Thunderstruck

What is the average life span of through hull fittings? Or what is the average time what they need to be changed?

DOUBLE "D" & LV

Big variance on time depending on how they are maintained, the environment of storage, amount of sun, and so on. Usually when they wear out you replace them. I have seen them 5years to twenty years old needing to be replaced.

jim t

I think it also depends on how "stressed" the fitting is when it's installed. I had a plastic fitting fail after 7 years (it was on a bilge pump!!!:banghead:banghead:banghead) There was vitrually NO slack built in to the hose behind the fitting, it cracked at the bulkhead.

When given a chance I'd ALWAYS replace with bronze.

Jim

PS... You'll ALWAYS see chromed bronze fittings on higher end boats.

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Thunderstruck

Thanks for the help. I am going to do an inspection on my boats fittings this weekend with a bore scope. That way I can see what the fitting and valve look like on the inside.

splitshot

I"mgoing with Jim on this onebronze might be expensive but wont crack..i put them on my bass boat because the plastic was cracked and just way too cheap for me to trust

gamefisherman

I replaced 15 year old bronze thru-hulls on my last boat. The valves had not been "exercised" regularly, so two of them were stuck and I didn't want to risk it. Once I removed the old ones I took them apart to inspect them. While they looked a little rough on the outside, they actually looked great on the inside. If you have bronze thru-hulls that have operable valves and that aren't eaten with galvanic corrosion, they are probably OK - even those more than 10 years old. My advice would be to immediately replace ANY plastic thru-hulls - they are an invitation to problems.

Xanadu

The ones on my boat are fine at 22 yrs old. Keep them serviced and properly bonded and inspect on every haul and bronze will last forever.

X-Shark

Some manufacture have gone to Polished Stainless above the waterline. Steiger is one such company. http://steigercraft.com/index.htm



For those that have not heard of Steiger they are a semi custom builder.



The did use Chromed Bronze above the waterline, but due to comebacks for some tarnishing they moved to Polished Stainless.



Below the waterline is straight Bronze and is the standard of the industry.