I was reading an article on engine room ventilation then thinking about the air needed to run the engines and how well the Sea Ray design really is.
Inboard engines, gasoline and diesel, require significant oxygen to operate at loaded conditions. Do our boats provide that air sufficiently?
Carbureted and mechanical injected engines would be particularly susceptible in performance loss relative to fuel use if not enough oxygen was available to "breathe"; they will tend to run fuel rich. Conversely, computer-controlled engines would dial back performance and fuel consumption with the loss of oxygen; they have manifold air pressure sensors.
We concern ourselves with engine loading and controlling that loading by adding or removing pitch from the propeller, but what we don't know is the engine getting enough oxygen to produce the power to establish the load conditions (RPM relative to throttle position).
So, I'm curious what the air pressure is in my engine room at various temperatures and power settings, and if the air inlet system on the boat is really sufficient for the engines' demand. We know SR really missed the mark on propeller sizing usually causing overloading conditions so did they do a good design in the air intake system? Hmmmm...
I'm considering installation of a differential pressure sensor and temperature sensor in the engine room just to see how low the engine room pressure drops below atmospheric when running the engines and generator and even the blowers.
Has anyone else looked at this?
Inboard engines, gasoline and diesel, require significant oxygen to operate at loaded conditions. Do our boats provide that air sufficiently?
Carbureted and mechanical injected engines would be particularly susceptible in performance loss relative to fuel use if not enough oxygen was available to "breathe"; they will tend to run fuel rich. Conversely, computer-controlled engines would dial back performance and fuel consumption with the loss of oxygen; they have manifold air pressure sensors.
We concern ourselves with engine loading and controlling that loading by adding or removing pitch from the propeller, but what we don't know is the engine getting enough oxygen to produce the power to establish the load conditions (RPM relative to throttle position).
So, I'm curious what the air pressure is in my engine room at various temperatures and power settings, and if the air inlet system on the boat is really sufficient for the engines' demand. We know SR really missed the mark on propeller sizing usually causing overloading conditions so did they do a good design in the air intake system? Hmmmm...
I'm considering installation of a differential pressure sensor and temperature sensor in the engine room just to see how low the engine room pressure drops below atmospheric when running the engines and generator and even the blowers.
Has anyone else looked at this?