How bad is this strainer?

[Olly75]

I would like to reuse an old water strainer that was left on the boat by the PO for my water maker, I removed one of the hose barbs as I need to change it to a 45 degree and it snapped off during removal.

Ive attached a couple of images and was wondering if I should assume the whole thing is toast, or is there any easy way to test its integrity?

[Reefmagnet]

Looks like a brass barb into a bronze strainer. Give the strainer a cleanup and it should come up like new. If the strainer is brass too, it will be a deep pink colour in large parts where the zinc has corroded from the alloy.

[David M]

The previous owner might have gone to a regular hardware store and bought brass, not knowing it will quickly corrode out in saltwater.

I would not use an old strainer in a situation where if it failed it could sink the boat, but in with the application you are thinking about, I think you will be okay. Just install it above the waterline. Otherwise, buy a new one so you know what you have.

Silicon bronze is one of the best low corrosion metals for saltwater.

[Olly75]

Great, thank you. Ill clean her up and see what it looks like. I can instal it above the water line as well, so should be all good.

Famous last words mind....

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

Looks like a brass barb into a bronze strainer. Give the strainer a cleanup and it should come up like new. If the strainer is brass too, it will be a deep pink colour in large parts where the zinc has corroded from the alloy.

+1 what ReefM said (especially what he said about brass and pink discolouration) .

Here is a picture of a 35 year old thermostat bronze thermostat housing that looked as green as your fitting did before 5 minutes of wire brushing.

[a64pilot]

And a 30 yr old strainer cleaned up by bead blasting.

[billknny]

Unmentioned so far is that if the Previous Owner was ignorant enough to put brass fittings into THIS part... where else might he have done the same stupid thing?

If it was my boat, I would have a very careful look at every the saltwater plumbing fitting.

[Olly75]

Originally Posted by billknny

Unmentioned so far is that if the Previous Owner was ignorant enough to put brass fittings into THIS part... where else might he have done the same stupid thing?

If it was my boat, I would have a very careful look at every the saltwater plumbing fitting.

Huh. Well thats going to keep me awake tonight!

[George DuBose]

I don't allow any brass on my boat at all. My 46 year old Wilcox-Crittenden seacocks looked so nice after I disassembled and cleaned them that my wife thought they were new. I told her I only had them "gold-plated" to prevent further corrosion. Had her going for a few minutes...

[deblen]

A source of tech. info. on marine metals. / Len


Brasses and bronzes – Cox Engineering


https://marinehowto.com/category/plumbing/

[jharding]

I found a good way to clean bronze is to soak it over night in vinegar with a bunch of salt added, plain vinegar won't do it, but adding salt made my raw water pump look like new.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Olly75

I would like to reuse an old water strainer that was left on the boat by the PO for my water maker, I removed one of the hose barbs as I need to change it to a 45 degree and it snapped off during removal.

Ive attached a couple of images and was wondering if I should assume the whole thing is toast, or is there any easy way to test its integrity?

Is this a European boat ?
If so you may want to look at this ...

http://www.pcmarinesurveys.com/Paul%...20Seacocks.pdf

and this

http://www.pcmarinesurveys.com/Paul%...0Mongering.pdf

[Olly75]

Those are some interesting articles, but the boat was built and lived in the US before I took her on.