bumped the bottom trying to find a depth less than 40’, but a really nice anchorage.


View attachment 585978

Where dat?

 

[Elegua]

Where dat?

Baie du Trésors .

Conflicting info as to whether we can stay as it’s a national park. I hope we can stay a spell.

 

[Elegua]

The East Coast of Martinique is pretty amazing.

Baie du Tresors has been the best anchorage since we left Maine. The bottom I bumped is over on the far right. Made the classic mistake of not using the light correctly.

Uncrowded, quiet, flat, lots of wildlife a wonderful, shallow beach, good hiking and a lighthouse that sweeps overhead at night. Doesn’t feel like the Caribbean, which is mostly heaving with boats.

If I wake up early enough, the sunrises are vivid.

Today we hiked.

Tomorrow is a beach day. We got some folding chairs at Decathalon to try out.

 

[Bryanjb]

Nice!

 

[Elegua]

Oh me, my…engine shenanigans.

Been running the engine a lot less to charge the batteries. Good, right? Well…warmed up the engine to get out of the fringing reef this am after 4 days of doing nuttin and all seemed normal until on the way out the oil pressure started to drop- got as low as 30psi. When I went to idle it dropped to 20psi.

Stopped the engine once we started sailing. Started up to get through the next reef and same issue with low oil pressure. Shut it down as soon as I could.

Changed the oil and filter and now back to normal…. There was about 80hrs on the oil. Didn’t pull out excess oil. Didn’t seem to have any diesel odor. No change in the normal Perkins oil weeps. I change every 100hrs - rotella t-4, 15w-40. Replaced it with Total 5000 15w-40.

I don’t understand other than to shorten the oil change interval. Mr. Perkins seems to hate old oil.

I’m not good with engines. What should I be doing?

 

[Kris Cringle]

Oh me, my…engine shenanigans.

Been running the engine a lot less to charge the batteries. Good, right? Well…warmed up the engine to get out of the fringing reef this am after 4 days of doing nuttin and all seemed normal until on the way out the oil pressure started to drop- got as low as 30psi. When I went to idle it dropped to 20psi.

Stopped the engine once we started sailing. Started up to get through the next reef and same issue with low oil pressure. Shut it down as soon as I could.

Changed the oil and filter and now back to normal…. There was about 80hrs on the oil. Didn’t pull out excess oil. Didn’t seem to have any diesel odor. No change in the normal Perkins oil weeps. I change every 100hrs - rotella t-4, 15w-40. Replaced it with Total 5000 15w-40.

I don’t understand other than to shorten the oil change interval. Mr. Perkins seems to hate old oil.

I’m not good with engines. What should I be doing?

Is it possible you have a little resistance in the circuit for your oil pressure sender? I don't see how your actual oil pressure could vary that much due to slightly dirty oil. It wasn't low on oil, right?

 

[accnick]

What pressure do you normally see at idle and under load at cruising speed, with the engine warmed up? Was the coolant temp normal at the time?

 

[Elegua]

Is it possible you have a little resistance in the circuit for your oil pressure sender? I don't see how your actual oil pressure could vary that much due to slightly dirty oil. It wasn't low on oil, right?

Not low as far as I could tell. I check it every 10ths of running time or so.

How should I check the sender?

 

[Elegua]

What pressure do you normally see at idle and under load at cruising speed, with the engine warmed up? Was the coolant temp normal at the time?

Coolant was at temp - 80*. It does take this engine a while to warm up as it has a big heater and water heater circuit on it as well.

When oil is fresh and the engine is warm, 35psi at low idle (650rpms) and 60psi (it’s limited to 60psi by the bypass valve) at anything 1,800 and above. As the oil ages in hours, the 60 will drop to 50. If it ever gets below 50, I change the oil.

 

[accnick]

Coolant was at temp - 80*. It does take this engine a while to warm up as it has a big heater and water heater circuit on it as well.

When oil is fresh and the engine is warm, 35psi at low idle (650rpms) and 60psi (it’s limited to 60psi by the bypass valve) at anything 1,800 and above. As the oil ages in hours, the 60 will drop to 50. If it ever gets below 50, I change the oil.

