water pressurisation

[Pennie]

Long story short;

 

Needed to take out a water filter tap from the kitchen sink.

 

Realised it had been fitted I'm such a bodge way it wasn't as simple as take it out plus connecting pipes then reconnect pipes lift over.

 

After many trips to the plumb centre a literally hours of work the remaining pipework is now fitted correctly together with no jubilee clips or leaks.

 

So turn water back, still no leaks, very happy.

 

But...

 

The water pump keeps having to repressurise the system once or twice a minute.

 

Nooooo!

 

 

 

So the only things I can think of is:

 

A: the pipe under the floor that requires the whole kitchen to come back out (already taken it out once to fix the previous bodge job, was not fun) has a leak in the join. But I can't hear anything, then again is could just be small.

 

Or B:

Could it be possible there is air in the system that would cause the pump to keep engaging?

 

C: something else

 

Any thoughts? I list sanity and brain power for this job days ago so I'm not sure what I should do next. Tears are very close I'm that fed up and beaten by this task.

[Traveller]

That does not sound at all odd to me. Mine does the same.

[Tony Brooks]

Unlikely to be B because if it was the air would form a sort of accumulator so it would take longer for the pump to switch off but then it would stay off for longer with no taps open.

 

I suspect A with the work disturbing a joint but bets check the PRV near the calorifier if you have one, the accommodation bilge for water. If there is nothing wrong there it could be a or some leaking valves in the pump. Run it up to pressure and then turn the main water valve off. If the pump stays off then its probably valves. If it does not it could be a leaking main shut off valve, especially if its a gate valve.

 

If it is A then seriously consider moving the plumbing up into the back of the unit space. I just love the idiot boat fiters who think their work lasts for the life of the hull and so bury pipes and cable where owners can not get at them easily.

 

 

[The Boater]

It is only a thought but does the pump have an adjuster for how much pressure it stores in the system, if so turn it down a bit as an experiment.

Ian.

[alan_fincher]

C: something else

 

One other possibility is that the pump itself is slightly faulty, and that pressure can leak backwards through it.

 

Like Tony, I suspect your (A) is most likely, simply because alterations have been made, and something may not have gone back together right, but it is not the only possibility.

That does not sound at all odd to me. Mine does the same.

 

But it shouldn't!

[Neil Smith]

Sounds like a leak, can you see if your bilge is dry?

 

Neil

[MtB]

It's either A) a leak in the pipework you can't see, or its the non-return valve after the pump letting water flow backward past the pump back into the water tank.

 

My money is on it being A) as it didn't do it before the gurl-plumbing happened...

[Sea Dog]

Wot he said ^^^. If something doesn't work right after you've done work, the first things to check should be those things you've disturbed.

[Traveller]

 

One other possibility is that the pump itself is slightly faulty, and that pressure can leak backwards through it.

 

Like Tony, I suspect your (A) is most likely, simply because alterations have been made, and something may not have gone back together right, but it is not the only possibility.

 

But it shouldn't!

I have never had a boat where this was not the case, Alan. And I have had a few. The water pump builds up the pressure in the accumulator tank and switches off. When I fill the sink the pressure in the tank drops and the pump kicks in and turns off again when the pressure is restored. As I draw more water the pressure drops and the pump kicks in again. I have never viewed that behaviour as strange...no doubt I am about to learn something :-) Should the pump be on consistently? Come to think of it this might be the hot water only - which is provided via a Paloma.

[Tony Brooks]

I have never had a boat where this was not the case, Alan. And I have had a few. The water pump builds up the pressure in the accumulator tank and switches off. When I fill the sink the pressure in the tank drops and the pump kicks in and turns off again when the pressure is restored. As I draw more water the pressure drops and the pump kicks in again. I have never viewed that behaviour as strange...no doubt I am about to learn something :-) Should the pump be on consistently? Come to think of it this might be the hot water only - which is provided via a Paloma.

 

I think most of us have interpreted what the OP said as the pump runs once or twice a minute with the taps all CLOSED. It should nto do that, especially with an accumulator fitted.

 

I interpret your post to mean either the pump runs when you open a tap or with a tap open the pump cycles. Both those interpretations are normal, the OP's happening is not.

[Traveller]

Thank you Tony. That explains it and yes I did misinterpret the OP it seems.

[WotEver]

Wot he said ^^^. If something doesn't work right after you've done work, the first things to check should be those things you've disturbed.

 

I found that when I'd done some work on my car which involved removing the glove box. After I'd finished, I couldn't open the boot (electronic lock). I wasted an awful lot of time fault-finding this until I re-checked what I'd done behind the glove box and found a connector I'd forgotten to reconnect.

 

Tony

[alan_fincher]

Yes, exactly what Tony says!

 

Cutting in and out with any tap even slightly open - normal.

 

Cutting in briefly every so often with all taps fully closed - abnormal.

[Pennie]

Think I've found a rough location of a leak. A very slow drip behind the fridge. This has made me somewhat happy compared to the other place I worried it could be, under an inaccessible floor board.

 

Also the fridge is come out of its space today to fit an isolator as during the kitchen escapades we found nothing turned the fridge off on the fuse board.

[Tony Brooks]

Think I've found a rough location of a leak. A very slow drip behind the fridge. This has made me somewhat happy compared to the other place I worried it could be, under an inaccessible floor board.

 

Also the fridge is come out of its space today to fit an isolator as during the kitchen escapades we found nothing turned the fridge off on the fuse board.

 

Because of the propensity for 12V fridges to cause voldrop on start up may I suggest that a domestic 20 to 40 amp double pole switch and patress with both poles switching the positive.

[dmr]

My recent experiences confirm that Sods Law is still a powerful and malevolent force.

 

If you spend time fixing something then other totally unrelated components will feel neglected and so break to get their share of attention.

 

...............Dave

[Neil Smith]

So it seems the leak was there before the plumbing work.

 

Neil

[MtB]

Might have been caused by the plumbing work under the sink disturbing the pipe joint behind the fridge. Quite likely given the fridge is often adjacent to the cupboard under the sink.

 

But Dave is right. Mechanical things all have a heart and soul, and can get a bit demandy and truculent if the see another getting all the attention. A bit like, err.... nah, I daren't say it!

[Pennie]

Lol Mike you make me giggle :-)