Fae ?

[dirtydawg]

Who is running an FAE exhaust? Likes, dislikes, what brand?

[2500HD]

Built my own out of pvc pipe as a mock up, i like it enough that i may not change it. especially since it only cost 70 bucks. I will admit it looks kinda ghetto out of the water but who cares. my motto is function before fashion.

[dirtydawg]

Interesting. How did you support it? brackets connected to swim platform probably.

[2500HD]

Interesting. How did you support it? brackets connected to swim platform probably.
basically, i haven't had a chance to get to town to get the brackets yet so for now it's just bailing wire to secure it and plywood spacer's so it can't move up. Like i said it was just a mock up and it's attachment is ghetto but it worked like a charm.

[dirtydawg]

"works like a charm" is good news. Once you get it finished and photo worthy you should do a diy write up. Oh and I've seen your boat in other thread and that vintage tri- colored stripe is awesome. If you ever have to get new interior I would go back original.

[2500HD]

"works like a charm" is good news. Once you get it finished and photo worthy you should do a diy write up. Oh and I've seen your boat in other thread and that vintage tri- colored stripe is awesome. If you ever have to get new interior I would go back original.
Thanks, I'll definetly keep it original. I've fallen in love with that stripe. And i'll post pics of the silencer once i have the right brackets.

[wotan2525]

I've got the real Fresh Air Exhaust brand one. Can't see ever owning a boat without one. Great stereo upgrade!

[dirtydawg]

I've got the real Fresh Air Exhaust brand one. Can't see ever owning a boat without one. Great stereo upgrade!
Ive looked at that one. seems pretty affordable if the quality is good.

[KG's Supra24]

I felt the opposite. I've looked at them multiple times and haven't pulled the trigger the price seems high for what it is. My opinion of course.

I reckon it would havw been cheaper than the audio upgrades though :)

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[dirtydawg]

I felt the opposite. I've looked at them multiple times and haven't pulled the trigger the price seems high for what it is. My opinion of course.

I reckon it would havw been cheaper than the audio upgrades though :)

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
seems like every upgrade is overpriced. guess I'm just getting used to it

[2500HD]

so i'm gonna post a pic of my ghetto FAE this is before i put the correct brackets on it. I'm hoping to get those on tomorrow and eventually build it out of aluminum. This is probably not permanent so don't rip on it to much. I just wanted to show a simple cost effective way to do this. I believe i have $70.00 into it. And that is steamboat prices! If you have a home depot then you could probably do this for much less.
http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a494/2500hd1/IMAG0365_zps5bb27d17.jpg

[villain]

that looks simple enough to replicate. i dont think it looks bad. change the wire for stainless all thread hangers and you got it made

[2500HD]

That's pretty much the plan villain. I really don't care what it looks like since it's below water, it just has to work well.

[dirtydawg]

not bad at all HD, but where did you get the outlet?

[2500HD]

outlet's through the transom are stock. They have about an inch that sticks out for attaching the rubber gasket and hose clamp. The down spout is just a piece of 3 inch that i heated and pressed between 2 pieces of plywood at an angle. Then i just cut it to fit with my chopsaw and an old blade.

[dirtydawg]

yea the down spout is what I was referring to. It looks factory made, just needs a nice bracket and it will look as good as anything Ive seen for sale. I'm going to steal your idea, hope you dont mind.

[2500HD]

have fun with it, I got my idea from one in the archive's. It didn't have any pics though:)

[jeffkaasmason]

That looks great. Pretty much like the real McCoy. I just installed one and it looks pretty much the same, and you are right, you never see it when you are out on the water.

One thing that the original provides is a metal pipe that fits snugly inside the exhaust outlets to give them extra strength. Not sure if they are necessary but they allow you to tighten the clamps a little tighter without the worry of cracking the stock outlets. The outlets on the boat are just some sort of PVC that is not very thick. You may not have any issues but it is something to think about. I did not take any pictures of those pieces but they were about 1.25" to 1.5" long metal pipes that fit snugly into each exhaust outlet.

Here is a pick of mine and it does not look that different than yours.
12575

[2500HD]

hmmm. something to think about for sure.

