Budget Wye Fitting

[theskidevotee]

Merry Christmas Team Talkers!

I was lucky enough to receive a nice new heatercraft heater for the prostar! I have been doing a lot of reading lately on how to install it correctly and it seems that the wye fitting that heatercraft sells is essential. However, I just cannot justify spending $55 on a pipe fitting.... So I did some searching and on a moomba forum I found a mercruiser part that is basically identical for $8... Is there any reason why it wouldn't work??

Thanks in advanced!

[dpb185]

2 concerns I would have here:
1) Because your alternate wye is not a wye but a 'T', you'll have flow problems through it. Here is a post where exactly that happened:

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=800021

2) What is the material of construction of the alternate wye ? I'd be concerned about putting any kind of plastic fitting on my raw water intake line. If that plastic fitting breaks while you are out on the lake you can sink your boat.

Just my 2 cents

[waterlogged882]

Check everything carefully (specs, etc.). The link posted above gives some good insight.

.

[lakedrum03]

agreed above. $55 for the correct part is truly pennies when it comes to working on these things. It’s worth it.

[theskidevotee]

Looks like the heater craft wye it is. The flow rate is definitely something I never would’ve thought of. And I typically agree with the logic of if you're going to do something buy the right parts and do it right. Shouldn't have wavered from that logic here. Thanks!

[Skyskiguy]

The wye fitting has an orifice plate in it that creates just the right amount of flow - it’s not wide open.

[88 PS190]

Another option is to add an electric pump to the circuit and use a cheaper T - this is actually superior in terms of heat output but your cost will go from ~60 to 150.

[eecyclone]

I installed the mercruiser wye for my previous boat's heater. I also added a valve to restrict waterflow similar to the orifice plate in the heatercraft wye. In the end it was still cheaper, but more of a headache to get the valve to be at the correct restriction whereas I imagine the heatercraft wye would have just worked correctly out of the box.

[theskidevotee]

Another option is to add an electric pump to the circuit and use a cheaper T - this is actually superior in terms of heat output but your cost will go from ~60 to 150.

Would you say the reliability tradeoff between the pump and the wye is offset by performance benefits?

[theskidevotee]

I installed the mercruiser wye for my previous boat's heater. I also added a valve to restrict waterflow similar to the orifice plate in the heatercraft wye. In the end it was still cheaper, but more of a headache to get the valve to be at the correct restriction whereas I imagine the heatercraft wye would have just worked correctly out of the box.

Love the first hand experience. I don't think I want to mess with a valve. Thanks!

[Upnorth07]

I added the Heatercraft Wye to the factory heater in my 2007 X15 and it did help improve the heat output at low idle for what that is worth-

[Huckelfin]

Without understanding the flow requirements and restriction for engineering an appropriately sized inline orifice, seems like a valve to guess and check is the next best alternative. You'll likely save $30, but it won't look as clean. I found this on Amazon but no idea on duty cycle, temp range, etc. Just an example.. https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Irriga.../dp/B07Y393M9Y Personally, I think I would just go with the off-the-shelf solution and be done.

[88 PS190]

Would you say the reliability tradeoff between the pump and the wye is offset by performance benefits?

The benefit of a pump is you essentially have the ability to force a volume of water through the heater core regardless of engine RPM otherwise the flow to the heatercore is dependent on engine RPM, some boats with a short run like direct drive inboards do fine. But if you have the core several feet away or up high it might not flow so well with out a pump.

[Tsumi]

A little late to the party, but I recommend using a 12v solar heater pump like this: https://www.amazon.com/bayite-BYT-7A...s%2C160&sr=8-3

Much cheaper than the Y, and supposedly more effective based on other people's posts on other forums. Also much cheaper than the heatercraft pump. You just need to get the right size barb adapter for the hoses you're using. The benefit of this pump is that it keeps working even when the engine is off, as long as there is residual heat in the engine.

[Thrall]

I put a tee in my raw water line just like the old boat before it. My heat gets hot. Spent $2 at Home Depot vs whatever the price was over 10 years ago.