Katie

Update: I’ve had a boat neighbour who’s a plumber pop by for a quick look he also couldn’t really see where the water is coming from said there are a few suspect joints he’s recommend replacing anyway but no obvious leak. Looks like I’ll have to drain the system strip the area back and try to have a look under the tank. He thought would be unlikely the tank has split. He also said no real sign of immersion leaking. being a horizontal tank it’s not likely to have any drain holes underneath is it?

Ok thanks all it’s. A bit tricky to get to in order to check the pressure but likely have to dismantle some stuff to inspect under the tank so can do it then hopefully. not sure if it’s because I know about it now but leak seems worse too. Keeping water at bay with rags at the moment. Merry f*ing Christmas! ☹️

I noticed dampness first before and out it down to condensation possibly, could be the case for you if not actually seeing any water leaking at at all? Ok I’ll have to investigate to see if it’s and accumulator or expansion tank. My pump is all the way on the other end of the boat with an accumulator though does that make a difference? thanks for your help. I’ll have to wait to get some help on Tuesday and maybe lift up the whole thing or remove to inspect. Was really hoping it was a leaky pipe! 😔

Thanks all. I’ve tried leaving a container under where the PRV valve is and that stayed dry but was wet underneath so I don’t think it’s that. yes water in the bilge. However my shower has an interesting/old set up that drains into bilge and pumped out via bilge pump so not sure if this water is from that or the leak. And no proper inspection hatches on board. So I’m not sure where the shower water actually comes out (next project to install whale gulper I think) I do have an imersion heater so maybe I should take the cap off and check around that? Like suggested, it could be leaking into the jacket and coming out underneath maybe? Tho no sign of any wetness around it at the moment. Beleive the attached pic is the expansion vessel at the other end of the tank? surely if the tank itself was split there would be a larger leak considering it’s coming from the bottom of the tank? good to confirm that heating should be ok(I didn’t think so as I understand it’s separate water) was just concerned about heating the tank. And yes I have a separate external header tank for heating system. i know the water pools on the floor so likely to cool down very quickly but the leaked water is also always cold. If leaking from a heated tank would you expect to be a little warm when inspecting regularly?

Hi all i have a suspected leaking calorifier. For some time my water pump has been going off intermittently. At first I thought was just sue to drop in temperature of the water at night so ignored it. Seems to be happing more often lately so been investigating and found water around my calorifier. Have spend the last week investigating where the water is coming from, wrapping tissue paper around as many of the joints of the pipe work as I can (there are a lot!) all I can see now is that the water is seeping out from underneath the Tank, which is horizontal and on the floor under my steps. Can’t seem to trace the water to any pipes so I’m assuming must be leaking directly from the calorifier? I really hope not as this is a much bigger fix than I was prepared for. will be getting some help to investigate better and potentially taking out/lifting the tank to inspect underneath. My question is am I safe enough to continue using my water and heating it? I turn off the pump when I’m out to slow the leak. But the back boiler on my fire also heats my water, will this cause issues as obviously I need my fire at the moment!? I‘ve had no noticeable problems to my system all this time, just the pump occasionally going off. Hot water etc. all working ok. Picture attached is end of the calorifier where you can see the water trickling out.

Well I had already ordered a new pump as seemed most likely thing that was wrong so was going to get a plumber friend to fit that but I am now awaiting a quote to refit the system to be gravity fed as I much prefer the sound of this if it’s easy enough to do. I never liked the idea that I had to have enough battery to run my stove safely, especially as it’s 240v. I don’t think this set up is that unsafe but would prefer one less thing to worry about. Unfortunately having never worked on a boat before or fit a gravity fed system my friend isn’t keen on messing about with my boat so will have to pay to get someone in but worth it for safer (working) heating! will have to see if I can send back the new pump if gravity pipe work is successfully installed. thanks for all the input folks. I’m sure the pump system would be fine if I got it running properly but may aswell change it to what would work best for me while I’m having to fix it anyway.

That’s promising! I’m happy cleaning and painting not so sure about plumbing but hopefully can rope in my friend to do that. If not, are you close to MK and fancy earning bit of cash??? Haha

Yep all same type

Oh thanks! It’s not the exact same but very similar. However the button appears to be broken on mine anyway which is why my friend suggested just replacing the pump for £80 but now I’m realising prob not the best option overall.

