Another question about sea strainers
 

I bought a pair of Gil strainers off of E-bay last year and when they arrived the mating surface was loaded with RTV blue silicone. That leads me to believe they leaked. Thats probably why they were on E-bay huh? There is a rubber O-ring in there for sealing that may be flattened somewhat although it looks fine. I'm in the middle of my motor change and now is the time to install a strainer (I only need one). I don't want to install one of these and have problems down the road with the tight engine bay of a single 25'.

Has anyone had problems with leaks? If so, are they correctable?

Should I put the pair back on E-bay and buy 1 new one? If so, recommendations of longevity and easy cleaning?

I cleaned the blue silicone off of one.

Re: Another question about sea strainers
 

How do they come apart for cleaning?
Do you have to unbolt all those bolts? Will you be able to get to it easily?
I have a new Gil Strainer, it has a single clamp and a thumb nut to clean it if needed.

http://www.gilmarine.com/products/seastrain/sstrain.jpg

Re: Another question about sea strainers
 

I have the newer style, and after 2 years of use, it leaked out the cap. I called Gil, and they sent me a new O-ring, and no problems since. I think it was 8 bucks for the 0-ring. Try that first.....

Re: Another question about sea strainers
 

I'd recomend putting wing nuts on the cap. Otherwise cleaning those strainers would be a major project and most of those nuts will end-up in the bilge...

Re: Another question about sea strainers
 

I think they came with wing nuts and maybe the person I got them from had problems with them loosening. The planned mounting location will not be a problem for cleaning, just a problem to R&R if I have leaks or problems. This must be an older version of the one GEOO has pictured.