We have a 1984 H34,One of my spring projects will be the removal and replacement of the three 1-1/4 inch gate valves that have worked well for 18 years. It is a job I have been putting off, but I feel it is overdue. My questions are,the best way to remove the old, and,what have you replaced them with? Is brass the way to go or is marelon better? Do the thru hulls need to be replaced? Thanks in advance for the input!
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Gates
A pipe wrench has worked for me, but if there is movement of the thru hull you will have to have someone hold the thru hull from the outside with a thru hull tool. If you are going to use Marelon you should use Marelon thru hulls also as it is NOT an ABYC recommendation to thread Marelon to metal. Marelon is strong and will not corrode, however, their handles are a weak spot. I used bronze ball valves with teflon encased stainless steel balls so that I could use the existing thru hulls and not worry about lubrication of the valves.
A pipe wrench has worked for me, but if there is movement of the thru hull you will have to have someone hold the thru hull from the outside with a thru hull tool. If you are going to use Marelon you should use Marelon thru hulls also as it is NOT an ABYC recommendation to thread Marelon to metal. Marelon is strong and will not corrode, however, their handles are a weak spot. I used bronze ball valves with teflon encased stainless steel balls so that I could use the existing thru hulls and not worry about lubrication of the valves.
h34 Thru Hull Valves
It's wise to replace the original valves soon (they are on borrowed time) The stem on the one in my galley broke when I closed it during purchase/sea trial. (1994) Didn't know it for a week until I tried to drain the sink. I used bronze ball valves because I just don't like the plastic stuff. By the way only the bath sink was 1 1/4" on mine. The galley and head discharge were 1 1/2". Check the engine water intake valve too. I didn't change the thru hull fittings but needed to rebed two of them because they spun a bit while trying to get the old valves off. I replaced the plywood backing wood when I had them apart. I made a tool to insert in the thru hull fitting and had someone hold them from the outside while I spun the old valve off. You'll sleep better when the new one's are on there. Barry
It's wise to replace the original valves soon (they are on borrowed time) The stem on the one in my galley broke when I closed it during purchase/sea trial. (1994) Didn't know it for a week until I tried to drain the sink. I used bronze ball valves because I just don't like the plastic stuff. By the way only the bath sink was 1 1/4" on mine. The galley and head discharge were 1 1/2". Check the engine water intake valve too. I didn't change the thru hull fittings but needed to rebed two of them because they spun a bit while trying to get the old valves off. I replaced the plywood backing wood when I had them apart. I made a tool to insert in the thru hull fitting and had someone hold them from the outside while I spun the old valve off. You'll sleep better when the new one's are on there. Barry
Gate Valve Swap
I second the previous comments. Go with the brass/teflon ball valves. I bought a really big pipe wrench that made the job of breaking the old ones loose easy. My thru hulls didn't budge. I used some pipe dope on each before installing. I did have to play around with head valve to get opening clearance.
I second the previous comments. Go with the brass/teflon ball valves. I bought a really big pipe wrench that made the job of breaking the old ones loose easy. My thru hulls didn't budge. I used some pipe dope on each before installing. I did have to play around with head valve to get opening clearance.
Switching Ball Valves
I've almost repalced all of mine on an 89 Hunter 40. I found a pipe wrench necessary, but also went to Home Depot and purchased a plier-like channel lock, but the jaws were curved to wrap around plumbing fittings. Took up a lot less space in those tight quarters, and still produced good leverage. The larger valves were well seated. I would also suggest using a underwater suitable dope in lieu of teflon tape. The thru hull fitting is typically NPS (National Pipe Straight) while the ball valve is NPT (National Pipe Tapered). Because of that, you don't get that many threads to engage for a true thread seal. There's some good debate about even using a "ball valve" in place of a true marine seacock, but that's up to you to weigh out. It's a lot of work converting everything to marine seacocks bolted in place. Anyhow, I've had reasonable service with the ball valves (10 years), and knew it was time to replace when handles started snapping off. Also, I close and open valves as I arrive and leave the boat. It will help them from freezing. I also went to a local plumbing wholesaler to purchase the same Conbraco valves sold at most of the marine supply houses. I upgraded the valves to 600 PSI ratings and still paid about a third less. Worth a try. My only regret is I miss not having a drain plug for winterizing. I did not think they made that in a ball valve anymore. My mistake was not asking the plumbing supply house, because I later found out I could have ordered them. If you have the time, and can do it, it might be worth it if you winterize.
