Potable Water Fittings

[sailcapt340]

Does anyone else use or have “JohnGuest“ Push-to-Connect Potable Water Connections? I’m running into a new situation with these connections.
Specifically, they tend to back off from the pushed in locked position connection during the long winter layover months. Without me knowing about it. This year, today, I did see pink water under one of them which tipped me off to the problem. But there we’re 2 more.

And you can’t tell by looking at them. And surprise, when I add water and pressurize the system, they leak and spray water everywhere.
In my defense, I do check each one and push on them to make sure they are secure. But they just seem to back out ever so slightly and leak.
They can be pushed back in and stop the leaking, but by then it’s to late. Then the clean up, mop up on aisle 4 has begun.

Is this a wearing out situation or just cold contracting during the winter?
Your experience and input is welcomed. The cleanup is a mess and never in a wide open space.

 

[Davidasailor26]

I have the same types of fittings but haven’t had those types of problems. The fittings disconnect by pushing those rings in, so I presume you mean that you’re pushing in the tube but not the ring, correct?

 

[sailcapt340]

That’s right. The tube is backing out slightly and I am pushing the tubes back in, not the rings. It doesn’t happen to all the connections. It’s pretty random. Sometimes hot, this time. But it has happened on the cold side as well.
I can actually feel and hear the click when the tube engages.
The new plumbing and connections are only 5 years old.

 

[sailcapt340]

David, Do you have a shutoff valve installed before the Water Heater Input?
What I am thinking, is when I disconnect the Water Heater Input line, in the fall to isolate the tank from getting filled with antifreeze. I may be loosening a fitting or 2 with all the movement of capping off the line and jumping the cold and hot water lines to fill them throughout the boat. I may be pulling at straws here but it’s a thought.
With a shut off before the input of the Water Heater it would easily stop the antifreeze from entering the tank and only allow the antifreeze to flow through the boat.

 

[Davidasailor26]

David, Do you have a shutoff valve installed before the Water Heater Input?
What I am thinking, is when I disconnect the Water Heater Input line, in the fall to isolate the tank from getting filled with antifreeze. I may be loosening a fitting or 2 with all the movement of capping off the line and jumping the cold and hot water lines to fill them throughout the boat. I may be pulling at straws here but it’s a thought.
With a shut off before the input of the Water Heater it would easily stop the antifreeze from entering the tank and only allow the antifreeze to flow through the boat.

I don’t have a shutoff but I don’t bother bypassing my water heater. I blow all the water out with an air compressor then let it refill with antifreeze as I winterize the lines. Then I blow out the heater again. It’s a bit of a waste of antifreeze but my connections for the heater aren’t very accessible so this is the easiest way I’ve found.

I do sometimes disconnect the output from my pump, which disturbs all of the plumbing in that area. Even with that I haven’t had any problems with them leaking. They’re 8 years old now. I don’t remember mine clicking when I seat them, so maybe they’re a different brand of the same style fitting.

 

[sailcapt340]

I may have mislead you with the “click”. Its more of a feel that the tubes are connected inside the fittings. I’ll be back to the boat again tomorrow and get better angles of pictures of the area I’m talking about putting the shutoff valve.
I’ve sent an email out to the company I purchased the fittings from, asking their opinion as to why this has happened.
And I agree, accessibility is a premium in these areas. Let alone working under a table and through a small access panel.
Thank you for your time and input. Stay tuned.

 

[sailcapt340]

Finished the mopping up early this morning. All the connections are secure and working as they should . I’ve included a photo of where I plan to add a shutoff valve.
The blue arrow is where I want to put the shutoff in the cold water inlet line.
The red arrow is a capped line. I use that to jump the hot and cold lines together to winterize. What didn’t appear in the picture just under the seat is an elbow and capped line that connects the lines together. It’s dark under there, not a good place to take pictures.
The two small line in the photo are the lines I use as my jumpers.
I hope this explains it and I think the shut off valve is a good idea. It will eliminate some of the pushing and pulling going on during winterizing.

 

[Nichole340]

Could it be that the fittings are acting like that because the system isn't pressurized during the winter and they need that constant pressure to ensure a tight connection? I'm looking to redo my fresh water plumbing using the same type of connections. They are easy to install and configure the piping, that's what's making me lean toward them. My original plumbing, with the all the tees and elbows are antiquated and need replacing. As well as the piping itself.
Some of the different fittings I seen have screw to tighten collets and others are just push in connections. Just a thought, either way, I have to do the replumbing job.

 

[jviss]

My original plumbing, with the all the tees and elbows are antiquated and need replacing. As well as the piping itself.

What kind of piping and fittings is the old stuff?

 

[Nichole340]

That would be whatever Hunter used in 2000. They have screw on connections with stainless steel ferrules that seal the connections. Some have rust on them and the piping has stiffened. The quality of the waters taste just isn't there. Disinfecting procedures help but the taste leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[jviss]

Interesting. I'm a big fan of the Parker O Ring/Grab Ring fittings, and LLDPE tubing. All food-grade, very easy to work with, quick, inexpensive, leakproof.

 

[sailcapt340]

Nichole,
I have an email out to the company I purchased them from and waiting to hear back. I don’t believe that they need to be pressurized all the time for a secure fit. If that were the case there would be disasters everywhere. My real gut feeling is it’s all the pushing and pulling I did connecting the bypass tubing to isolate the water heater.
So I would not be afraid of those fittings if you are going to redo your system.
As a side note, there are John Guest Fittings and Whale Fittings available for the job.
I redid my system using 15mm fittings and tubing. Slightly bigger than the original Hunter used.
Whale fittings are push in type and Guest have the screw collar sleeve.

I don’t have a record of the number of feet of tubing I needed for the whole boat to give you a guide to start with, but I can tell you the longest “invisible“ length of tubing is from the head to the water heater area. It has the longest arc under the flooring, “which you will need to remove” to avoid any kinks in the line. But you can rough measure the rest and add about 20% for any excess.