Ok I have a heating engineer/plumber friend I may talk to this about. His initial idea was just to replace the pump though but think I will explain the problems with that on a boat and see if he is confident helping me amend the current set up to simple gravity fed one. if not… can anyone recommend a boaty plumber for the job near Milton Keynes? Pretty sure they are conventional rads as heat from the top first and bleed valves are in the top? Ok this sounds like a much better and easy set up! always thought ‘Rad 1’ was a bit pointless anyway as in the same room as the stove. But perhaps left in from a previous fit out just need to find someone to do it now. As mentioned, I do have a qualified heating engineer:plumber friend but he’s never worked on a boat.

It’s 68 foot long! Yes I don’t really want to bodge anything safety related and would prefer to not have to rely on an electric pump for my heating! Just concerned how big a job this will be and if I’ll be able to realistically afford it! Yes I believe that’s what the thermostat does. No idea what temp is best to set it to though and like I said I set it to a lower temp. When testing the system with a small fire as I didn’t want to have to get the system too hot and pressurised. Fair point about power at the marina. I’m going to brand new one so hopefully little problems with power cuts.

Ok so just replacing the current potentially faulty pump for replacement new one not best idea then really? Shame as that was the cheapest option! Haha

Yes they are all on same side

Excuse very crude drawing of the layout/set up of the boat’s heating And a pic of back of stove for info.

Yes it’s powered through an inverter. Former owners were marina based so had shoreline power. I am also heading to marina for the winter so won’t be too much of an issue this year for me so long as it actually works! so would I need whole boat re-plumed to switch to simple gravity fed system so I can ditch this problematic pump? Ok so what are my best options? Have the whole system re-designed? im not sure it’s that well designed if I can’t get it working.

Nope just a little non-sealed tank. Inlet pipe at the bottom, outlet at the top

It’s a Dab Evolution pump of that helps? Has some sort of digital display that doesn’t make much sense to me except a definite flashing warning light I think it might be air lock in the pump yes as from what I can make out in the manual I found online that’s what the flashing light suggests. Don’t understand how though? Just faulty pump? yes I leave plenty of room in the tank but it is very small. I fill the tank and bleed the radiators and top tabk up as required until no air in radiators and small amount of water left in the tank well below the overflow/outlet pipe fire has gone out and can hear the water all trickling back into the system now.

Great thanks for the nightmares! So you are in agreement pump must always be used whenever fire is Lit? Will the water not just overflow to the header tank if pump stops? afraid I didn’t design the system just trying to figure it out!

Hi I’m trying to set up my central heating system ready for my first winter aboard. ive got a multi fuel stove with back boiler and a pump to feed 3 radiators. I’ve tried filling the system (which was dry) CIA the header tanks and bleeding the radiators to remove any air. Lit the stove and turned the pump on. The pump has a thermostat attached though which seems to determine when the pump kicks in. So I set the thermostat to a lower temp and lit a small fire. Pump came on and couple radiators started to heat up ever so slightly. Then the header tank seems to overflow and warning light flashes on the pump. The water is only warm that overflows the tank. Any suggestions what I’m doing wrong or what the problem could be? Someone told me that I really shouldn’t light the stove without the pump on as risk over pressurising the system…? a plumber/heating engineer friend thinks the pump is knackered so looking to replace that and see if it helps. thoughts?

I guess so. That’s both the BSS and my own pre purchase surveyor that were ok with it

It’s below the regulator kind of midway up the wall of the locker. Surveyor did investigate it I just can’t remember what he said it was.

Can’t remember what they once were but the one on the left is sealed off and one of the right is part of the vent “slot” the gas locker is at the stern so guessing was once at the bow and got moved and this compartment repurposed at some point over the years

Hi thought I’d update you all on what I ended up doing…. - 3 coats rust proof metal paint after a good clean and got rid of loose rust - couple of grass stabilisation grids on the bottom to help raise the height but also so it can all breathe - water resistant tile backing board on top and silicone sealant around the edges this made the perfect height so the vent meets the new temporary floor and gas bottles just fit in snugly. have just been out on a cruise for couple hours and it is all bone dry, letting no water in so far even when going at ‘speed’ pretty pleased with the results and will allow me to take it out and keep checking on condition of the metal from time to time thanks for all help and advice as always ✌🏼

Yeah I’ve just been thinking about this. I’ll have no idea what’s happening underneath and if any little ask are getting through. So back to the temporary floor idea. Now thinking tile backing board might do the job

Thanks this was my original idea but realise the vent is too high above the floor. Rather than extend the vent causing more water to enter the locker more often, I think I will raise the floor since I have the height in the locker already to allow this. have just painted with a rust proof metal paint but realise if now going to fill with latex self levelling compound I may need to treat the surface differently?