Panda 8kw Impeller Eater

[Grandpapat]

Our 8kw genie with 600 hours has burned up three raw water impellers in the past two weeks on a 2007 GW360. It runs fine in the slip for hours with normal temps but after less than an hour or so on plane the genie shuts down and displays hi temps at cyl head and fresh cooling water in. It is not spitting any raw water over the side at all at that point.

I checked the thru-hull and it is clean with no obstructions. The strainer is clean too. The short hose from the seacock to the strainer has almost a 90 degree bend factory installed and a fairly severe kink that could be restricting the vacuum enough to prevent water flow on plane. That 1 foot long piece of hose also has external cracks as does the cooler/ac raw water in line right next to it. All the other hoses look spotless.

Our tech does not believe the kinked hose is the issue. He wants to install a scooped through hull fitting and a valve setup to increase water flow on plane. Interestingly the through hull for the genie is practically flat and fits close to the hull but the frig/ac through hull has a larger face that protrudes down perhaps an inch into the water from the hull.

I am thinking about replacing both hoses and switching their applications so that the hoses run a tad farther to the stainers and thus a less kinky run.

Anybody experience something like this genie issue? A fellow 2007 360 owner a few slips down now is having the same problem and his hoses look the same as mine.

 

[seabob4]

Do NOT install a high-speed pickup on your gennie! (The one with the built in scoop) This will force water through the the water pump and can get into the exhaust, which can back down into your cylinders, and the the gennie is toast!

Get rid of the kink. Install a new piece of hose that gently curves from the pickup to the strainer, and then again gently curves from the strainer to the water pump barb. This should solve your problems.

And if your machanic actually DID say to install a high-speed pickup for the gennie, GET A NEW MECHANIC!!!

 

[ahill]

Bill Pike had a recent article on generator cooling in Power & Motoryacht. He spent some time explaining "apparent" waterline and how it affects the cooling system. I don't recall all the details but it was something I wasn't aware of and may be a contributing factor to your problem. Was your gen factory installed? It sounds like you're picking up air in the system causing friction to eat up the impeller. Is any thru hull directly ahead of the gen pickup?

 

[Grandpapat]

Thanks, I thought the scoop idea was nutty. The seacock and strainer are very close so the hose is only about 10 inches long. I could put a little loop in a slightly longer hose or put a 90 on the seacock to get them to line up in the same plane.

The genie is a factory install by Grady-White. I have a call into the guy at Panda-Fischer who designed the system for GW. This is a 2007 GW 360 so the design should have been proven since introduction in 2005 for that hull.

 

[gwwannabe]

I've never been on your boat model so please bear with me. Where is your gennie raw water pick-up relative to your hull being on plane. It sounds to me that at speed, the pick-up is unable to get the water it needs. Since it takes a whole hour to overheat, it has to be getting most of its needs. Were you in rough water such that the bow was climbing high? Are we talking cavitation around the pick-up area? Maybe turbulence creating frothy water with lots of air bubbles?

Many years ago, a friend had a go-fast boat that would overheat after running a while. The solution for him was a deflector, not a scoop. The deflector was a small strip of something that increased the water preasure around the intake.

Gary 89 Overnighter - soon to be 93 Gulfstream

 

[The Black Pearl II]

gen issues

OK, i have a 07 360 and have had it since 07. not a issues with the generator. I do have an under water discharge, which helps quite the system. not had a problem, but have replace impellers ever year, and 2 years ago replaced the whole pump. other then that, not an issue. is the boat new to you?

 

[Grandpapat]

yes, the boat is new to us and the previous owner changed impellers every year at the beginning of the season too, and had no other problems. We are hauling the boat for 400 hour yami work today and will replace the kinked Panda raw water intake hose and see what happens. We are careful to ensure seacock is open during operation. Is there some other operating practice that we are missing?

 

[The Black Pearl II]

water

good, just check to see if they painted the intake on the sea cock (i have had that also). i added the under water discharge, which is an Panda Fisher option. it cuts the splash to zero and makes it quite. keep us posted.

 

[pablor]

I am sure you fixed this already, but I thought I would post that I started having the same problem and it turned out that a piece of the impeller (actually lots of pices) was stuck in the metal pipe above the water pump. Stuck a little screw driver and all of these rubber pieces fell out. At high speed and load, not enough water was coming into the pump and it would burn out the impeller again. Hope this helps someone...

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Any body knows if is possible to install a temp gauge on the Fisher Panda?
I also have to change my impeller this year for the first time after about 250 hours. Anyone knows where can i get the impeller kit?

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

From my FP manual

Check the impeller for damage and
replace it if necessary.
Before the reinsertion into the housing the
impeller should have been lubricated with
glycerin or with a non-mineral oil based
lubricant e.g. silicone spray.
Attention - this is very important,
because the impeller can dissolve
otherwise very fast.

 

[pablor]

You can call fisher panda directly for the kit. or you can order online too. They have a great Customer service department.

if the impeller broke, make sure you check the intake and output to make sure there all of the pieces of rubber are gone before puting in the new one...Yes,grease is very important too!