[C320-list] Hot water tank woes

[Allan Field]

Chris - The TP (temperature/pressure) valve has most likely failed.  The
test is to run the overflow hose into a Coke bottle, run the hot water
heater for awhile, and see if you have water in the bottle.

Order a new TP valve from Seaward - about $20.  Install is the least fun you
will have with your clothes still on...

The entire cabinet assembly must come out, which is the easy part.  I am
unsure if you can get the TP valve out with the tank still in place but give
it a try.  If not, the brackets on the port side of the tank that affix the
tank to the platform are a bear to get out.  If you take the tank out, this
is a good time to flush it thoroughly - you will be stunned at the amount of
crud, like sand and bits of plastic plus foul water that never comes out of
the bottom of the tank that comes out during the flush.

When putting the TP valve back in, use plenty of plumbers putty around the
fitting.  I used Real-Tuff, a Teflon paste thread sealant from Home Depot
that also cures the leaks around the clean-outs on the 2 fresh water tanks.

Allan S. Field
Sea Shadow - #808
Columbia, MD

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of
oldman1030 at hotmail.com
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2007 9:25 PM
To: c320
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Hot water tank woes

When I checked under the galley sink it was soaked under there.  It was 
definitely the hot water tank spewing the water out.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Culbertson" <billculb_a2 at yahoo.com>
To: "C320-List" <c320-list at catalina320.com>; "c320" 
<C320-List at catalina320.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2007 5:35 PM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Hot water tank woes

> This is a long shot but is it possible that you shutoff the shower using 
> the shower head push button and forgot to shut off the water directly at 
> the sink faucet?  When I do this, I get the exact same pump every 30 
> seconds that you describe.  It happens because the showerhead button 
> shutoff is not a perfect shutoff and leaks some.  When I shut off at the 
> sink faucet hot/cold knobs, the cycling stops.
>
> This seems like the most likely explanation for your symptoms to me.
>
> You can confirm/check if overflow from heater is the issue by putting a 
> cup under the overflow tube to catch the overflow.  On my boat, it will 
> fill over 10-15 minutes after I 1st heat the water (AC or Engine) but then

> it stops after that.  I empty the cup periodically until it stays empty.
>
> -bill
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Chris Holt <oldman1030 at hotmail.com>
> To: c320 <C320-List at catalina320.com>
> Sent: Thursday, July 5, 2007 4:31:50 PM
> Subject: [C320-list] Hot water tank woes
>
>
> I just came back from a 4 day vacation on the boat and we had a bit of 
> trouble with the hot water tank.  With 4 girls (wife and three kids) hot 
> water is a must.
> There were a couple of strange things that happened but to save on typing 
> and you reading I'll talk about the main one.  On the third day we were on

> a dock in Kennebunkport, ME and we turned on the AC water heater.  After 
> taking showers we forgot to shut it off and went for a walk in town.  When

> I got back I could hear the water pump running and figured we must have 
> run out of water and I didn't hear it before leaving.  When I flipped the 
> tank over the system pressurized and then the pump would kick on about 
> every 30 seconds for a short burst.  After thinking about this I 
> remembered we didn't shut off the water heater.  When I checked under the 
> sink it was very hot under there and sure enough there was water in there.
>
> First question:  Isn't there a thermostat in there that should not allow 
> the water to get that hot?
>
> In any case, I'm assuming the water was too hot and the pressure relief 
> valve keep shooting out water to let off steam.
> So I ran the hot water for awhile to cool the water down in the tank and 
> sure enough the water pump stopped kicking on.
> Now, when we left Kennebunkport and got to our destination I heard the 
> water pump doing the same thing.  The engine now caused the water to get 
> too hot.
>
> 2nd question: If the answer to the first question is yes does the 
> thermostat work for engine heating and AC heating?
> 3rd question: Because of this incident do you think my pressure release 
> valve is no longer good?  It seemed I had to cool the water down quite a 
> lot in the tank before it stopped causing the pump to turn on.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Chris
> #447
>
>
>
>
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