Pressurized Water System

[pkabel66]

Just purchased a 1984 H34. Now, I have to figure out the pressurized water system. I am on the hard for the winter months, but in the spring, cleaning polishing, and getting the water system working will be a priority.
I am a rookie large boat owner, and figuring everything out (from the previous owners), is always a challenge.
I had the yard winterize the water system and the tanks. Where will I begin, and what drives water pressure to the sinks and showers on this boat?
Thank you in advance for any and all input.

 

[Jacques C]

The H34 water system is pressurized by a pump which is turned on at the electrical panel. There is a water tank in the stern and one under the port side settee in the main cabin. The pump is next to this tank. There is a tank selector switch next to the pump. It must be set to a water tank that has water in it (easier said than done). When you throw the breaker at the main electrical panel, the pump should be easily heard. If not, either the breaker or the pump or the electrical connection is bad.

 

[IH82BL8]

Find the water heater and see if it was bypassed when the boat was winterized. If it was, you will want to return the plumbing to it's original configuration before you can use it. DO NOT TURN ON THE WATER HEATER UNTIL THERE IS WATER IN IT! Also, don't leave water stored in the storage tank. Fill it at the beginning of the weekend and drain it before you go home.

 

[Richard Bryer]

Go to the "boat info" section at the top of this page- select "34" and go to the downloads section. There is a schematic of the H34 plumbing there.

You will find almost everything you might want to find out about your boat on this site somewhere. If you cant find a piece of info- asking the question will get you a lot of good info.

On the subject of filling the tanks and leaving them filled, I never drain my tanks until I winterize. We don't drink the water in the tanks but we do use it for dish washing etc, My commissioning procedure leaves a little bleach in the first few fillings and that keeps the water fine.

Good advice to make sure you understand the system BEFORE you turn on the water next spring. Also good idea to understand what the yard did to winterize.

 

[srhummer]

I would also recommend a search for Peggy's "How to Commission your Water System" post. Follow it and you will have usable water all year. Also I only fill/use one tank during the season since that fulfills my water needs. If I use both tanks the second goes bad (taste/smell are off) before I get it empty.

 

[troutman]

Do these water systems have a captive air tank that holds water pressure and a pressure switch that shuts off the pump?

 

[kloudie1]

I have never drained the tanks.. but they don't freeze here. Peggy's commissioning process is excellent.. There is no accumulator in the system unless a previous owner has added it. The pump turns on and off by a pressure switch. There is always pressure on the system, like at home, when the power switch at the panel is on. again NEVER turn the 110V water heater switch on unless there is water in the tank and pressure on as well. The pump and tank selector valve is in the port side locker under the settee.
EDIT:
The picture is looking aft in the port settee locker. The pump is the black thing on the right in the picture, The forward water tank is the thing in the background with the white hoses attached in the top left..one is vent, one is fill hose. The tank selector is in the center of the picture with the gray pipes hooked to it. On my 34, the valve pointer points to the top fitting for the forward tank as it is in this picture. The aft tank is selected by turning a quarter turn clockwise so the pointer points to the right fitting in this picture..outboard on the boat..

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

All good advice posted. But I would like to add this important one: If the hot water tank has not been by-passed during winterizing, it likely will contain some of the pink antifreeze. In that case DO NOT turn on the water heater until you have flushed it a number of times to make sure that all you have in it is clearwater. Failing to flush before turning the heater on will heat the antifreeze and turn it to cotton candy, rending it useless. In all cases, it is good practice to flush the system and do a good commissionning before turning the heater on. Same issue if you launch the boat and run the engine before flushing the water heater since your heat exchanger will then heat up the tank. Good luck.

 

[pkabel66]

Thank You!

All GREAT information. I will be printing out each one, and I have them in my notebooks for my return to the boat in the spring.
I hope that as my experience grows, I will be sharing answers to questions in the forum.
It will be a while, but I will let you know how it goes.

Gratefully,
Phil

 

[IH82BL8]

Failing to flush before turning the heater on will heat the antifreeze and turn it to cotton candy, rending it useless.

Thank you. VERY useful to know that.

 

[Dan Johnson]

In addition...

I use only my port side water tank on my H34 and have bypassed the selector valve completely as it was causing air infiltration and pressure leak-down.

I put an access port in its top and empty it completely as a part of my winterization process.

I use a siphon port between this tank and the water pump to put pink antifreeze into the lines and connect a dockside line to the same port in the spring to flush the system.

The water heater has a bypass and is emptied completely each winterization.

