Westerbeke 8.0BTD leaving soot residue on gelcoat

[jeffsuwanee]

I have a '97 420 AC with a Westerbeke 8.0BTD genset with roughly 950 hours. In years past when out on the hook for a few days , with the gen running nonstop, we never had any soot issues...but recently I am noticing some dark soot residue on the gelcoat surrounding the water/exhaust outlet on the side of the boat. I had to use "Roll Off" to remove the soot today and while I was in the water next to the exhaust outlet, I did notice intermittent light colored smoke interspersed with the water.

Thoughts.........

Thank you in advance,

Jeff

 

[fwebster]

I have the same generator and have experienced sooting at times. I suspect that the water flow in the exhausts is less that you have experienced previously. Check the Westerbeke impeller and if it is fresh, pull one end cap off the heat exchanger and see if you have a buildup in the seawater side (although that is doubtful on Lanier)

Another thought is how many hours are on the generator...if you are near 1000, you might benefit from having the injectors removed and tested. It is a simple process and most of the time the fluid used for pressure testing cleans any deposits on the injector. checking and cleaning all of mine cost $75. We adjusted the valves at the same time and it made a lot of difference in noise and sooting.