[Jetlink]

Steamboat prices = 150% markup...don't miss that all too much.

[wotan2525]

Here's one so you can see my brackets

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu79/rbosworth/CIMG0252.jpg

Lots of allthread and nylocks. SS allthread is tough to find -- I lucked out and found the last piece at the local TruValue.

[2500HD]

Steamboat prices = 150% markup...don't miss that all too much.
Damn straight on that one, it suck's. You have zero selection and then you get gouged when you do find something.

[CornRickey]

it's called a business. I use to build playhouses. I had a lady tell me her husband could build one twice as big for the price I was asking. I laughed and said " so could I.“

[2500HD]

That's to funny.

[pctarmor]

I had a pain getting mine to stay on initially due to the upward angle of my exhaust ports at the transom but I got a fix in place now and it works great. Can't imagine not having it at this point. We can actually have a conversation in the boat without yelling while crossing the lake at 30 mph to get to our riding spot. I have all the options as far as quick release and what not. That made the install quite a bit longer. 12908

[CornRickey]

one negative aspect of it is I now am a little paranoid regarding engine noise because I can hear it now.

[jaywidhalm]

I've also been on the fence about these. About how much are they? Any notice in top speed or handling/turning with one installed?

[CornRickey]

no changes to any of them.

[trayson]

so i'm gonna post a pic of my ghetto FAE this is before i put the correct brackets on it. I'm hoping to get those on tomorrow and eventually build it out of aluminum. This is probably not permanent so don't rip on it to much. I just wanted to show a simple cost effective way to do this. I believe i have $70.00 into it. And that is steamboat prices! If you have a home depot then you could probably do this for much less.
http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a494/2500hd1/IMAG0365_zps5bb27d17.jpg

I *really* like how this turned out. And the center outlet that you heated and pressed looks amazing. Seeing yours is making me consider doing one now. Well, not to mention that even after adding a pair of Compression Horn Tubbies to my tower that I just Just hear the music enough to enjoy it while surfing...

And living in Vancouver WA, we have a pair of Home Depots that are JUST on the Oregon side of the river (no sales tax). Would it be too much trouble to write up a parts list of what items you bought to make yours?

[villain]

A parts list would be killer!

[2500HD]

one 10' stick of 3 inch pvc, 2 90's, 1 tee. 2 3inch rubber couplers.
The hard part is that the exhaust ports are 2 3/4 inch while the pipe is 3 inch. My work around was to pad the exhaust ports with some tubing from a duramax engine. I think it was from the turbo. at any rate it padded it out to the right diameter. To do the center outlet i just heated the pipe up over a turkey fryer burner then placed it between 2 pieces of plywood and closed it like a book. then cut the desired angle with a chop saw.
before glueing anything, do a mock-up and mark the plastic where you like it. then glue it.

[2500HD]

I still haven't had time to make a correct bracket for it......Might be a winter project.

[Kma4444]

Will be trying out my new exhaust this weekend.
12994

[trayson]

Will be trying out my new exhaust this weekend.
12994

Looks interesting. is that by the FAE company, or did you have an exhaust shop do it?

[Kma4444]

I made it. I had done some stainless pipes for it and used them as a starting point. They looked nice but didn't change the sound much. SO I cut them up and ordered a 5" 90 degree bend and made the downpipe. I made the bracket that's attached to the swim deck to brace it but after seeing the brilliant PVC one here I'm not so sure it was needed. I didn't bother with polishing it yet as I want to try it first and then the drudgery of polishing it up. The downpipe should polish like the rest of it.

[Jetlink]

Is it going to interfere with your transom LED at all you think?

[Kma4444]

That is possible, the front pipes are pretty polished so maybe they will reflect interestingly!!! Hadn't thought of that but having to get them up to clear the trim plate actuator sort of left me with limited options. We don't get out much at night which is a shame, we haven't even had a chance to turn on the LEDs this season. Have to find some time to this weekend just to see.

[2500HD]

Will be trying out my new exhaust this weekend.
12994
That's badass and exactly what i would have done if i had a metal shop.