I fill the tank through a whole-house water filter connected to the dockside valve and feed it through a dedicated (white) water supply hose.

On-board I have the same filter installed between the tank and pump and change the filter at the start of each season.

Pictures of each of the above are available (I'm too lazy to post them all tonight!).

 

[YVRguy]

Find the water heater and see if it was bypassed when the boat was winterized. If it was, you will want to return the plumbing to it's original configuration before you can use it. DO NOT TURN ON THE WATER HEATER UNTIL THERE IS WATER IN IT! Also, don't leave water stored in the storage tank. Fill it at the beginning of the weekend and drain it before you go home.

I have never heard of draining the water after every weekend. Why would you suggest this?

We are sailing our boat all year round but occasionally the temp dips below freezing here in Vancouver (like right now). We have drained the stern tank but leave the port tank full as it is in the cabin which we keep above freezing with a heater while she's tied up. With all this in mind is there any need to "winterize" our water system?

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Maybe a simpler explanation is what you want.....Your water system works on pressure. The pump you have will run until the pressure is built up in the system and then the pump will turn off. When you open a faucet, the pump will turn on again because the seal is broken. That is called an "on demand" pump. It starts on demand. If you have a leak in your system, then the pump may not ever turn off because it is impossible to build up the pressure completely. That is the first thing to look at if your pump runs continuously assuming you have water in your tank. If your tank runs dry, then the pump will run forever as well. Your water heater runs off of shore power (electric) and if you have a heat exchanger on your engine, it will run off of your engine too. Your hot water heater is a double tank. One side will have the water flowing through it from your fresh water tanks. The other half has antifreeze or coolant running through it from the engine closed cooling system. When the engine is hot, the hot water flows through the side of the tank that contains the coolant and it heats the fresh water from your water tanks. While at the dock, when your engine is cold, you flick the hot water heater switch on to activate the element which protrudes into the fresh water side of your tank to heat the water up. You always must have water in the water heater before you flick on the electric switch. If your hot water heater tank is empty, you will burn the switch out. So make sure you are getting water flowing into your sinks on the hot water side before flicking the switch on. There are some other hot water heater types, like on demand electric and propane heaters, but I assume you have what 99% of the boats have as described above. You may also have an accumulator tank installed somewhere (usually under a sink). This helps maintain a constant flow of water, but many boats don't need them. I hope this gains an understanding of how your system works.

 

[splax]

typo ??

Your hot water heater is a double tank. One side will have the water flowing through it from your fresh water tanks. The other half has antifreeze or coolant running through it from the engine closed cooling system. When the engine is hot, the hot water flows through the side of the tank that contains the coolant and it heats the fresh water from your water tanks. While at the dock, when your engine is cold, you flick the hot water heater switch on to activate the element which protrudes into the fresh water side of your tank to heat the water up. You always must have water in the water heater before you flick on the electric switch. If your hot water heater tank is empty, you will burn the switch out. So make sure you are getting water flowing into your sinks on the hot water side before flicking the switch on.quote]

I question some of this explanation. I believe you would ruin the hot water heater element, not the switch, by powering up an empty hot water heater.
I am unsure of the exact path of the hot fresh water, but fresh water should go through the heat exchanger on the engine and then to the hot water heater to supply the hot water side of the system. That way if the engine doesn't heat the water, the heater may if on shore power. My plumbing diagram does indicate a possible engine coolant loop as Bill describes, so I may stand corrected. A knowlegeable person (Alan, Claude,...) please clarify this matter.

 

[splax]

I intend to replace my fresh water tank selector valve soon. They are problematic, and there is a type that is ideal for this application, but I can't remember it right now.

A friend and I replaced the fresh water pump in May. There is no accumulator in the system as-built.

I use both water tanks. 3-4 showers, cooking, cleaning, and that 65 gallons is gone.

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Attached is a crude dwg of the hot water heat exchanger from the engine. Picked up on Google and no author to credit. Also 2 pictures of the loop hoses as set up on my boat. Lastly, the 110V element (not seen on dwg) is just a regular element as seen on many household water heaters and can often be replaced. Depending on design and brand it might be found in the plumbing department of hardware stores. The heater shouldn't be run on 110V when no water in the tank.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Re: typo ??

My bad. I meant to write that the element would burn out, not the switch. Thanks for catching this error.

 

[a65sailor]

I am also a new owner of an H34 and this info has been a great help! Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[splax]

You can purchase water filters that attach to the water hose at a RV supply store, such as Goucester RV in Virginia.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Claude A...

Is that a custom copper "T" set-up coming off the top of the engine's internal system water pump?