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Water collecting in the Engine Room - Leak from calorifier??


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Hi, we have water coming from the bottom (we think) of the calorifier linked to the diesel engine. It doesn't appear to be coming from the inlet or outlet pipes as they feel dry to the touch. We don't think that there is a drain plug on the bottom as we can't get under to feel one, the tank appears to be sat on the floor. We discovered this leak when the water pump started to turn by itself and the boiler fired itself up, checked all taps etc and the boiler and they are fine. We heard a hissing coming from the calorifier and then discovered water leaking from the bottom and collecting in the engine room. We pumped out a few inches of water yesterday and only put the water pump on when needed today and had a few inches of water to pump out again. We found a tap on the water inlet near the bottom and turned it off, this doesn't seem to have made any difference. Any ideas about what we can do?

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1 minute ago, Natson Bo Janley said:

Any ideas about what we can do?

Find the leak :)

 

Not as facetious as it sounds - it could be a split pipe, a leaking joint, a faulty PRV or indeed a split tank. If the latter then bad luck, a new calorifier will be required. 
 

Prise off some insulation around the tank to help you to find where it’s coming from, you can always squirt some more from a can if it isn’t the tank that’s faulty. 

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5 minutes ago, Natson Bo Janley said:

  We discovered this leak when the water pump started to turn by itself and the boiler fired itself up, checked all taps etc and the boiler and they are fine. We heard a hissing coming from the calorifier and then discovered water leaking from the bottom and collecting in the engine room.  

Pressure relief valve would be the first thing I would look at, do you have an expansion tank on the hot system?

 

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Hi, 

Thanks for the fast tips, the problem (apart from the leak) is we don't really know how to check these things (afraid to make it worse) and we can't get somebody on to do it during the current circumstances. Is there a way to isolate the tank so that we can leave the boat knowing it won't get worse till we can return with somebody who knows what they're doing!?

Many thanks all again...

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Can be awkward to find and fix, obviously check every joint on the tank and also the pressure relief valve. As Wotever says, remove enough foam insulation as you need to get a good look at everything. I had persistent leak on the blanking plug for the optional immersion. It took many attempts and many failed gaskets to fix that so these leaks can be really tricky. If you turn the pump off or just disconnect it or remove a fuse the thing is sort of isolated, some water might leak out nut it will not empty the tank into the bottom of the boat (Unless its a bit of a weird system)

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It won't get worse if you turn the electrics off when you leave the boat AND close the valve that should be on the pipe between the water tank and water pump. Usually at the front of the boat. However the water in the pipes and calorifier is likely to empty itself but that is not a problem.

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Do you hear the water pump come on at regular intervals, then shutting off when no one is using the taps? Might be 15, 30 or more minutes between. If so, then there is a leak somewhere. The most common and easy to fix is the pressure relief valve (PRV) on the calorifier. This releases excess pressure caused by water expanding as the cauliflower heats it up. In a calorifier fitted in the engine bay the outlet often just dumps the water in the bilge, which may be what you are seeing. Scale can get caught under the valve seat, letting water seep by. The most common type looks like this. Turning the red knob on top deliberately opens the valve and can flush the scale out, stopping the leak. If not that, it can be leaks from plumbing joints, or a split in the cauliflower itself. They seem to go at the seams. As @ditchcrawler said, having an expansion vessel in the hot water system is important for cauliflower life span, but lots of boats don't have them. Take photos of the calorifier and associated plumbing and post on here and we can identify bits for you. Lots of people here with time on their hands at the moment!

 

Jen

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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When our calorifier started to leak I couldn't find the where the water was coming from until I removed it and pressure tested it with a hose from a cold tap. I found 4 very tiny pin holes near the bottom after removing some of the insulation. If you are certain it's not a pipe of leaky connection you will need to replace it with a new one. I have heard some people have managed to silver solder (not lead solder) a calorifier but even then not a permanent solution.

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