I have been having a continuing problem with the water supply on my 2006 3860. When using the sink or the shower the water will abruptly stop - usually while the admiral is taking a shower. After a few minutes the water will start up again. This only happens when we are using on board water. The pump appears to be running even when we are not getting any water. The pump has been replaced once by the dealer and the filter to the pump is clean. The system is not losing water when the pump is off and I can see no obvious areas of leakage either around the pump or in the bilges. Any ideas?
Problem with supplied water
- Thread starter Gerry75
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2007
- RO Number
- 27046
- Messages
- 204
Needless to say, be careful releasing that pressure valve by hand, that water will be some kinda hot. You might even try putting a hose on the water heater drain valve and flush the heater for 30 minutes or so.
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2007
- RO Number
- 27046
- Messages
- 204
That would sure help but not all heaters have that hose installed.
I will try the pressure relief valve on the heater this week. (I know I have the short hose to the bilge.) Question, if I don't have the heater on or the engines running I assume the water will not be hot. If I just put the pump on would it bleed air if the system is cold?
Also, I did notice that the connection where the dock supply hose attaches to the boat - which I do not use except very rarely - seems to leak a bit under pressure when the pump is on. Could this cause the problem? I was thinking of putting a valve on the line to this fitting to positively shut it off when not in use.
Also, I did notice that the connection where the dock supply hose attaches to the boat - which I do not use except very rarely - seems to leak a bit under pressure when the pump is on. Could this cause the problem? I was thinking of putting a valve on the line to this fitting to positively shut it off when not in use.
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2001
- RO Number
- 3854
- Messages
- 1,372
Running your water with the pump SHOULD bleed all air in the system EXCEPT the trapped air in the water heater. This will work only if you open all faucets in order of height: lowest to highest. The reason you have to bleed the air in the water heater is that the outlet hose is NOT at the top and air gets trapped in it. Only the pressure valve is at the top of the heater.
Yes, what Steve says and you can do it with the water Hot or Cold.. no matter what the water temp is... you're just trying to get the air out of the system. If your going to be near the water discharge, it would be better if it was not so hot.
As for your other leak, I wouldn't think it would leak in that location. I suppose a valve wouldn't hurt, but maybe the root cause should be addressed if it is a defective part/fitting.
I think Rommer has pretty much the same boat as you, maybe he can comment on this for you.
i had a similar problem crop up last fall after i did some annual PM in the engine room. turns out that i leaned against the water pump and cracked the housing of the intake filter. not enough to notice it, but the pump would draw air in thru the crack and eventually start to cycle. did'nt find the problem until after i changed the pump but it was a cheap fix to change the filter housing at the end of it.
I have the 3880 which has a very similar mechanical layout to the 3860. I had a problem with tough priming and bubbles in the water from time to time. Finally got to the point where I could not get water out. Took a fair bit of troubleshooting but I finally found it.
Seems Regal uses a tank top feed for the fresh water supply. They make their own pickup tube that goes into the tank. Basically a piece of ABS plastic pipe glued into the black 90 degree fitting that comes out of the tank. They sanded the pipe down to fit the fitting but did it with a bevel and used what appears to be the wrong glue. Bottom line the fitting to pipe joint was leaking air.
I replaced the pickup tube, properly fit it to the fitting, used the proper glue and it has been fine for 2 years now. All parts are available at your local Home Depot or Lowes store.
A good way to check for this type of problem is to look at the input side of the water pump or filter when it is working, if you see any air bubbles in the clear pipe you have a leak somewhere upstream of there.
Seems Regal uses a tank top feed for the fresh water supply. They make their own pickup tube that goes into the tank. Basically a piece of ABS plastic pipe glued into the black 90 degree fitting that comes out of the tank. They sanded the pipe down to fit the fitting but did it with a bevel and used what appears to be the wrong glue. Bottom line the fitting to pipe joint was leaking air.
I replaced the pickup tube, properly fit it to the fitting, used the proper glue and it has been fine for 2 years now. All parts are available at your local Home Depot or Lowes store.
A good way to check for this type of problem is to look at the input side of the water pump or filter when it is working, if you see any air bubbles in the clear pipe you have a leak somewhere upstream of there.
Well. Yesterday I tried to check out the system.
Turning on the pump I found that I had water at all faucets but that the pump would not go off when all the faucets were closed. I started looking for a leak (all the while the pump was running and starting to get hot). Anyway started from the bow end trying to trace the lines sternward. At the end I found that once again the connection to the dock water inlet was spraying water - not much but apparently enough to keep the system from fully pressurizing. Anyway, I was able to do a temporary fix with some washers and as soon as I did the pump started acting normally - only coming on when water was called for. I then bled the heater as previously recommended and so far so good. I will try to install a new inlet for a more permanent fix, will also tell the Admiral that it is fixed and she can once again use the shower (big risk but overnights are on hold until this is done.) Maybe??
Turning on the pump I found that I had water at all faucets but that the pump would not go off when all the faucets were closed. I started looking for a leak (all the while the pump was running and starting to get hot). Anyway started from the bow end trying to trace the lines sternward. At the end I found that once again the connection to the dock water inlet was spraying water - not much but apparently enough to keep the system from fully pressurizing. Anyway, I was able to do a temporary fix with some washers and as soon as I did the pump started acting normally - only coming on when water was called for. I then bled the heater as previously recommended and so far so good. I will try to install a new inlet for a more permanent fix, will also tell the Admiral that it is fixed and she can once again use the shower (big risk but overnights are on hold until this is done.) Maybe??