Ballcock Question for H31, 1986 #719

[Bro Paul]

Just a question... I went to turn off the ballcock under the head vanity that brings water into the boat from a clamshell intake and the "Marlon" ballcock handle moves, but the ball doesn't move.I called Hunter and they told me that the intake was a 3/4 inch fitting. I went to West Marine and purchased a bronze ballcock to replace the "Marlon" one because I had this same problem with "Marlon". They just don't seem to hold up too well.BUT the bronze ballcock has an arrow on the side that tells me that the water flow should be going "this way". The problem is that if I put the ballcock on the way the arrow points then the handle will not opperate because it will hit the hull in mid swing.If I turn it upside down, the handle will work fine, but the arrow will be pointing the wrong direction and the small end of the ballcock will be aginst the hull instead of the bigger end.It seems to me that it shouldn't make a differenct which direction the ballcock goes on, but I thought I'd get some input before I pull it out and make the switch while the boat is in the water.Thanks for any ideas. I hate doing this type of repair while the water is flowing into the boat.

 

[Paul I]

Shouldn't matter

I assume this is the water input to the head. I am not an expert here, but I can't seen any reason the ballcock won't work properly in either direction (this is probably where a real expert comes along and gives us a plausable expalaination as to why you should only use it in the indicated direction). My guess is that the ballcock you have is not made specifically for marine use and that the reason for the directional arrow is to show fluid flow in more complex installations. In many such installations showing flow direction is required by code. I don't think water to a boats head is one of them.Regarding changing the valve while in the water, I did it for the one under the galley sink on my H31. It is a bit scary. I thought it out over and over before I did it. I made sure there would be no problem with clearances (which it seems you have already done). In my case, I had to remove the handle of the ballcock to install it, even though there was plenty of clearance for the handle once it was completely on. I made sure I had someone with me to call for help in case of emergency, and that there was an open marina nearby. Unscrew the old unit just to the very last thread with the cock closed and then be sure everything you'll need is ready and at hand. I placed teflon tape on the exposed threads at this point so I wouldan't have to take the time to do it with water running into the boat. I consider removal of the old ballcock to be the worst danger because if something broke when cranking the old ballcock off, then what? Smother the leak with rubber pads or rags and cruise to the nearest marina for a quick haulout! Have a plan!. Once you are ready to make the swap, do it quickly. With the valve open, thread the new ballcock onto the fitting end a few threads, and then quickly close the valve and finish tightning. You will probably need to do this because the pressure of the incoming water will cause difficulty with screwing on a closed ballcock (not to mention spraying all over the place). If anything goes wrong be ready to re-install the old fitting. When I did it I managed to get only a gallon or two of water in the boat and considered it a job well done.Paul

 

[Rick J]

Call me crazy....

I had the same problem with the old 'gate' valve on my H31 becoming corroded and, basically, unusable. I got a generic 'ball valve' at Loews and replaced replaced the old valve while the boat was hauled out for a bottom job. This valve was not'directional, so I didn't encounter your problem, per se, but... I agree with Paul that it shouldn't matter, especially since I DON'T USE that valve anymore. Assuming that you are referring to the sea-water intake for flushing the toilet, I have a couple of thoughts: First, if you're doing the job while the boat is in the water, and you're in Florida, well, it seems to me that you might want to pop over the side and plug the outside of the thru-hull somehow before you start the process. In San Francisco, I was reluctant to do this, as the water is around 50 something degrees year round.Second, and more importantly,I was tired of the funky smell in the head, which I attributed to the sea-water flush providing a virtual 'petri dish' enviornment for funky smell production in the holding tank. So,after replacing the valve, I decided to leave the valve closed and then converted to a fresh water flush, which has worked remarkably well for the last few years.Initially, I tapped off of the fresh water line to the sink, with a T fitting, a check valve and another ball valve, to provide water to flush the head. That worked great, but then I read a post from Peggy Hall on this subject which indicated that I might (would) eventually contaminate the fresh water system with this setup, and found out that someone had come up with a cool idea to route the sink drain into the line that provides water to flush the toilet. I contemplated that concept for a few minutes, and then I just started using the shower head to fill the bowl and flush the toilet at the end of the day, and I've been doing that for quite a while, until I eventually achieve the motivation to re-plumb the sink drain into the toilet.Basically, on my boat, that thru-hull valve is closed all of the time, and the hose from that valve to the toilet is capped off. Ready, of course, to be re-connected to the head if I decide to sail off into the sunset, and might face the prospect of a shortage of fresh water. Then, of course, I could route the discharge of the toilet overboard, and the sea-water in the holding tank would not be an issue. Anyway, my POINT (which has become completely lost, even to ME) is that you might be able to just bypass the thru-hull valve and convert to a fresh water flush if your lifestyle on the boat would lend itself to using fresh water. A Y-fitting in the sink drain might be the way to go, (check the archives) and then it shouldn't matter if, when, or HOW you install the ballcock, because you would leave it closed, unless you're gonna be offshore for a while and hurting for fresh water. I replaced my valve because it was giving me the heebie-jeebies, and I wasn't sure if it would just fail abruptly and connect the inside of the boat to the friggin' Ocean, if you know what I mean. So now I have a new valve, but I don't use it anymore. And the head smells a LOT better.Total gibberish, I know, but it's all I have to offer.Good luck - Rick