Oil Change System

The new 8.1 Mercruisers I installed hold 9 quarts each. The transmissions hold almost 5 quarts each. The generator is another 3 quarts. That's 31 quarts total, when oil change time comes around. If you've ever used one of the vacuum canisters to change your oil, you know how tiring it can be. Pumping, pumping, pumping......Then you have to empty the damn thing, and go back and pump some more. It's no fun when you're out on the dock, carrying that damn can back and forth. So, this year, I'm installing a Reverso oil change system.

The unit I chose is a 5-valve system - one inlet each for the engines, transmissions, and generator. I had intended to make my own manifold from billet aluminum and some ball valves, and just use a pump from Reverso, but this new unit came up for sale on Ebay for about half price, so I just bought it. Saves me some work!

I mounted it just to starboard of the main DC breaker panel, in the engine room. I had to move things a bit to gain the space, but these were minor modifications. The next step is providing power to the unit. Since all my circuits were used up in the main panel, I added a fuse panel from Blue Sea Systems, right next to the main panel. You can see it here:

This sub panel is fed from the main battery bank on the starboard side. Inside the main panel, I mounted a 80 Amp fuseholder. Currently, the fuseholder is fitted with a 40 Amp fuse, to feed the sub panel. In the future, if I add load, I can increase the size of this fuse. Power is fed from this fuseholder to the fuse panel, which has 6 available circuits. I am only using two of them at the moment - a 15 amp feed provides power to the oil change system, and a 20 amp feed will provide power to the autopilot computer / pump. Spare fuses are within the unit, and a couple more are snapped into the cover, so if I blow one, I won't have to hunt around for replacements. Here is a wider angle shot:

Disregard the blue hose in front of the water pump - it's the first of the oil change lines, and will be properly supported very shortly. In a subsequent post, I will detail the hose runs, fittings, and actual connections for the lines to the oil change manifold.