Brass Drain Tube Installation

[disposable]

Flare tool came to me, and now it's available (plus flap wheel bit) if anyone wants it. Just PM me your address and I will get it sent off to you.

[davidsea]

  Just got mine back from AP, available to loan.   Greater Seattle area or will mail.

[gtboosted]

Anyone has a flaring tool I can borrow?

[Terrace]

I have one you can use but it may be cheaper than shipping to order it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZSJ5TRN?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

[gtboosted]

Thanks. TBH I didn't even check for alternatives. The Sea Dog at $33 seemed a bit much for one time use.

[Terrace]

If I remember right the nut and bolt were metric

[Tj805]

I have Danno's
If someone needs it
Let me know and I'll mail it off !

[davidsea]

  Anyone in the greater Seattle area can get mine without shipping.

[Keel-er]

Well looks like it's time for me to replace my drain tube.  Is Danno's flare tube available to ship?  Let me know and I'll PM you with coordinates and payment.  Thanks!

[Tj805]

Well looks like it's time for me to replace my drain tube.  Is Danno's flare tube available to ship?  Let me know and I'll PM you with coordinates and payment.  Thanks!

Send me a message and I'll get off to you .

[Keel-er]

I noticed the plywood was damp when I removed my plastic drain tube.  What are people using to treat their wet plywood before installing a new tube?  Thanks!

Chris

[AP]

Ideally, give it several days opened up.  Keep it dry and put a fan and a little heat on it, if possible.  After it is dry, use small batches of thin epoxy to coat the inside of the hole.  Let it soak in and cure.  Repeat once or twice more and then install your new tube and call it good. 

"Git Rot" is a common brand of "penetrating epoxy" but you can use any fairly thin, slow cure epoxy for the process.   After you're done, you'll probably need a flap wheel to clean up the hole and make sure it is big enough to receive the new drain tube.  If the epoxy soaked in, your finished and sanded hole will still have an epoxy coating before you press the tube in.

[Keel-er]

Thanks, AP.  I was looking into the Git Rot and saw the package said it wasn't meant to be brushed on but rather injected into the wood.  Given the tight quarters I went for some Marine Tex epoxy.  The wood appears to have dried quite a bit since yesterday so I think the epoxy should do well.  Just need it to warm up about 20 degrees.

[HalfCaff]

Zombie thread alert.  I was planning to tackle this one this week.  Got the brass drain tube, and the special tool.  Then took a closer look at my existing drain tube.  Is it just me, or does it look like a previous owner applied their own "fix" here at one point in time?  Is this the stock drain tube, with some kind of epoxy or something flowed into it?  I see two distinct rings.  The outer one is 1", which I think is the original tube.

How would you proceed if this was your starting point?  If I go in with a 1" auger bit am I gonna regret it?  Open to suggestions.

[Old No7]

...but it may be cheaper than shipping to order it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZSJ5TRN?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Correct -- $12.00 from Amazon, shipped free if you have Prime and order other stuff.

I'll have to check mine again when she gets back from the shop.

Old No7

[Tom C]

I was planning to tackle this one this week.  Got the brass drain tube, and the special tool.  Then took a closer look at my existing drain tube.  Is it just me, or does it look like a previous owner applied their own "fix" here at one point in time?  Is this the stock drain tube, with some kind of epoxy or something flowed into it?  I see two distinct rings.  The outer one is 1", which I think is the original tube.

How would you proceed if this was your starting point?  If I go in with a 1" auger bit am I gonna regret it?  Open to suggestions.

It does look like somebody tried to seal a leaking factory tube. No surprise there. Doesn't really matter, you just need to drive the old tube out and make sure the hole is 1" for a 1" drain tube.

[Tom C]

A someone who has installed many dozens of brass drain tubes over the years, mostly in Boston Whalers, I can offer some advice.

The tubes are passing through a plywood cored transom, and as such there is some swelling and shrinkage as it gains and looses moisture over the years. This is why so many of the drains leak in time.

I like to use a neoprene O-ring, as well as a little polyurethane caulk under the flares. This allows a little movement to occur with no loss of seal.

If you remove an old drain tube, leave it open as long as you can, at least a day or two, but weeks if you have the time. This will allow the wood core to loose moisture though evaporation.

