water system problem

Charlie

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exMember
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Dec 6, 2001
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6922
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I have a 1978 Chris Craft Corinthian. It has a dockside hook up that uses waterline that fastens to the dockside fitting with hose clamps. That hose runs about 6 feet to a large brass valve system. The valve has an inlet that fastens to that hose with hose clamps.

The valve turns in one direction to allow dockside water to fill the tank. When you turn the valve the other way, the dockside water is diverted to the boats water system totally separate from the tank system.

Basically you never need to turn this valve because the tank system and the dockside system are totally separate. The valve I'm describing is more of a convenience that makes it unnecessary to disconnect the hose from the dock in order to fill the tanks through the water filler fitting.

My problem is that this valve has developed a leak that can't be repaired. I want to bypass it. The problem with bypassing it is that on the side of the valve that connects to both the water tank and the dockside water system the waterlines are 1/2 inch semi rigid plastic that use plastic fittings that you merely thread up and tighten them finger tight. It's a good leak free system.

Nobody seems to know where to buy these 30 year old lines or fittings. I want to put a simple "Y" valve where this huge regulator/diverter valve is but I can't figure out how to connect the old threaded plastic fittings to anything that will fasten to the "Y" valve on the outlet side. I can work it out so that I can fasten the flexible water lines to the "Y" valve.

Basically the new flex line wont hook to the old semi rigid lines with the threaded fittings.

As I said, the old fittings are fine. They never leak and being finger tight fittings they are easy to deal with.

Has anybody run into this problem? Unless I can find a way to make old and new talk to each other I'll just have to run flex line throughout a great deal of the boat. That's low on my list of choices. I can put a pressure reducer on at the dockside hook up on the boat and eliminate the need for this big honking PITA valve but I have to come up with a way to fasten old and new. Also the threads on the old plastic fittings are very fine. I can't find anything that will mate to them in hardware or local marine stores.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
 
Google for Quest (Qest) fittings. You can also go to plumbingsupply dot com.
Al
 
Try an RV supplier. I have run into a few fresh water leaks over the years on my 86 Siilverton . The local RV guy usually had what I needed.
 
quote:

Originally posted by lobsta1

Google for Quest (Qest) fittings. You can also go to plumbingsupply dot com.
Al




Quest fittings are expensive but are great for joining different tubing and/or piping together. They are also great when soldering would risk starting a fire. These fittings use "O" rings to seal the connections and barbs to keep them together.

I believe there is more than one brand of this type of fitting now, but Lowes and Home Depot sell them. You might also find that PEX tubing is a replacement for the original.

In some cases, it's possible to heat a plastic hose or tube and slide it over a section of pipe or fitting and secure it with hose clamps. I wouldn't do this on the pressure side, only on the suction side.
 
Thanks to all for the suggestions. I ended up replacing all of the water tank fittings with barbed fittings. I took the old 5/8 OD plastic fitting on the tank side of pump and jammed it inside a 5/8 ID hose from the tank and put 4 clamps on it. It's not under pressure so I think it's okay.

I just removed the divert-er/pressure regulator all together. I fill the two tanks from the old filler. I have placed a pressure reducer/dockside water hookup in a new location. I connected the new style 1/2" ID hose to the old plastic hose using a 1/2" to 3/8" barb and clamps. I doubt that we will use it much if ever. Part of the reason for the extra tank was that our marina turns off dock water in the winter. We have to go to the gas dock for water.

We have never left dock side water on over night. Now that we have a 4 day water supply on board, we will just fill the tanks rather than hooking up. I know it's safer. The whole system is much simpler this way. I can still hook up and turn on water when it's available but I doubt that I will.

Thanks again.
 
"We have never left dock side water on over night. "

I wouldn't even if I could. I had a water fitting pop loose on my boat while entering my marina. The bilge pump alarm was sounding. I docked and asked the dockhand to stand by as I didn't know if I would have to have an emergency haulout.

I grabbed a handfull of the water and tasted it (one reason it's good to keep a clean bilge). It was fresh so I sent the dockhand on his way.

If you have 60 gallons of fresh water storage on your boat, the worst that can happen is, that 60 gallons of water will end up in the bilge. If you're connected to city water and have a leak or failure, that's a pretty much unlimited supply and that could easily sink your boat.
 
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