[Kma4444]

Thanks, I'm hoping we will like it. Here's a couple more pics
12997
12998

[mabbore]

Thanks, I'm hoping we will like it. Here's a couple more pics
12997
12998

Wow, that is some very impressive fab work.

[jaywidhalm]

Nice work!

[kvand347]

I made mine out of pvc the other day. Water tested it yesterday and it fell off in the drink. The only pieces left were the T and the down spout (They were the only ones attached). My fatal error was using old glue. I don't think it melded the pvc together and thus pulled apart while under load. Back to the drawing board! One difference is that I used 4" instead of 3". Might try the 3" on the next run.

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/o621/kvand347/20130822_125839_zpsd052f5b5.jpg

http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/o621/kvand347/20130822_125854_zpsad9423c2.jpg

[CornRickey]

I would not " pinch" it do much also on the next one.

[kvand347]

So I made another one with 3" PVC. It was the regular PVC and not the DMW that I used previously. Again, it did not stay on. It pulled off at the rubber mounting to the boat. I'm done screwing around with it! I give up!! There is just too much drag on the PVC to keep it on without some sort of insert into the original exhaust pipe. After it came off, I just left it on until I got to the beach. By then the drag on it split the "T" and it was rendered useless. I GIVE UP!

[trayson]

So I made another one with 3" PVC. It was the regular PVC and not the DMW that I used previously. Again, it did not stay on. It pulled off at the rubber mounting to the boat. I'm done screwing around with it! I give up!! There is just too much drag on the PVC to keep it on without some sort of insert into the original exhaust pipe. After it came off, I just left it on until I got to the beach. By then the drag on it split the "T" and it was rendered useless. I GIVE UP!

Damn that sucks. We're planning on trying our own DIY soon and have been drawing up plans. It's good to know that simply
using a rubber coupler to attach to the exhaust flange lip isn't good enough.

What I plan to do is as follows. I'm going to buy another pair of the 3.5" exhaust flanges. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to talk about the flange in 3 parts. The short pipe (yellow), the long pipe (red) and the face (the part with the screw holes through it).
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-sZlBjkjsnS0/UhvyUIssyuI/AAAAAAAAO2U/WBiUm-q1InY/s800/flange.jpg

I'm going to take the OEM flange and chop off the short pipe (yellow), and I'm going to buy a new flange and likewise chop off the short pipe from it. so then I'll have the OEM flange with about 3" of long pipe that's attached inside the boat to the wet exhaust hose. I'll flip around the new flange so that the faces butt up against each other and the screw holes line up. I'll get longer screws if needed and put in a 3.5" Inside Diameter gasket or I'll make my own "gasket" with RTV and then I'll screw the two faces together.

What this will give me is a 3" long tube with a 3.5" OD to which I can attach the rest of the FAE to. I will then get some 3.5" ID wet exhaust hose and use that as a coupler for the rest of the FAE system that will basically look the same as yours. Since I'll have 3" of the (red) long tube sticking out from the new backwards flange, that will give me the ability to double hose clamp onto the straight PVC that leads to the first elbow. This is how the real FAE is set up, so it seems to make sense that it would work for me. I think it will be important (knowing your experiences) to brace the crap out of it even when testing.

Kevin, sorry yours isn't working out thus far. I'm sure more failed prototypes, the close you get to having bought a real FAE system in the first place. :-(
I guess your test runs are proving my suspicions--that the 1" short pipe "lip" (yellow) is NOT enough to have the system stay in place (as there's only room for 1 hose clamp at best).

if you look at this writeup, I'm pretty much copying the idea of using flanges on the FAE side, just taking another pair of OEM flanges and cutting off the (yellow) 1" short pipe that comes off it.
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/559019/433197.html
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/559019/433199.jpg

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/559019/433203.jpg

[kvand347]

That just might work. I used 3 hose clamps. One on each side and one in the middle. I think i tightened them too much because they bent the "short" pipe. That might have been my downfall.

My thought for correction would be to find something that will insert into the flange to give it more strength, but I think I like yours better.

I'll tell you what though, before it came off it was QUIET! Wow what a difference it makes. I had to lift the dog house up just to make sure it was running! ;)

[CornRickey]

mine came with a stub of pipe that slid into the flange you talking about cutting off. this is what the clamp actually tightens down on. If it wasn't there the flange woulddeflect if and it would fall off.

