[C320-list] Hot water tank woes

[Chris Holt]

Will do.  I'm pretty sure it is the pressure release valve though because 
when I cool the water down in the tank my water pump stop cycling.  I take 
this to mean that there is no leak when the water is not cool enough to 
cause the T&P valve to let off some water.

Chris

----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Frank" <WindSwept at stx.rr.com>
To: "'C320-List'" <c320-list at catalina320.com>
Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2007 11:47 AM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Hot water tank woes

> Chris,
>
> If you haven't already replaced the pressure relief valve, I recommending
> checking another possible leak source first.
>
> The Whale fittings used to connect the water tubing can fail.  On 
> WindSwept
> most have failed because they were screwed down too tight on the threaded
> end causing the fitting to actually crack and open up.  It was an
> installation problem at the factory.
>
> When they first begin leaking they will leak a little bit causing the
> pressure water pump to cycle just as you described.  At some point if not
> replaced they will fail completely and the pump will run continuously 
> until
> the tank is dry.
>
> If you think it was hot and steamy under the galley cabinet this probably
> means the leak was from the hot water side.
>
> I'd try to positively identify where the leak was from before changing the
> relief valve since it seems to be a difficult task.  Look for drips.
>
> Larry
> WindSwept C320 #246
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com
> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Chris Holt
> Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2007 3:32 PM
> To: c320
> 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
>
>
>
>