First 285 DC panel & water heater qiestion?

[SoSound]

First 285 DC panel & water heater question?

Thanks for bearing with me, I'm working on a lot of things that I've never seen before, I have a deadline, and things are starting to get to me. Two questions...

On the DC panel of the First 285; Is the center connector from the source side of the circuit supposed to be a ground connection, or nothing (unused)? In a DC circuit where the negative battery post gets connected to ground, is a DC ground connection redundant - or is that precisely the point?

Water heater (winterizing); I'm wrestling with how much to do for winterization (my climate isn't THAT cold, but it does drop below freezing). I wanted to drain the water heater, but all of the connections appear to be located in the middle of the unit. How do you drain sufficient water from the heater to prevent damage if frozen?

Thanks! Dave

 

[enchanté]

water heater

hi dave,
we have similar winters. i'm in the chesapeake bay, md area. i have winterized the water heater a couple different ways. the first couple years i run the water pump with the hot water spigots open until the main water tank was dry, then added a gallon of non-toxic antifreeze to the main water tank and ran the pump a bit more to circulate the stuff into the hot water heater dregs.

in the spring, though, flushing the anti-freeze taste out of the water heater was alwas a problem that lingered into the season. so recently i have just been running the water out with the pump and leaving it as-is. no problems so far. temps typically fall into the 20's (F) on the boat in the winter although there are colder snaps.

i believe i have a fitting down low on my water heater, port side, with a tube attached to it that leads to the bilge in the engine compartment. i think it is a drain. i opened it once out of curiosity and water shot out, but don't use it to winterize.

you might also ask on www.beneteau235.com. we have an active F285 section.

regards, mike
s/v enchanté

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

hi dave,
we have similar winters. i'm in the chesapeake bay, md area. i have winterized the water heater a couple different ways. the first couple years i run the water pump with the hot water spigots open until the main water tank was dry, then added a gallon of non-toxic antifreeze to the main water tank and ran the pump a bit more to circulate the stuff into the hot water heater dregs.

i

Mike - If I understand correctly what you are describing, that won't protect the heater. It sounds like you are adding antifreeze designed to not be diluted into a full hot water tank. If that is actually the case, the diluted antifreeze is totally ineffective.
You cannot drain the heater by pumping with the onboard water system as it is designed to remain full until drained.

Dave - what water heater do you have? Knowing that would allow us to better advice you how to properly drain it such that you would not have to add any antifreeze except in the plumbing lines.

 

[SoSound]

Dave - what water heater do you have? Knowing that would allow us to better advice you how to properly drain it such that you would not have to add any antifreeze except in the plumbing lines.

Yikes, I wish I knew! The documentation with the boat was reasonably limited. Beneteau doesn't seem to have anything on their web site, and while I've been able to get some info from their support people, even they don't seem to have comprehensive documentation at hand - something a guy who spent 15 years in computer support finds hard to believe (well, maybe not THAT hard to believe...). I can't even find an ID plate on the heater, the way that it's installed. I would imagine that it's on the in/out side of the heater, and that's up against the bulkhead near the engine with only about 3 inches of clearance. :cry:

Believe me, I wish that I had more info to provide... I do have power available, and I'm thinking heater - but I'll be away from the boat and will end up hiring someone to watch things for me.

Dave

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Yikes, I wish I knew! The documentation with the boat was reasonably limited. Beneteau doesn't seem to have anything on their web site, and while I've been able to get some info from their support people, even they don't seem to have comprehensive documentation at hand - something a guy who spent 15 years in computer support finds hard to believe (well, maybe not THAT hard to believe...). I can't even find an ID plate on the heater, the way that it's installed. I would imagine that it's on the in/out side of the heater, and that's up against the bulkhead near the engine with only about 3 inches of clearance. :cry:

Believe me, I wish that I had more info to provide... I do have power available, and I'm thinking heater - but I'll be away from the boat and will end up hiring someone to watch things for me.

Dave

I understand. If you can somehow stick a camera down there to get a picture and post it here, it's likely someone will recognize it and be able to provide better advice. It's also probable there is a drain somewhere behind the tank on the same side as the valves since there is only one tank I am aware of which didn't have a drain and doubt you are that unlucky...

 

[SoSound]

Don, thanks for your patience

I was in a hurry, and didn't realize how unhelpful I was being until on my way back home again from the boat.

A picture is a good idea, a description is what I'll start with - it looks similar to the square Kuuma 6 gallon heaters that WM carries. It's installed exactly the opposite of how I would do it... All of the fresh water connections are wedged up against the center bulkhead, and the hoses from the diesel are located out in the open. All of the lines then criss-cross each other beneath the platform that the whole thing is mounted on. So far, I haven't been able to see a drain valve on the bottom, through all of the other connections. I wouldn't bet on being lucky enough to have a drain at this point.

One possible option could be to unscrew the whole unit from the mounting platform and slide it away from the bulkhead so that I had room to work...

Dave

 

[Randy Rohrbeck]

Re: First 285 DC panel & water heater question?

Dave,

Did you notice a pressure relief value anywhere? The heater in my First 310 has a cover that has to be removed before you can get to the drain and the relief value.

Randy