Remove the water heater on my 1982 H30

[dbecker68]

I am removing the water heater from my 1982 H30, and I have run into a problem. I can't remove the tank through either of the access panels. Did Hunter install this thing before the deck was attached? Do I have to destroy the old tank to remove it?The tank sits on a wooden shelf under the cockpit floor, along with the fuel tank.Can anyone out there give me some advice?

 

[Chuck Creel]

removal

The tank was already removed when i bought my H-30 by previous owner. I do remember him saying that it had to be dismantled to get it out.When i replaced it, i mounted it in the stern behind guarter berth for easier access /future maintenence.

 

[dbecker68]

Thanks, chuck

I have been working on this thing all day today, and it's driving me nuts.I'm not so concerned about a replacement right now, but the old one was leaking, so I wanted to do something about that.

 

[rad]

Water heater

Had to remove the rusted hulk of a water heater from the sail locker of my '77 Hunter 30'. The outside casing and insulation were the easy part. The iron tank was another story. The tank was about 13" at the smallest point ant the sail locker opening 12". The tank was too big to fit around the stern to the quarter berth so that was out of the question. Removing the engine seemed to be the only other answer. In total frustration I thought I might smack the tank with a sledge and crack it into manageable pieces. Well... it did not crack. It did dent and so it went. My buddy and I beat the crap out of it and flattened it to the point where we could slide it out of the sail locker. Another job well done. A slim line Isotemp is in my future and it will fit easily. Hope this helps.

 

[John T1594]

Cockpit Floor

It may be different on your boat but I had a 1980 H30 that had a removable cockpit floor panel. The panel was forward of the pedestal and held down with several screws. Once open, I could remove the fuel tank and batteries and have full access to the rear of the engine.

 

[dbecker68]

Thanks, John T and rad

My boat does not have the removable cockpit panel, so I had to resort to the "brute force" method. I finally beat the tank enough that I could tilt it over and remove it through the starboard cockpit locker.It took a lot of effort and a lot of expletives, but I finally accomplished the job.Thanks for your advice.