I've almost repalced all of mine on an 89 Hunter 40. I found a pipe wrench necessary, but also went to Home Depot and purchased a plier-like channel lock, but the jaws were curved to wrap around plumbing fittings. Took up a lot less space in those tight quarters, and still produced good leverage. The larger valves were well seated. I would also suggest using a underwater suitable dope in lieu of teflon tape. The thru hull fitting is typically NPS (National Pipe Straight) while the ball valve is NPT (National Pipe Tapered). Because of that, you don't get that many threads to engage for a true thread seal. There's some good debate about even using a "ball valve" in place of a true marine seacock, but that's up to you to weigh out. It's a lot of work converting everything to marine seacocks bolted in place. Anyhow, I've had reasonable service with the ball valves (10 years), and knew it was time to replace when handles started snapping off. Also, I close and open valves as I arrive and leave the boat. It will help them from freezing. I also went to a local plumbing wholesaler to purchase the same Conbraco valves sold at most of the marine supply houses. I upgraded the valves to 600 PSI ratings and still paid about a third less. Worth a try. My only regret is I miss not having a drain plug for winterizing. I did not think they made that in a ball valve anymore. My mistake was not asking the plumbing supply house, because I later found out I could have ordered them. If you have the time, and can do it, it might be worth it if you winterize.
No Brass!
John and Bob both mentioned brass when I hope they meant bronze. As Edmund points out seacocks are the right way to go because the threads match and you get lots of them. Knowing that I still use ball-valves(bronze) directly on the thru-hulls. As in all plumbing when you finally get them tight the handle will be in the wrong place!
John and Bob both mentioned brass when I hope they meant bronze. As Edmund points out seacocks are the right way to go because the threads match and you get lots of them. Knowing that I still use ball-valves(bronze) directly on the thru-hulls. As in all plumbing when you finally get them tight the handle will be in the wrong place!
Neat Trick
All of the comments are right on. I found a couple of neat tricks to use on replacing the through hulls. They are as follows: I found that I had a couple of large open end / closed end wrenches that fit up in the through hulls just perfectly. You really need the cheap wrenches to work the best. This is because the cheap wrenches have a sharper edge and the hold on the inside of the through hulls better. I inserted the open-end side of the wrench in the through hull on the outside of the boat (on dry land of course - although I have seen someone replace them in the water!!!!). The wrench was wide enough that it would just fit in the through hull and would not pass over the small extrusions on the inside wall of the through hull. I then had someone put a wrench on the nut on the inside of the boat. I put a pipe through the open end of the wrench and spun the outside of the through hull. They all came off rather easy. 2) When the through hull is out you may want to check to see if the core around the through hull is saturated. Just feel up in there. If it is you really should clear all of rotted stuff out and pack it with something that will hold pressure. You would really hate to tighten down on the through hulls and crack the hull (very bad idea). If it is rotted in the core you could inadvertently do this with very little pressure. 3) I used the 3M product to bed the through hulls (it is the highest-grade stuff that is designed for bedding underwater). Once you apply this make sure everything is where you want it or else you will have a real mess. 4) To put the through hulls in I had someone hold the nut on the inside and I turned the outside. It tightened down very nicely and you did not have to mess with turning the wrench on the inside of the boat. 5) Remember to take the handle off of the through hull while you are working with it (It is hard to forget but I saw a guy put it on before he tightened it. 6) When you are almost fully tightened have the person on the inside turn the nut at the same time as the person on the outside turns the through hull to get the handle in the correct place. You will probably need to start when the handle is about 180 degrees away from where you want it and then hold the nut when the handle is 90 degrees from where you want it. You will have to play with this to get it right. I did mine in less than a day. It was not too bad. Good Luck
All of the comments are right on. I found a couple of neat tricks to use on replacing the through hulls. They are as follows: I found that I had a couple of large open end / closed end wrenches that fit up in the through hulls just perfectly. You really need the cheap wrenches to work the best. This is because the cheap wrenches have a sharper edge and the hold on the inside of the through hulls better. I inserted the open-end side of the wrench in the through hull on the outside of the boat (on dry land of course - although I have seen someone replace them in the water!!!!). The wrench was wide enough that it would just fit in the through hull and would not pass over the small extrusions on the inside wall of the through hull. I then had someone put a wrench on the nut on the inside of the boat. I put a pipe through the open end of the wrench and spun the outside of the through hull. They all came off rather easy. 2) When the through hull is out you may want to check to see if the core around the through hull is saturated. Just feel up in there. If it is you really should clear all of rotted stuff out and pack it with something that will hold pressure. You would really hate to tighten down on the through hulls and crack the hull (very bad idea). If it is rotted in the core you could inadvertently do this with very little pressure. 3) I used the 3M product to bed the through hulls (it is the highest-grade stuff that is designed for bedding underwater). Once you apply this make sure everything is where you want it or else you will have a real mess. 4) To put the through hulls in I had someone hold the nut on the inside and I turned the outside. It tightened down very nicely and you did not have to mess with turning the wrench on the inside of the boat. 5) Remember to take the handle off of the through hull while you are working with it (It is hard to forget but I saw a guy put it on before he tightened it. 6) When you are almost fully tightened have the person on the inside turn the nut at the same time as the person on the outside turns the through hull to get the handle in the correct place. You will probably need to start when the handle is about 180 degrees away from where you want it and then hold the nut when the handle is 90 degrees from where you want it. You will have to play with this to get it right. I did mine in less than a day. It was not too bad. Good Luck
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