Aqua Lift muffler kit from Catalina

[KenKrawford]

Included with my antisiphon kit from Catalina was a thumb screw and washer/gasket to install on the muffler. There is also a wooden "cradle" that elevates the front of the muffler.
The instructions state to drill a hole on the front of the muffler with a # 7 drill bit. The hole is then tapped with a 1/4x20 tap and the thumb screw installed.
It has always bothered me that up until now, there has been no way to drain the muffler in the event of prolonged engine cranking. I'm glad this issue has been addressed.
My concern centers around the tapping of the muffler. The fiberglass looks rather brittle and I'm worried about the thumb screw stripping when threaded.
Has anyone done this upgrade? How did it go? Are my concerns unwarranted? Did you take the hose off the muffler in order to drill and tap? Any other tips?

[LONGHAWK]

I installed the drain kit. It was a straightforwrad job. I removed two screws holding the tie-wraps down that positioned the white vent hose to allow me to push it back out of the way to improve access during the job. Then, simply unsnap the two black buckles that hold the muffler in place. Place the saddle under the engine end (I added a bit of silicon seal under the base of the saddle to prevent any rattle). Then, without having to remove any hoses or reposition anything, I was able to take a rechargeable drill and drill and small pilot hole (about 1/8" diameter). Note: be sure to position the hole far enough away from the bottom edge to ensure that when drilled, you remain in the head and don't hit the wall of the muffler, as the head is a cone). I did the small pilot hole first to test things out, plus I find it always good to step up in sizes when drilling any hole. The fiberglass drilled fine. It was not overly friable or brittle. I allowed the muffler to drain down through this small weep hole before I proceeded ( quite a while and more water than I was expecting). Then I drilled the correct sized (#7 bit) hole and tapped with a 1/4-20 tap. As with any tap, keep it centered and back out frequently to keep the cutting edged from having too much bite and breaking off chunks of material. I then threaded in the screw with the rubber washer gasket around the head. I was surprised at the amount of torque required to ensure a drip free seal, but it did seal. It required the judicous use of pliers on the thumscrew, as finger power was insufficent to halt a small (1 drip every 10 seconds) drip. The job took about an hour in total (including allowing the muffler to drain throughh the pilot hole). I am considereing adding a safety wire to the thumb screw to prevent it from backing out with vibration as it is in a rather non-visible location.
Hope this helps.
Sam
LONGHAWK #173

[KenKrawford]

Sam,
Thanks very much for the reply. Roughly how far up from the bottom edge of the muffler did you drill?
I think a safety wire is a great idea.

[LONGHAWK]

I estimate about 3/4 to 1 inch up from the bottom.

[Armin]

Stan,

I agree with your solution. Having to remove a thumbscrew to drain the water is not practical. My airplane fuel tanks had petcock valves to drain the water. They work great. I would like to find a means of draining the muffler without having to tear the whole stateroom apart.

Armin
MakeWay

[LONGHAWK]

I wrote a short note a few weeks ago about installing the muffler drain and saddle. I hopefully have now learned how to post pix. Here is first attempt at posting a picture.<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e294/ ... G_0502.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

[LONGHAWK]

second attempt. Sorry for the errors in submitting (still learning javascript:emoticon(':oops:')
Embarassed