I have a cat30trbs with a refer. Ice box.when I pump the drain pedal water comes up in the sink and drains out slowly. My problem is that the refer. never completely drains. How can I get the excess fluid out? Thanks in advance.
Refer. Drain
- Thread starter jbertelli
- Start date
@jbertelli I've used my shop vac to completely drain the bottom of the refrigerator.
When we had out Cat30TRBS we had the same issue. I used a sponge to get the last bit of water out and closed the drain with a hardware store rubber stopper. Also, perhaps the thru hull drain is partially blocked. Be sure to completely drain and/or winterize the drain. On our first year, we didn't catch this and the Whale pump froze and forced the pump diaphragms out of position. On spring relaunch, the yard did not see the slow leak. I checked the boat 3-4 days later (on a mooring) and found 6" of water in the cabin. Could have lost the boat on that one. The yard disavowed any responsibility. Only damage was the starter.
Thanks for all the ideas. I will remember to winterize the drain all though I don't understand how freezing the pump can let water in.
Water expands when frozen. It will crack pipes, pump casings, and move diaphragms as noted above. When the boat is put back in the water, bad things can/will happen.
I understand completely about water and expansion when frozen. What I don't understand is the only thing between the boat potentially sinking is the pump diaphragm. I was under the impression that the ice box drain dumped into the sink drain. Please explain as I am now worried about the pump diaphragm going bad. Thanks for all the information.
If your pump moves water from the ice box to the sink, then it's not connected to a through-hull and can't sink the boat. I would like to know why your sink drains so slowly. On my boat, the galley sink is connected to a through-hull and drains very fast. Perhaps some chasing of plumbing lines is in order . . .
I
HOWEVER...
I think the confusion is arising because Jbertelli is referring to an above-the-waterline drain which is draining slowly, and Kappykaplan is using the word "drain" to refer to winterizing the seacock thru which the footpump gets its outside water, and allowing that seacock to "drain" when on the hard so as not to get freeze damage which compromises the seacock thru hull (and not the drain thru hull which is above water). And absolutely - if the seacock or the plumbing attached to it (if the seacock is open) is damaged it can definitely result in outside water coming in, and potentially sinking the boat.
Hopefully I haven't confused things further.
I was a little stumped too - my H36 sink drain is an above-the-waterline thru hull. It was on my C27 as well. I can't speak for Kappykaplan's setup, but I think that's typical. So the drain thru hull SHOULDN'T be the reason for outside water coming in (but it could be impeded, slowing the quick draining of the sink, as Kappy mentioned).If your pump moves water from the ice box to the sink, then it's not connected to a through-hull and can't sink the boat. I would like to know why your sink drains so slowly. On my boat, the galley sink is connected to a through-hull and drains very fast. Perhaps some chasing of plumbing lines is in order . . .
HOWEVER...
I think the confusion is arising because Jbertelli is referring to an above-the-waterline drain which is draining slowly, and Kappykaplan is using the word "drain" to refer to winterizing the seacock thru which the footpump gets its outside water, and allowing that seacock to "drain" when on the hard so as not to get freeze damage which compromises the seacock thru hull (and not the drain thru hull which is above water). And absolutely - if the seacock or the plumbing attached to it (if the seacock is open) is damaged it can definitely result in outside water coming in, and potentially sinking the boat.
Hopefully I haven't confused things further.
Last edited:
My Cat30TRBS had two foot operated pumps. One was the refer drain and the discharge of the pump connected to the sink drain line in the cabinet under the sink. This sink drain was connected to a thru hull. The second pump sucked lake/seawater and discharged to the sink to allow pre-rinsing dishes, hands, etc. My refer pump drain connection was below the water line - hence the backflow thru a displaced pump diaphragm into the bilge/cabin. Normally I leave the thru hull valves open for the winter and close them before launch- but I wasn't there and the yard did nothing about the thru hulls or the post launch check for leaks. So there were several failures:
So yes, your boat is dependent on hoses, connections, plastic pumps and pump parts- that is why most thru hulls are recommended as closed when you are away.
- I didn't winterize the two pumps
- My thru hulls were open on launch
- The yard did a poor job of checking for leaks post launch
So yes, your boat is dependent on hoses, connections, plastic pumps and pump parts- that is why most thru hulls are recommended as closed when you are away.
When I say it drains slowly It is because it must overcome the normal resistance of the lake water the boat is sitting in. I know my thru haul is clear. The part I don't understand is I thought the t where the refer and sink drain meet is above the water line thus protecting it from water entering the boat. Next time I go to the boat I will have to see if it is above the water line. Thanks for all the insight on this matter . Learn, learn, learn!
My 93 was set up like @RitSim,s. The T connection is below the water level. For that reason I removed the T fitting from the sink drain. I didn't like the idea of that plastic pump being below the water line.
I'm using the ice box for dry storage but if I needed to set up a pump and drain I would pump it into the sink.
I had a similar occurrence to RitSim during my first launch of my C30.
I left my thru hull valves open while on the hard. When the yard launched the boat and checked for water leaks they found the drain pump hoses had been disconnected. Apparently quite a bit of water entered before they figured out what was leaking and got the thru hull closed.
went to the boat this weekend and looked at the t where the refer and sink drain meet. Can't tell exactly but it seems to be below the water line. As soon as I pull the boat out for winter I will disconnect the refer from the sink drain. No need to take any chances! I will completely drain the refer pump and place a little antifreeze in it anyway. If I need to use the pump in the future I will pump it into a bucket and dump it into the sink. You learn something every day. All you guys and gals remind me of the Calvary coming to the rescue of a dumb newbie. The only thing missing is the bugle sounding charge! Thanks