...and finally – modifying the exhaust

The previous way the exhaust was fitted always rang alarm bells. A heater exhaust gets very hot, and in this case was dangerously close to wiring, fuel and other pipes. Also, as previously stated, the ends were badly corroded, which led to a lot of the problems with the fumes. Initially I thought I would need to replace the whole thing, but on removing the exhaust lagging outer sleeve and inspecting the pipe closely, the centre section was free of corrosion. The exhaust for this kit originally came in a 2m length. I would only need 1m for the refit, so approximately 50cm was cut off each end and the rest was serviceable.

1

The 24mm flexible exhaust can be cut with a hacksaw, but take care to cut the ends square and clean away any burrs with a file.

2

Space was tight in the locker, so to make things easier I pre-bent the ends of the exhaust to go over the fittings. The lagging was held clear with cable ties.

3

The shortened exhaust end on the heater, with the spigot clamp loosely fitted for sliding up and tightening. Note that the lagging is folded back in on itself at the ends for neatness.

4

The exhaust outlet is on the right-hand side of the heater, and if this was a new installation the skin fitting would ideally also be on the same side. So, the priority was to get the exhaust positioned correctly, and other components would work around it and be tidied up later.

5

The previous skin fitting was used – not least because the boat was on the water throughout this job. The exhaust is given a swan neck at the exit point.

6

Stand-off brackets were used to isolate the exhaust pipe along its length.