Connecting Seawater to Heat Exchanger

Refer to Figure 2 for typical seawater plumbing arrangement.

  1. Connect seawater pump to Seakeeper dedicated through-hull fitting. A strainer and seacock valve should generally be installed between the seawater inlet and the pump.
  2. Connect seawater from installer-supplied seawater pump to lower ½ in. (13 mm) hose barb on heat exchanger.
    1. Use the same practices as other below waterline seawater plumbing.
  3. Connect seawater discharge (upper hose barb) to overboard drain. Use the same practices as other below waterline seawater plumbing.
  4. During commissioning, seawater flow should be checked to be within the flow requirements while the vessel is at rest, at speed, and when backing down.
    1. If no other method of confirming flow is available, discharge line may be temporarily diverted to a bucket. Flowrate is calculated based on the time required to fill a known volume in GPM / LPM.
    2. Flowrates in excess of 4 GPM (15.2 LPM) could affect heat exchanger life.
  5. After sea trial/commissioning, inspect all raw water plumbing for any signs of leakage.
Figure 2 – Typical Seakeeper Seawater Plumbing Arrangement (Drawing No. 90512)

Seakeeper Optional DC Seawater Pump (P/N 30331)

Volts24 VDC (operate at 12 V for Seakeeper 1)
Rated Flow2.5 GPM (9.5 LPM), at 12 VDC
Overcurrent Protection Rating15 A
Ignition ProtectionISO 8846 or equivalent
  1. Seakeeper offers a self-priming DC Seawater pump as an optional addition. DC Seawater Pump, Seakeeper 1 Assembly (P/N 30331), is shown in the following figure.
  2. The Seakeeper Seawater Pump is a 24 VDC pump operated at 12 VDC for the Seakeeper 1 and maintains a seawater flow of approximately 2.5 GPM (9.5 LPM) at 12 VDC.
  3. The pump assembly is pre-wired for connection to Seakeeper 1 Seawater Pump Output Cable and includes a seawater strainer and various fittings.
Figure 3 – DC Seawater Pump (30331)