I recently replaced the hot water heater on my B331. Now the freshwater pump has started to run all the time. I thought I had bled the system and cleaned the filters. Not sure what to do next. Is it time to replace the pump? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Fresh water pump
- Thread starter Boomtown
- Start date
You DO have the pump pointed AWAY from the water tank? I just dealt with mine today to winterize. If there is insufficient water in the tank, the pump will be "starved" and sound different, and most likely the water will spurt out the faucet. ANd it will run until there is sufficient water in the tank to feed the pump. If the pump was okay before, it is probably okay now.
Did you bleed all of the air out of the hot water heater? Other wise its trying to compress all of the air in the system. Its also a sign of leaks which would eventually show up on the bilge
Thanks for all the advice. I’m seeing no internal leaks, but now I’m finding that the pump is starting by itself. It just keeps running until I actually turn on a faucet then the sound changes and it feels like it is compressing air, eventually it will turn off. I’m going to dismantle the system and the pump and see if that will solve the problem.
The pump starting by itself sounds like you still have some sort of leak.
When you fixed the large leak, were you able to get water out of all of the faucets ? Meaning no air in the lines?
What is the status of the water heater? Was it empty? Is it now getting water? Did you bleed the air out of the hot water lines (and also run long enough to make sure the air is out of the tank?
Greg
That seems to be one whole hell of a job to launch into when you're not willing to follow the simple recommendations you've been given so far.
For the sake of a simple start:
1. First, fill your potable water tank completely.
2. Ensure every valve in the water tubing is in the correct, fully open position.
3. Fully open every hot and cold water faucet on the boat.
4. Run the pressure pump for a minute and then close all outlets.
That should remove any air in the lines or the hot water tank. If the problem was due to air in the system, your pump should now operate properly, barring other unknown problems. Report if any air issued from the faucets during this procedure,
This is not a complex problem. You've been given excellent advice by other members. If you're serious about solving this problem, follow all above recommendation given and then post your findings.
Thanks. My apologies for being unclear about the tasks I had already performed. Filled fresh water tank, filled new hot water tank, ran the system for good 5 minutes to bleed- long after air splutter, refilled the tanks, checked for water leaks throughout the system etc. I now suspect a faulty cut off switch in the motor, or possibly vacuum leak-air being sucked in between of the water tank and the pump. I think West Marin have a Surflo rebuild kit for about $45. I’ll post results…
Thanks Greg, yes I did those things, see below for where I am now. Hoping to get back and contort myself under the sink to resolve this in a couple of days I’ll let you know how it goes. Gotta love it!
You have to love ”messing around with boats”...or find another hobby....or be rich enough to have staff to maintain the yacht
Good luck. it can be frustrating sometimes!
I once replaced the thermostat on my water heater because I could not get hot water out of it after commissioning it in the spring... but even then, no hot water...until I realized that there were 3 valves to bypass the water heater...and I only opened 2 when I commissioned the boat.... but hey, I have a spare thermostat in case something happens to the new one.
Greg
Now we're getting somewhere. I might hold off on the WM rebuild kit as I think it contains only a few O rings and check valves which won't really help you as we still haven't determined exactly where the problem lies. It won't contain any electrical components.
If you suspect an air leak on the inlet side of the pump, see if you can shut off the water supply to the hot water tank. Then run the pump with all cold water faucets open. It's important to run with ALL cold water faucets open as this will put maximum load on the pump. If air bubbles issue from the faucets, yes you've got an air leak on the suction side of the pump. If not, scratch that and move on. Let us know and good luck.