Article by Capt. Steve Katz
ElectroSea
While I don't usually write product reviews, this product is so unique and one-of-a kind it deserves its own article.
Maybe you saw the ElectroSea brand during a recent fishing tournament, in a marine publication or even saw the system on a new Viking or other boat and wondered what it is all about. (most new Viking sportfish boats come with this system as standard equipment).
ElectroSea is a newer company with an innovative product for the marine market. They make a product called ClearLine, designed to reduce or eliminate marine growth in raw water systems for boats operating in saltwater. The most common application would be for a boat with a salt water cooling system for on-board air conditioning and heat exchangers. This system is not used on engines, that water doesn't suffer the same issues as lower volume and flow cooling water.
If you happen to see one of the ElectoSea ClearLine units, you will see that it looks simple, just a few components. So how does a compact simple system do so much work that it can keep the entire raw water cooling lines clear of growth?
The ClearLine system is a biocide generating system for inhibiting bio-fouling within a sea water cooling system of a watercraft. The heart of the system is the electrochlorinator. Using a small amount of electricity, the electrochlorinator produces a controlled amount of chlorine from sea water. This small amount of chlorine inhibits most marine growth in the piping systems without harmful chemicals.
Up until now, there was not a simple way to keep these seawater plumbing systems clean. Depending on the season and location, a seawater cooling system can become clogged in just a few weeks, requiring a descaling to keep the components operating properly. The descaling process can be complicated and expensive, using popular chemicals products geared to boaters such as Barnacle Buster and Rydlyme.
Many of you may have heard the horror stories where a boat owner thought it would be a good idea to use Muriatic Acid or similar harsh chemicals to descale the cooling system and the acid ended up eating away or damaging the critical components of the cooling system.
If you have ever descaled your cooling systems, you know it is a laborious job taking hours and lots of costly chemical products. In Florida there are companies that specialize in descaling boats seawater system, this service could cost upwards of $1500 for a large sportfish boat. Cleaning of these systems can be short lived depending on how often the systems are operated and other environmental factors, with many boat owners descaling their systems a few times a year.
Maybe you decided to drop a chlorine tablet designed for a swimming pool into the sea strainer. That was once a popular idea to help eliminate fouling of the downstream water lines, though this method does not allow you to regulate the amount of chlorine in your system and many have found out that excessively chlorinated water can damage plastics and metals used in onboard systems.
As with many modern products, technology is the key to the ClearLine system. The system monitors water flow and adjusts the amount of chlorine generated to match the water flow. The system is designed to operate continuously when there is water flowing throughout the system. The system also carefully measures the amount of chlorine in the system, keeping it at predetermined safe levels at all times. If you are wondering if the Chlorine is safe for your on-board systems, many municipal drinking water systems have a higher concentration of chlorine than the ClearLine system produces!
Incorporating a ClearLine system to your boat is simple and straight forward. You continue to use your existing intake, strainer and pumps, the ClearLine electrolytic cell is housed in its own "strainer" that is installed after the sea water pump, where it generates the chlorine and disperses it at a controlled rate into the downstream components. A small computer controller, with indicator lights and a display provides real time system status. The system is automatic and only operates when seawater is flowing through the system. The controller has the ability to tie into with other shipboard systems and can easily be temporarily inhibited if you are using this same seawater for bait live wells etc.
The ClearLine system is available in many sizes to match the size of seawater hoses and the water flow for your boat's systems. There are a few options for the controller, depending on the desired features.
The ClearLine system won’t descale a clogged system, it is designed to maintain a clean sea water plumbing system. Just before installing the system a professional descaling is required. After that your boat should never need a full descaling. While this product has been out for a few years with positive results, historical testing during the R&D stage has shown nearly all growth eliminated using this system.
There are an abundance of products designed to attract boaters and fisherman, from fishing lures and gear, marine electronics and appearance accessories, this ClearLine product can actual save you time and money by reducing your maintenance costs and offering a better performing vessel. At the moment there are no other similar products in the marketplace and this patented system is destined to become a must have option on board many boats.
Until next time...
Stay Grounded
