Freshwater Tank Outlet access

[JonHupp]

Hi,

1983 53' ED MY. Looking for an air leak in my freshwater system (pump seems to pull both both water and air, causing foamy water and an unhappy FW pump).
I've check all of the lines in the starboard engine room. Under the master stateroom bed there are two hatches. The starboard one has the water gauge and the port one has the fill and vent lines.

My question, where does this tank exit and how to I get to the tank/water line connection? Thanks.

 

[JonHupp]

I'm more confused. The Hatteras Manuals are certainly lacking. It looks like I have 2 water tanks (Master and Guest mid Stateroom).
Fill seems to go into the Master Suite tank. The Guest stateroom tank doesn't seem to change level no matter how high I fill the Master tank (over 3/4).
There also seems to be a 'new' hose on the top of the stateroom tank that look to head towards the port engine room (though the cabinet between the bunks and under the port bunk.)

The PO stated, openly, that he NEVER used the water system in his 9 years of ownership (he always went from marina to marina and just hooked up). I don't know if he knew something about the FW system that I'm just learning? Anyway, some pictures:

Master Starboard Side (ignore the 'fuel' notation, old gauge was broken and I had this 16" one):



Master Port Side:



Guest Tank with new looking tube?



Again, my main issues include:

1) Air getting into water supply pipe to pump, causing foaming...

2) Eventually, I'd like to get the entire FW system working. Currently, it doesn't seem to fill or draw from the port guestroom tank??

Thank you.
Jon (1983 53ED)

 

[Capt.Z]

Check in the master closet. There is access to the VIP freshwater tank there. Usually a ball valve that you have to open and close. At least on my 1979 53 MY its that way. Also the feed from the tank under the master bunk to the other is on the bottom of the tank. Youll need to pull the wood covering over the tank to get in behind to access it on the bottom. Hope this helps.

Adam

 

[JonHupp]

Thanks but I've looked everywhere (in the master closet) and pulled all of the access panels I can find. I'll keep looking. One of the issues, with the ED (Extended Deck) is that some things seem to be different than the standard 53 MY.

 

[MikeP]

When you say the Hatt manual is poor, do you have the original docs that include all the schematics/explanations? On our 1980 53MY, the two tanks are shown as is the connection between them. It is as CptZ said. If your guest stateroom tank is not filling as the mater tank is filled, then either the transfer tube is shut off, clogged, or disconnected.

If the PO never used tank water - how bizarre, IMO - then the transfer tube could easily have been clogged over the years by whatever standing water/minerals were left in the tank by the owner before the PO. OR, one of the POs could have disconnected the guest tank and used it for fuel. Things like that are not unusual at all.

I can't say positively that a 53 ED and a 53MY are identical for the same year re the water system but it seems highly unlikely that they are different.

One thing to be aware of when filling - you can "overpower" the transfer tube with a heavy water flow into the fill. IOW, the gauge will show full but when you shut off the water to the tank, the transfer tube will eventually "catch up" and the gauge could drop to 2/3 full or less. I have never been able to use a wide open water hose to fill without the aft tank showing full before the forward tank is much beyond 1/2..

 

[bobk]

I had a similar symptom on my 48MY. I found it was an air leak into the coarse filter in front of the pump. Initially I added a check valve into the supply line because my symptoms were loosing the prime. Once I recognized the leak, all was good.

Bobk

 

[JonHupp]

Yes, I have the original Hatteras docs (some true originals and I purchased a set from Hatteras last year).

The auxiliary tank has water in it (not much) with floating algae, etc. Easy to see inside with the gauge out.

Is there any way to get to the Cross fill hose? There seems to be good access to the top of the tanks but no access to the bottoms.

What would you think about pulling the fill/guage plate(s) on top (16 or so screws). I could pump out the tanks (and clean them better) and possibly blow out the cross fill hose?

Still seems odd to me that there wouldn't be an access panel someplace to get to the drain/draw hose on the bottom of these tanks?

Thanks again for the help. I just don't want to rip the boat apart if I'm missing something that you experts have already discovered.

Again, the Hatteras manual talks about a 'water tank' and the diagram shows the two tanks mentioned.

 

[MikeP]

Personally, I would just "vacuum" them out through the gauge hole but certainly, removing the plate should give you more angle-room for the pick-up hose/tube and a better chance for good cleaning.

Years ago, when we had all the carpet out, there was a total of 14 access panels in floor in the guest SR, passageway, and master SR. I took pics of all of them open but I don't have those pics on this computer. In fact, I'm not sure I have them on any computer now...

I don't remember if any of those panels gave access to the transfer hose fittings or not but it SEEMS logical that they did based on my experience with our 1980 53MY. It does seem to have panels just about everywhere needed. Admittedly. some of them require some pretty good contortions/skinny body configuration to get into.

 

[JonHupp]

Yes, the carpeting is a problem. I did find the ball valve in the master closet. It was open but I suspect it is clogged.

Regarding the mystery tube on top of the guest stateroom tank, I figured out it comes from the non-operational water maker from a ppo (previous, previous owner). I think I can get this all back. It is scary to look at what is floating around in these tanks. Bleach or not, I need to clean them for real. Something else on the never ending list...

 

[SEVEN]

A little bleach is fine. If you use to much you will have to flush it thru a few times which might not be a bad idea after all.

 

[MikeP]

I empty the tanks prior to leaving the boat for extended periods and for winterization, though since I just do that by using the water normally, there is always some water remaining below the pickup. In the spring I add clorox and fill the tanks. 4 Oz in our 287gal tank(s) is the recommended amount.

After that, no more clorox treatment with subsequent tanks. We do not use the outside hose hookup, only tank water so the tank water is turned over quite frequently which helps keep everything fresh.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

There are two water tanks. One under the master berth and one under the guest mid-ship berth. They are manifolded together in the master closet as you have found. If you see the gauge come up on the one tank, but not the other, it may be a stuck gauge. I have had to replace both of mine.

I would pull the gauge out of the mid-stateroom tank and stick it to see what is in there. I'll bet it has water in it.

 

[MikeP]

FWIW, when we fill, I fill the tanks from the aft deck filler until water overflows from BOTH tanks' vents on the side of the boat. I pay no attention to the gauge; I want the tanks completely full. Do that and then check the gauges for reference.

Also, as I stated in an earlier post, if you use too much water pressure while filling, you can fill the aft tank to overflow long before the forward tank is full so you have to adjust the hose water flow to the point that the crossover tube between them can keep up. The main thing is that you want to see both tanks dumping via the vents before turning off the water hose.

In addition to ensuring totally full tanks, filling to overflow keeps the spiders and such from clogging the vents.

I'd fill fuel tanks the same way if there was a way to do that without dumping fuel in the water...