O'Day fresh water pressure

[loneshark64]

Looking for any ideas here before I go tearing the boat apart (aaaagain).

I have a 1985 O'Day 28. It has the standard single water tank under the starboard seat and hot water tank under the lazarette. The problem is low / no water pressure. I have had the boat for a year and the problem has been consistent, though initially it worked a bit. The water pump runs and runs and runs and get a little water pressure but not much. I do get some hot water pressure if running the pump while the engine is running.

I thought the problem might be the 20 year old shurflo and so rather that doing surgery on that I replaced it. Still have the same problem. I also cleared gunk out of the in-line strainer before the pump and also from the screens in the faucets.

I am guessing at possible causes: (1) a leak in one of the lines sucking air? (2) leak or bad connection on the decrepit looking hot water heater? (3) gunk elsewhere in the lines?

Any other suggestions, ideas or possible diagnostics I should do, or possible hacks? Thanks in advance.

 

[Davidasailor26]

If you’ve replaced the pump and cleaned the strainer already then air leaking into the intake is a possibility. To rule out the water heater you can probably turn off the input to it. There should be a valve on the input line, somewhere right around the heater that you can turn to close it off. If you still have the problem while the heater is blocked off then you can troubleshoot the rest of the plumbing. You could get a scrap piece of hose and use that to plumb the input of the pump to a 5 gallon bucket and see if that fixes it. If not, plumb the input to the normal source, and the output to the scrap hose to see what kind of flow you get.

 

[loneshark64]

Thanks. Solved it, took out the intake filter before the pump and everything is working now.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Must’ve been sucking air through its housing. Might be possible to fashion a replacement gasket if that’s the leak. Probably just as well off getting a replacement filter.

 

[loneshark64]

Yup

 

[Tally Ho]

Looking for any ideas here before I go tearing the boat apart (aaaagain).

I have a 1985 O'Day 28. It has the standard single water tank under the starboard seat and hot water tank under the lazarette. The problem is low / no water pressure. I have had the boat for a year and the problem has been consistent, though initially it worked a bit. The water pump runs and runs and runs and get a little water pressure but not much. I do get some hot water pressure if running the pump while the engine is running.

I thought the problem might be the 20 year old shurflo and so rather that doing surgery on that I replaced it. Still have the same problem. I also cleared gunk out of the in-line strainer before the pump and also from the screens in the faucets.

I am guessing at possible causes: (1) a leak in one of the lines sucking air? (2) leak or bad connection on the decrepit looking hot water heater? (3) gunk elsewhere in the lines?

Any other suggestions, ideas or possible diagnostics I should do, or possible hacks? Thanks in advance.

You don’t mention what sort of faucets you gave, but on my boat -O’Day 322 - I check the screen on the faucet first. It takes a minute, but often gets junk in it and prevents water flow.

Greg

 

[twodzusfittings]

If your anything like me that "no water pressure" issue must have bugged the hell out of you. Glad you fixed it. More than that, its now one more annual little task you do on your boat maintenance list. Now you know what to do, it becomes natural. Good on you.

 

[loneshark64]

If your anything like me that "no water pressure" issue must have bugged the hell out of you.

Ha! Exactly. I am always stupidly happy when I finally get something on this boat fixed though. I usually have to do everything twice and get knocked around crawling in tight spaces. But this boat has been good for me because the hull and engine are solid but everything else has needed fixing and I now know how how everything works. And being a 35 year old O’day I have had no compunction about drilling holes and so forth. I still have a few mysteries to solve but today I am going sailing.

 

[odaydokay]

Yes, I suspected blockage right at the exit point of the tank or that shur-flo filter. I have to change that filter out 1-2 times a season and to make life easy, I park a clean spare in that little indent on top of the tank, so I can do a quick change out, then I take the dirty one home and clean with a toothbrush. Also, I, like others, installed an inspection port on top near that end. That enables a better cleaning and clearing of any junk and to "main line" my glycol for winterization, with a hose running from the jug right to the tank outlet so the pump pulls 100% glycol.