Are you using the same oil filters as always?

 

[Elegua]

Are you using the same oil filters as always?

Yes. Napa Gold.

I don’t smell diesel, my p-pump and lift pump are new….injectors are/were good just 100-200 hours ago. I’m flummoxed.

 

[accnick]

Are the Rotella and the Total oils the exact same spec?

I've never had that issue with oil pressure dropping as a function of time, but it's been a long time since I had a 4-108.

I would definitely change oil at 100 hour intervals on the engine. I used to use straight 30 weight Rotella, but that was a long time ago.

 

[Elegua]

Are the Rotella and the Total oils the exact same spec?

I've never had that issue with oil pressure dropping as a function of time, but it's been a long time since I had a 4-108.

I would definitely change oil at 100 hour intervals on the engine. I used to use straight 30 weight Rotella, but that was a long time ago.

Hard to find T-4 in the islands. The last change was near the last of my Rotella. Total Quartz 5000 is an improved mineral oil, like T-4. It has a CF additive package so perhaps not quite as good.

The change over time implies dilution. Last time I took a sample - which was admittedly before I left the US and a couple hundred hours ago…there was no fuel in the oil.

 

[accnick]

Hard to find T-4 in the islands.

That is why I carried at least a half dozen changes of oil and filter with me when I left the US, and why I topped that supply up whenever I was someplace that had what I was looking for.

Back then, Rotella was the default oil throughout most of the Caribbean.

I can't believe the oil type is the issue, however.

Not sure what is going on here. I'm assuming you check the engine oil at least every few days when you are using the engine.

At this point, I would just watch it like a hawk, check oil (cold) every day if you run it every day, maybe log oil pressure cold, warmed up, under load, to make sure things seem normal.

 

[Kris Cringle]

Coolant was at temp - 80*. It does take this engine a while to warm up as it has a big heater and water heater circuit on it as well.

When oil is fresh and the engine is warm, 35psi at low idle (650rpms) and 60psi (it’s limited to 60psi by the bypass valve) at anything 1,800 and above. As the oil ages in hours, the 60 will drop to 50. If it ever gets below 50, I change the oil.

I'm still playing devils advocate on your oil gauge: With a simple sender and an even simpler gauge, is it really capable of this sort of accuracy? Or are oil gauges only a slightly more complicated oil idiot light.

I guess what I'm saying is, if it says you have oil pressure, you're good - keep cruising.

 

[Elegua]

I'm still playing devils advocate on your oil gauge: With a simple sender and an even simpler gauge, is it really capable of this sort of accuracy? Or are oil gauges only a slightly more complicated oil idiot light.

I guess what I'm saying is, if it says you have oil pressure, you're good - keep cruising.

I have no idea if it’s accuracy. It’s a little VDO unit - maybe 10yrs old at this point?

The engine is not making smoke of any sort. It doesn’t sound any different- just this gauge does funny things once the oil gets to a certain age and hot.

The next oil analysis I can get is probably Trini.

 

[Fah Kiew Tu]

I have no idea if it’s accuracy. It’s a little VDO unit - maybe 10yrs old at this point?

View attachment 587017

The engine is not making smoke of any sort. It doesn’t sound any different- just this gauge does funny things once the oil gets to a certain age and hot.

The next oil analysis I can get is probably Trini.

I've had issues with the VDO gauges - quite sensitive to low voltage for example. My engine has 2 oil pressure gauges fitted, the electric VDO one and a purely mechanical Murphy Switchgauge unit. If there's a discrepancy, I'm believing the Murphy gauge over the VDO one.

I also have an oil temperature gauge fitted.

FKT

 

[Elegua]

I've had issues with the VDO gauges - quite sensitive to low voltage for example. My engine has 2 oil pressure gauges fitted, the electric VDO one and a purely mechanical Murphy Switchgauge unit. If there's a discrepancy, I'm believing the Murphy gauge over the VDO one.

I also have an oil temperature gauge fitted.

FKT

Interesting about the VDO gauges. I really like those Murphy switch gauges.