[trayson]

mine came with a stub of pipe that slid into the flange you talking about cutting off. this is what the clamp actually tightens down on. If it wasn't there the flange woulddeflect if and it would fall off.

In kevin's case I can see how putting a stub pipe inside the flange would help, because yes, that 1" short pipe (yellow) is not very strong. Look at mine and all that I have on there is the flappers!

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-r9N_5Jkeqxo/Uhrs44Q_yUI/AAAAAAAAO18/QbWNK84iNFU/s800/20130825_173901.jpg

Well, I'm only talking about cutting off a portion of that flange. so that we basically have a face-to-face connection.

I suppose as an alternative, I could get the next sized down flange that has a 3" OD. I could still chop off the yellow short pipe of my OEM flange and then use the smaller 3" OD one without cutting it. That would effectively stick a 1" short pipe into the boat's existing flange...

Of course the 3" OD flange is $15 instead of $10 each. Not that $10 is a dealbreaker in the project...

[trayson]

That just might work. I used 3 hose clamps. One on each side and one in the middle. I think i tightened them too much because they bent the "short" pipe. That might have been my downfall.

My thought for correction would be to find something that will insert into the flange to give it more strength, but I think I like yours better.

I'll tell you what though, before it came off it was QUIET! Wow what a difference it makes. I had to lift the dog house up just to make sure it was running! ;)

Kevin, another thought:

if the 3.5" OD of the longer pipe (red) of the new flange is perfect to mate with an elbow or whatever, then we certainly could skip the wet exhaust hose as a coupler and either:

1) go straight to the elbow if we have enough space to have everything clear the wake plate, or
2) use a PVC coupler to the straight 3" pvc pipe to the elbow.

Either of these options would mean that everything would be cemented together and there would be no hose clamps at all... The screws of the one flange face to the other would be the force that would hold the FAE onto the boat...

Food for thought anyway.

[CornRickey]

the idea of the stub pipe is to pinch the fae onto the short flexible section using the stub pipe as it's rigid backing. mine is tbe same way as you pictures.

[2500HD]

Don't rely on the hose clamp to hold it in place. Your mounting brackets need to do this job for you. This is where i'm having difficulty coming up with a good bracket design. Right now the ghetto bailing wire i used will keep it from moving back, I also used to pieces of plywood sandwiched around the center swimdeck bracket to keep it from moving upwards. It is rock solid. I think i have a design that will look better and still be solid, but until i have time to really mess with it i won't know. If i were ya'll i would concentrate on the mounting of it and Making that bomber and less on a rubber coupling.
I just realized that in the picture i posted it is very hard to see the bailing wire i have going to the wake plate brackets. This is what keeps it from moving back.

[trayson]

http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a494/2500hd1/IMAG0365_zps5bb27d17.jpg


Don't rely on the hose clamp to hold it in place. Your mounting brackets need to do this job for you. This is where i'm having difficulty coming up with a good bracket design. Right now the ghetto bailing wire i used will keep it from moving back, I also used to pieces of plywood sandwiched around the center swimdeck bracket to keep it from moving upwards. It is rock solid. I think i have a design that will look better and still be solid, but until i have time to really mess with it i won't know. If i were ya'll i would concentrate on the mounting of it and Making that bomber and less on a rubber coupling.
I just realized that in the picture i posted it is very hard to see the bailing wire i have going to the wake plate brackets. This is what keeps it from moving back.

I can see the bailing wire in the middle that's lashing it to the center swim platform bracket. Do you also have it lashed to the struts on the wakeplate?? I can't quite tell exactly how you have it tied down with the resolution of the pic.

[2500HD]

It is lashed to both struts of the wake plate. Making the unit so it can't move is key.

[kvand347]

FWIW--I did strap mine down using steel straps from Lowes that are made for 3" PVC. I attached 2 of them like I showed in the picture and then another 2 on each elbow. When complete, I pulled hard on it from every angle and it moved maybe 1/4".

I give up for this year, but I might revisit this project for next year. My season is almost over and I'm back to work...