When you install a drain tube, be sure to anneal the end you are going to flare by heating it with a torch to almost, but not quite red hot. This will make it MUCH easier to flare without splitting the brass tube.

When you cut a tube to length, use a hacksaw or bandsaw to make the cut, then clean up the end with a sanding block or course whetstone. If you use a tubing cutter you both turn a flare the opposite direction you want to flare it, and you work harden the bras a little, which makes getting that perfect flare just that much harder.

Note that the larger the drain tube, the better the splash well works. The Flaring tools are available for 1" and 1-1/4" drain tubes, the latter will offer more than half again more drainage.

[Danno]

That tube could be one of the plastic two piece tubes where one screws into the ID of the other.

If you can't drive it out with a wood dowel and hammer, use a hacksaw blade and cut a couple of slices but not into the transom.

[Tom C]

Here the one I replaced in my 17 Sea Ranger. I may remove it this summer and install a 1-1/4" tube. You'll have less residual water in that little sump if you can get the lip lower.

[Old No7]

When you cut a tube to length, use a hacksaw or bandsaw to make the cut, then clean up the end with a sanding block or course whetstone. If you use a tubing cutter you both turn a flare the opposite direction you want to flare it, and you work harden the bras a little, which makes getting that perfect flare just that much harder.

Good point about work-hardening the brass, I agree with avoiding that if possible.

I like to use a neoprene O-ring, as well as a little polyurethane caulk under the flares. This allows a little movement to occur with no loss of seal.

"No loss of seal..." -- until the o-ring fails...

We'll have to agree to disagree on this idea, as I've seen too many o-rings fail on plumbing parts, and there's no way I'd put one in that spot on my boat.

I'll be installing mine this coming weekend.  If anyone EAST of the Mississippi needs the flaring tool when I'm done with it, just PM me. This way, we'll have flaring tools on both coasts to help out others.

Old No7

[Tom C]

"No loss of seal..." -- until the o-ring fails...

We'll have to agree to disagree on this idea, as I've seen too many o-rings fail on plumbing parts, and there's no way I'd put one in that spot on my boat.

Boston Whaler started using those O-rings on their drain tubes in 1958. I have removed intact O-rings from hulls that are more than 50 years old, and the O-rings are still good. The beauty of the brass flare, done right, is it holds the O-ring captive; it has nowhere to go.

We are not talking about plumbing here.

[Old No7]

Boston Whaler started using those O-rings on their drain tubes in 1958. I have removed intact O-rings from hulls that are more than 50 years old, and the O-rings are still good. The beauty of the brass flare, done right, is it holds the O-ring captive; it has nowhere to go.

Thanks for the reply.  I did some more web searches, and as you say this appears to be a "Whaler" thing; while others, including my brothers and I always use 5200.  Guess we'll have to "agree to agree" that there's more than one workable solution to sealing a drain tube.

I'm planning to bed mine in 5200 after the thinned epoxy in the hole has hardened, but I won't finish the final flare under the 5200 has fully set.

Old No7

[davidsea]

   5200 will be great - as long as you're absolutely sure you'll never want to replace that drain.  When 3M calls it a 'structural adhesive', they aren't kidding.  For sealing a small gap to keep water out, it's really unnecessary - any submersible thin-bodied sealant will work just fine.   I'm still cursing the PO of my boat for using 5200 everywhere.

[Tom C]

I use 3M 4200 FC (fast Cure). Has all the same sealing abilities of 5200, but is much easier to deal with if you ever need to remove it (it sticks pretty good too).

[Tom C]

I did some more web searches, and as you say this appears to be a "Whaler" thing; while others, including my brothers and I always use 5200.  Guess we'll have to "agree to agree" that there's more than one workable solution to sealing a drain tube.

I'm planning to bed mine in 5200 after the thinned epoxy in the hole has hardened, but I won't finish the final flare under the 5200 has fully set.

Of course there are different ways of doing things. My point is not that simply flaring the tube to the transom with some sealant is a bad idea, but that there is nothing wrong with using an O-ring too, and there may be benefits of doing so.

I make these comments for the benefit of others reading along, not because I have any illusion of changing your mind. Your plan is a good one, carry on.