78 Voyager Onboard Fresh H20, Con't

S

stirlingp

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
RO Number
26845
Messages
38
Thanks to some of you nice folks I've now got a proper 4 GPM fresh water pump doing its proper job with the onboard pressurized water system. NEW QUESTION: It occasionally turns on during the night (or whenever) when all taps are closed tight. Does this automatically indicate a leak somewhere in the system? If so, does anyone have experience troubleshooting that besides crawling under everything (or tearing up the floor!)? I admit, I occasionally get enough water in the aft bilge to trigger the bilge pump for no apparent reason, but I've always written that off to excess water from cleaning.
Fianlly, no hot water. Anything to check (fuse on tank, inline, etc) before deciding it's dead?
THANKS!!
Stirling
 
If you're getting enough water in the bilge from the fresh water tank to turn on the bilge pump then you'd have a VERY noticeable leak. Plus, with two tanks, its possible that one tank would be losing water and not the other, so you could do some detective work...

Hmmm, the hot water isn't happening, huh?? is it possible that the cockpit mounted water heater rusted out and the previous owner bypassed the thing??? Maybe the homemade bypass hoses are leaking evr so slightly under pressure, which even if completely unrelated to the bilge pump cycling (which IMHO could merely be a drippy stuffing box) could cause that new water system pump of yours to cycle every once in awhile...

Does the system have an accumulator tank? If so, again check that for leaks. Also all the connections, such as to the head (if it uses onboard fresh water) or the faucets. Its probably not in the hoses themselves, which thankfully means you probably don't have to rip your bilge apart anytime soon...

PS - AFAIK the only thing you need to do to energize a properly connected hot water heater on the 3326 is to go to the electrical panel which is under the lower helm (or where the lower helm would be if it had one) and flip the circuit breaker marked "water heater". I'm assuming, of course, that you've already turned on the main breaker...
 
Stirling,

I thought I couldn't find a closed valve or that rust had clogged the hot water line. Later, my water pump completely failed. When replaced I suddenly had hot water. I surmised that the old pump was not producing enough head to get water from the pump beneath the galley floor to the cockpit hot water tank and back again. If you have a leak in your system, it might be bleeding off enough head to keep water from circulating the longer and more restricted hot water path.
 
Thank you guys for the responses. Question; You both mention a cockpit hot water heater --- I only know of the one I see in the port aft bilge. Am I missing something? Was this one installed post-factory (seems like an unlikely place to relocate it---not really easy to get to)? I will check the fittings at all faucets, etc (duh!). Also, Pete, no accumulator tank on my system.

Stirling
 
Sorry, I meant to say that the heater was in the engine room under the cockpit. Yes it is on the port side aft. I mentioned the word "cockpit" because items installed out "there" tend to get rustier and dirtier and last longer than items mounted under the salon sole. For example, my hot water heater, same one as yours probably (Raritan with blue top), is in nearly new condition after many years simply because it's mounted under a bunk in the cabin as opposed to outside. Those engine hatches just don't keep out the moisture, especially since the engine compartment vents always allow a certain amount of moisture in. Its worse in salt water because the salt spray can get in there, too...
 
Thanks again. Yeah, Pete, I think we've got the same tank --- mine looks like it's seen better days, but I'm going troubleshoot a little more before giving her a bullet...
My technical guy said the hot water may burp & fart a little when first turned on due to no accumulator, but I can't even seem to get that far.
 
If you decide to, you can get a small accumulator tank and put it in the line to make things smoother...
 
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