Does anyone out there have any experience with the Groco Hydromatic® Self-Cleaning Raw Water Strainers?
That's not what I wanted to here. We're gone sometimes 6 weeks at a time working in whatever state calls us. We we're hoping being Groco it would be a reliable product. I'll research their warranty a bit more.I had one. Put in on a 48ft sportfish back in 2002 when they first came out. I was located on the Mississippi gulf coast. It was a little time consuming to install because of the high amp draw. It had a plastic strainer basket. It never stayed any cleaner than the standard strainer basket I had. It was for for AC. After 6 months, the seal in the bottom went bad and filled the motor with salt water. The plastic basket came apart. I drill out the bottom and plugged the hole, made a SS basket and had a VERY expensive raw water strainer. Maybe they have gotten better, good luck
I use two little EvaDry dehumidifiers, they run 24/7, one sits in the sink in the head, the other in the galley sink. I drilled a 1/4" hole in each of their tanks, so they drain into the sink which drains overboard. I learned this trick from others on the forum. It works great, no mold or other issues in my boat at all. Ever.
Which model EvaDry are you using? I see a little bit of a range in them. I think that at some point (size) heat starts to become a factor. I have a larger GE unit that I used. Once. Got onboard after a few hours of running and the thing had heated the boat up to 100 degrees.
Sounds like a less expensive "worth a try". I give that a shot. Should save on the $200+ a month electric bill we have this time of year. Thanks
https://www.groco.net/products/raw-water-strainers/self-cleaning/970-series
Scroll down the linked page... See Diagram... Notice "Hull Strainer" on diagram's bottom right.
Well... here's my story and outlook:
Story - Starting in 1950's; I was very often aboard dad's boats since then I've owned my own boats. I also worked in boat yards when in my teens on other peoples' boats.
One [1] of my boats with twins had internal filter baskets with glass tops. They did their jobs... they stropped [i.e. filled with] small pieces of debris [sea plant life that the Hull Strainer had let through] until they needed to be cleaned out so the filter basket didn't fill enough to restrict flow. Can only imagine that if I had let them fill too full - engine would overheat... I guess.
Outlook: Since all other boats [besides the one mentioned above] I've been intimately associated with had only Hull Strainers with no clogging that overheated an engine, and as far as I know let nothing through to ruin impellers... I prefer Hull Strainers only.
Note: One time while anchored a gen set's Hull Strainer did get covered with plant life sucked tight against its grating. Generator began to overhead. Shut it down in time and cleared plant debris under boat the next day. A filter basket would not have stopped that circumstance.
The GROCO 970 Series Hydromatic strainers macerated discharge should remove the need for cleaning any filter baskets... but... what if the maceration feature fails? What then... if the raw water system becomes too clogged?? And, at a cost of $2.5K +/-. Well... using only under water Hull Strainers is my preferred way to go!
I agree with you completely that exterior strainers are better then basket strainers at least for main engines. In addition, external strainers with trap doors are even better. Removable screens and access to clean inside the strainer and thru-hull opening (see attached).
Something else I have noted over the years I have not seen mentioned in this thread yet. Scoop type strainers seem to catch marine larvae that attach inside and then grow up. I have seen many instances of large clams, oysters and crabs inside scoop type strainers. Have yet to see that in a screen type strainer.
Groco hull strainers.pdf (485.4 KB, 2 views)
Yep, that too. They use very little power.
My boat is generally around 88 degrees when I get on board on a hot summer day. But it cools down quick and doesn't seem to hurt anything.
Let's look at this another way, do you run your A/C continuously while you are away from the boat for extended periods? If yes, why?
I keep my boat in Stuart, so pretty similar conditions, and I went away from running the A/C all the time quite a few years ago. The secret is to focus on reducing humidity, don't worry so much about temp. I use two little EvaDry dehumidifiers, they run 24/7, one sits in the sink in the head, the other in the galley sink. I drilled a 1/4" hole in each of their tanks, so they drain into the sink which drains overboard. I learned this trick from others on the forum. It works great, no mold or other issues in my boat at all. Ever.
Saves a lot of wear on your A/C system. Also eliminates a source of water being pumped into the boat non stop while you are gone.
Give it a try. I think you will be happy with the results.