Fresh water leak, source unknown!

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EuphoriaHunter34

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May 19, 2015
12
Hunter 34 Dinner Key
Hi,

Noticed recently that the bilge was firing a couple of times a day. On closer inspection there is a fresh water leak that manifests itself when you turn on the kitchen faucet.

We were hauled out recently and they had to drop the rudder to replace the prop shaft and seeing as the water tank is located in that vicinity i immediately suspected that they'd managed to damage the tank or hoses.

After an hour of pain removing the paneling to get to the water tank there are zero leaks.

I've also traced the piping all around the boat and there are no leaks, yet when you turn on the kitchen faucet (hot or cold) a few seconds later a very small trickle of fresh water starts dripping into the bilge.

As an aside when we run the engine there is a small oil/fuel leak (next on the list to fix) which i believe the hot water comes via. But as we live in Florida we don't need hot water and the engine hasn't run for several days.

What i am missing?!

Thanks in advance!

Marc
 
Charlie98117

Charlie98117

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Jul 1, 2014
256
Hunter 34 Seattle
Have you checked the drain hose from the sink? The water level in the hose rises to provide the gravity necessary for draining into the sea so perhaps a cracked hose?
 
Claude L.-Auger

Claude L.-Auger

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Dec 14, 2003
1,434
Hunter 34 Lake of Two Mountains, QC, Can
Take a quick look at the pressure relief valve on the Hot water tank. Turn it on to let some water out through it. That's where my leak was coming from after re-commissioning the system 2 weeks ago. Only happened when hot water heater was heated with the 110V element.
 
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EuphoriaHunter34

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May 19, 2015
12
Hunter 34 Dinner Key
I'd already checked under the sink and it was a dry as a bone, I'll take another look at the hot water tank for sure.

Update to follow!
 
Bill Roosa

Bill Roosa

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Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
well it has to be on the side after the sink valves as it would be leaking all the time due to the pump pressure. Has to be the sink to drain hose as if it was the thru-hull it would be salt water in the bilge.
I would check the sink hose drain. Probably leaking down the hose and not getting on anything till it gets out of sight.
 
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EuphoriaHunter34

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May 19, 2015
12
Hunter 34 Dinner Key
Ok, not sure how we missed this (probably because we are boating a** holes) but the bilge was going off more than normal in the middle of night so we decided to empty the water tank by turning on the kitchen faucet.

Whilst the tank was emptying i decided to do another sweep of the piping by torchlight. Unbelievably i could now see that the water pump was leaking something that we couldn't see in the daylight!

A while ago we found our stuffing box was leaking using torchlight, something we also didn't spot during the day. So from now on I'm going to be a nocturnal leak spotter!

As always, thanks for the advice.

Regards
Boat a** hole
 
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EuphoriaHunter34

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May 19, 2015
12
Hunter 34 Dinner Key
So fitted the new pump (shurflo) and water filter (jabasco), it was a tighter fit than last time and the hose and connections looked a bit under duress.

I fired it up and it worked fine, but then it started pulsating and causing the cabin lights to dim!

I going to replace the hoses tomorrow so that the connections aren't under pressure. But is the surging and lights dimming due to air getting into the system? Or is it something more sinister instead?

Plumbing really is my nemesis...
 
Charlie98117

Charlie98117

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Jul 1, 2014
256
Hunter 34 Seattle
Air will bleed out of the system on it's own. Lights dimming has nothing to do with plumbing, it sounds like there is something electrical happening. Is your battery charger off and house bank voltage low? Is your new pump the correct voltage? Lights dimming could indicate too large a draw on a circuit, check your connections. The pump is usually on it's own circuit, not shared with lights.
 
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EuphoriaHunter34

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May 19, 2015
12
Hunter 34 Dinner Key
Thanks Charlie.

I've just been looking at the old and new pump. The old one has a max amps of 11, whereas the new model has max amps of 7.5. Could this be the problem?

The previous owner of this boat did everything wrong so starting to think the
pump was wired incorrectly but "just worked" and the new one doesn't...
 
kloudie1

kloudie1

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Nov 6, 2006
10,104
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Pulsing pump is an indicator of a water leak on the pressure side.. check the water heater PT Valve as Claude said.. What is happening is the pump pressures up the system and the leak slowly depressures until the switch on the pump kicks it back on again .. The "inrush Current" to the pump is causing the lights to dim a little.. but cheak the electrical power to the pump and panel and lights for a loose connection. Some dimming is normal.. unless you go to LED's with a wide voltage input capability. Check for more water leaks
 
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EuphoriaHunter34

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May 19, 2015
12
Hunter 34 Dinner Key
Final update, i redid the pipe work in a more professional manner and things were better but there was still a bit of pulsing going on.

I contacted Shurflo and they suggested turning the pressure adjustment screw. I only had to do less than a 1/4 turn for the pump to smooth out and everything to return to normal.

As always thanks for everyone's input :)
 
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