Fresh water leak

woodster · Mar 25, 2014

if these are pex(sealand) connectors then you may just have to take it off the pipe and reload it on the pipe and inside the female threaded part that goes on the water heater male pipe there should be a rubber insert in the fitting it may have developed musel memory and is no longer sealing well ..at any rate check it out and see if it is not cemetrical (out of round) or cracked..if it is bad you willl have to replace the fitting...i think you can get the here at the SBO store...you should keep spares on board just for that reason ...keep a 90 degree of each kind, pex to pex ,pex to threaded pipe male and female ,one coupler, one tee and one for closing of the end of a pipe that will be about $40.00 worth of spares and is nice to have when needed out on the water and they work better than McGiver ...... make sure of the plastic pipe size more than likely it is 1/2 inch sence you have a hunter.....

regards

woody

Crazy Dave Condon · Mar 26, 2014

If there is a Lowes or Home Depot in the Bahamas, there you may find those pieces.

Benny17441 · Mar 26, 2014

As a temporary fix until you can get a replacement fitting get some of that stretch rubber tape which can be wrapped around to stop the leak. Oops, forgot you are in the Bahamas. Perhaps chewing gum and duct tape? First and foremost enjoy your trip.

Fred Villiard · Mar 26, 2014

Try just pushing the tubing into the fitting, it may just not be seated.

Fred Villiard · Mar 26, 2014

They are whale fittings, the ones you'll find at lowes and such will be inch and the are not interchangable.

your leak might be that someone used a piece if 1/2 inch tubing. But first just try to reseat the fitting most of the time that you have leaks like you do it is because the tube was not seated the whole way.

centerline · Mar 26, 2014

Bob 04 H260 said:
Thanks for the advice. The water appears to be coming out the back of the fitting running down the pipe so I think it is in the seal between the pipe and fitting. The PEX I am familiar with is white and used in house plumbing. This appears to be 1/2" blue and red plastic pipes with a fitting that slips over the end on the pipe. The PEX I have used is crimped on.

I can live with the leak as it is if I have to. I do not want to open the fitting if it can only be fixed with a new fitting. I don't want to open a can of worms now. We are in Bahamas and moving around so ordering from SBO is not an option right now. I have seen these pipes and fitting in marine stores in Florida so I assume they are a standard item. I will stock up with a few for our next cruise.

Bob

not all PEX is white with crimp fittings.
PEX also has different colored pipe that can be used, and they have the push on fittings....

it could be a bad o-ring, or it could be a built up calcium deposit that needs cleaned off and then reset... use a very slight amount of silicone grease to lube the end of the tube before pushing it into the fitting for a better, longer lasting seal...

sometimes just disconnecting it and resetting it without shutting the water off will repair a leak, as the water pressure washes the contaminate out that is causing the leak.

chuckwayne · Mar 26, 2014

try all of the things suggested - the 356 used METRIC pex, so you need the 15mm whale fittings - somewhat hard to find in the US but might be easier in the bahamas. I find that often just reseating the tube fixes the drip.

Skippie10 · Aug 9, 2015

I have had similar problems with my S2 9.2 on the hot water discharge line. I can't seem to keep the lines from blowing apart or simply leaking water everywhere - when I turn on the hot water heater. The old lines (which I replaced with generic) are Parflex PP 3/8 O.D. X.062 wall. And, the fitting which is leaking, now, is the one which connects the Parflex hot water line from the water heater to a copper tube (presumed 3/8" OD) for the galley sink.

Is there a place/shop which specializes in this type of tubing (hot water potable) and associated fittings for boats? I have tried Home Depot and our local hardware stores and none of them seem to have decent water tight fittings for hot water lines.

Skippie of BVI's

jeff356 · Aug 13, 2015

Bob 04 H260 said:
Thanks everyone. It appears they are Sea Tech fittings on our boat. I was able to release the one with the drip. The plastic pipe had some abrasions on it and was not cut off square. I had an extra inch of pipe so cut it back using a small pipe cutter. It went back together well, does seem to be too short and so far (3 hrs) no leaks. Nice to have a dry bilge again

Bob

I had a problem on my main water input side and did the same, along with sanding the end with very fine sand paper to remove burrs. Once I re-seated the hose it was fine.
You can always just turn off that run at the manifold to work on just that leak, leaving the rest of the system up.
Do you have an external water connection with a Pressure Reducing Value? Just thinking of putting one in.

Jeff
s/v LegaSea

Skippie10 · Aug 13, 2015

Hadn't thought of either of your tips....I love the idea of sanding the hose end off "square." And, a pressure reducing valve.

I found that my water heater (new one) had a water temperature set at 160 degrees F and the hose on the discharge side (hot water hose) was only rated to 140 degrees F! So, am adjusting temp down to 130 degrees.

It's the old story....you can't just change one thing and not affect everything else in the system! What a circus of a summer I've had....started with replacing my teak and holly floor, then, the water heater, then new main sail, and then Autohelm.....every one of these projects presented secondary problems!

I think I'm almost done....in more ways than one!

Again, thanks for the tips.

Don

Fresh water leak

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