Dual-cooled marine engines have a heat exchanger that is made of small copper tubes housed in a plastic housing. Antifreeze passes through the plastic case around the copper tubes, and seawater passes through the copper tubes, so that the two cooling systems are physically separated in the case. At the end of the season, seaweed and scale accumulate inside, which causes the greatest damage if it is not regularly maintained. When the thin wall of the copper pipe is corroded by sea and scale, it breaks and sea penetrates into the closed cooling system, i.e. the sea begins to mix with the antifreeze, and for some time there is only sea in the closed cooling system, which will begin to corrode the engine block and if neither then he doesn’t react, great damage occurs. The price of one heat exchanger for a Volvo Penta engine is approximately €2,000.
For this reason, dry marina by triM Nautica recommends that they be washed with a special acid after each season.
Cleaning and rinsing of the heat exchanger can be arranged directly in the dry marina or via our email: marina@haretaprojekt.hr.
See below a picture of a dirty heat exchanger that has been corroded by the sea already after 2 years of non-maintenance.
