[C320-list] Hot water tank woes

[Chris Burti]

Any little bit of sludge or crud from the tank will keep the valve
from seating properly. Try flushing as suggested earlier before
replacing.

On 7/9/07, Chris Holt <oldman1030 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 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
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>


-- 
Chris Burti
Farmville, NC