Running water- or rather not

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T

Torsten

Hi again, as said before we learn as we go along. Here is what happened: The water tanks had antifreeze in them so the surveyor suggested a flush. We turned on water pressure, opened the fawcett and water came out . We did not touch anything else like a valve or so. Did that drain out the tanks or just the lines ? Anyways, when the running water stopped I opened the water intake on deck and started filling the tanks. The whole time the water pressure was on , the pump was running and the fawcett was open (my thinking being that a straight run through would flush out the tanks best). Well ,the tanks filled up but no water ever came out. Any idea why? The tank under the starboard settee is under lot of pressure, when openening the black thing on top water pressures out immidiately. OK , everyone confused now ? We are , what could it be ? Thanks, Torsten
 
B

Barca Vela

hopefully you did not damage your pump

First of all, If you don't have a manual, you should contact Catalina to acquire one (catalinayachts.com), and you should also acquire a copy of the tech manual (see the link I added). You might also review the catalina30.com web site for additional information. My info is based on a 1988 model, so... That said, the pump is not designed to run dry very long. You should turn off the pump once water stops running strong or when you hear the pump start to run faster (make a higher pitch sound). Depending on your year/tank configuration, there may be two tanks and two deck fills (one under the v-berth, and the other one under the starboard sette. Both have shut-off valves attached to the aft of the tanks. It sounds like the starboard tank valve is closed and/or you didn't fill the forward tank and it's valve is open -- so the pump is pulling air instead of water, or you ran it dry too long and have damaged the pump. Generally, if you have two tanks, the forward tank will drain into the starboard tank by gravity. To prevent this, I leave the starboard tank valve closed until the forward tank runs dry, then I close the forward tank valve and open the starboard tank valve. Hopefully, this is what your previous owner did too, hence why the starboard tank is pressurized and maybe why your not getting any water out of the faucets. By the way, the valves have nothing to do with filling the tanks, there is a shared hose(if two) vent which goes to the bottom of the #2 starboard stanchion, which has holes outboard of the stanchion, just above the base of the stanchion. If you overfill the tank (suggest never filling more than 7/8 full), the vent line might have water in it, but the pressure is not sufficient to push the water all the way up to the deck, hence the bloated tank. good luck...
 
Jun 10, 2004
13
- - naniamo
water

Hi on my catalina 30 the forward tank under the v berth is plumbed directly into the starboard tank.From there it goes to the pump and is pressurized. You may have just run out he hot water tank initially and the valve at the starbgoard tank is turned off. Because the forward tank is higher it will presurize the starboard tank slightly hence the water flowing out when the top is removed. Go from the s.tank and make sure there is water to the pump open facets and turn on pump cold at first this will get rid of blocked air in the lines then as pressure and flow build open hot side and fill hot water tank and push air out(good luck)
 
G

Glenn

My reply to your post on Catalina site

What you describe leads me to believe you have 2 tanks as I have on my 84 C30. One tank under starboard settee and one under the v-berth. You may have drained th v-berth tank. Remove v-berth cushions and open cover to access tank. There should be a valve in the hatch below the v-berth that controls which tank is being used. This is the likely problem, open or close this valve to switch tanks. I suppose you opened the sink drain or you would have had water backing up into the sink.
 
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