Fresh water mystery in E32-3 head

[Bolo]

My wife and I spent the last three days commissioning our new "old" 32 (hull #722) and we're just delighted with our purchase. Like any new boat we been finding some small (thank goodness) surprises that we're not found during survey. However, there is one item in the head that just perplexes me! Next to the hot and cold faucet/shower head at the sink, there is a fixture for fresh water. Same as the one at the galley. But unlike the galley, there is no foot pump or pump on the fixture. Just a little pipe coming out of the counter top.

I look all over the head for some sort of pumping mechanism but couldn't find any. When I filled the port water tank some water even came out of this fixture for a short time but soon stopped. So, how does it work? Only thing I could think of was that there was a foot pump at one time but it was remover for some reason and the fixture was then connected to the fresh water tank. But that doesn’t wash (sorry for the pun) because there is no evidence of a former foot pump and why would the fixture be connected to the tank if it doesn’t work?

If this fixture is connected to the tank (without a pump - for whatever reason) I was just going to replace the fixture with another one that has a small pump handle on it. I like using foot (or hand) power instead of 12 volt to save battery power at anchor.

So am I missing something? Like a pump someplace? The head is not that big and I can't believe I'm overlooking it. No holes in the cabinet work where a foot pump might have been and I can't imagine anyone putting a fresh water fixture in without a pump.

Bolo

 

[Guy Stevens]

Vent

Sounds like it could be a vent for the tank.... Good place to have it in the head sink.

Guy

 

[Loren Beach]

Guy is right. Ericson put a vent like that in for both our tanks.
Loren

 

[Martin King]

Yes, it's a vent.

Martin

 

[Sean Engle]

Yeah, ditto. When you fill your tanks up, you'll see it spitting out air and some water into the sink...

//sse

 

[u079721]

Which brings up a warning.....

Yeah, ditto. When you fill your tanks up, you'll see it spitting out air and some water into the sink...

//sse

If like me you keep all your through hulls closed all the time (including the head and galley sink drains), then BE SURE to open them when you top off the water tanks. Otherwise you might slip below deck to see whether the tank is full (as shown by the vent spilling water into the sink) to find that the sink is full and in danger of spilling over onto the cabin sole.

Not that such a mistake ever happened to me!

 

[Frank Langer]

When I overfilled the tank under the starboard settee in our Ericson 30+, I noticed it began to leak out of the port that the previous owner (I think) installed to check/clean the water tank. There is no caulking under the frame of the port, and it began to leak out there around the screws--fortunately, my wife was keeping an eye on it while I was on deck adding water, but it took a minute for her to get up there and get my attention--could have been a more serious problem, especially as the boat heels under sail.
Frank.

 

[CaptnNero]

topping off without sinking

Those tank top ports are famous for leaking on many boats. My first experience with the problem was on a Beneteau that I chartered. When we were returning our boat at the end of the week, the same thing happened to a sistership in the next slip. Make sure that you don't put the full size water hose nozzle into the filler tube. One needs to leave some room for air to escape and reduce the tank pressure as the tank fills. I picked up a small hose that screws on the end of the filler hose. Then the short length of hose that goes into the filler tube is a much smaller diameter which allows air to escape faster. It helps if you fill at a slower speed.

From your inspection it also sounds like you need to do some remedial work in sealing the port and it's screws.

When I overfilled the tank under the starboard settee in our Ericson 30+, I noticed it began to leak out of the port that the previous owner (I think) installed to check/clean the water tank. There is no caulking under the frame of the port, and it began to leak out there around the screws--fortunately, my wife was keeping an eye on it while I was on deck adding water, but it took a minute for her to get up there and get my attention--could have been a more serious problem, especially as the boat heels under sail.
Frank.

 

[Frank Langer]

Yes, I do need to seal the ports, and have learned to fill the water tank more slowly, monitoring the level as I add water. I am still a bit concerned that the screw-in part of the port (ie. not the frame) may leak when the boat is heeled even if the water tank has not been overfilled. I know some ports come with a rubber ring on that part to prevent leakage, but I don't think mine have those. Just one more thing to attend to....
Frank.

 

[newgringo]

Agree with all above. I just went thru same exercise getting 32-3 #679 ready. Found the port water tank did indeed overflow into the head sink as advertised but the other two (stbd and bow) never did. When filling these the deck fill ports just overflowed. Found there are loops in the vent hoses, which all tie into the head vent pipe that prevented these two tanks from overflowing like the port side. Have you figured out which tank selection valve is for which tank? Another fun project with 3 tanks. Neat boat huh?
Jerry E32-3 Racounteur, Kingston, WA

 

[Frank Langer]

On my Ericson 30+, I only have two water tanks, one in the starboard settee, and a smaller optional one under the v-berth. The optional one appears to drain into the main starboard one, and has valves there to enable that, but when I opened them, it did not drain as I expected--so some further investigation to do. Otherwise, the plumbing all makes sense on my boat, so far....
Frank.

 

[CaptnNero]

Frank, normally one tank does not drain into another. Rather, both tanks feed the water pump, and with the valves you select which tank to pump from one at a time.

On my Ericson 30+, I only have two water tanks, one in the starboard settee, and a smaller optional one under the v-berth. The optional one appears to drain into the main starboard one, and has valves there to enable that, but when I opened them, it did not drain as I expected--so some further investigation to do. Otherwise, the plumbing all makes sense on my boat, so far....
Frank.

 

[Frank Langer]

On my Ericson 30+, the v-berth tank is shown in the design drawings to drain into the starboard tank as a back-up. There is a clear water line, with a red valve leading from the front tank into the starboard tank in addition to the starboard vent line--I just haven't figured out why it doesn't drain there when opened. If anyone can shed some light on this, that would be helpful.
Thanks,
Frank.

 

[CaptnNero]

Interesting. Sorry for the wrong explanation. In your situation I would disconnect the valve and apply a little air pressure to the line to see if it is blocked.

On my Ericson 30+, the v-berth tank is shown in the design drawings to drain into the starboard tank as a back-up. There is a clear water line, with a red valve leading from the front tank into the starboard tank in addition to the starboard vent line--I just haven't figured out why it doesn't drain there when opened. If anyone can shed some light on this, that would be helpful.
Thanks,
Frank.

 

[NateHanson]

Is there a separate vent for the bow tank? If it weren't vented it may not drain. Try opening the deck fill for the bow tank a crack, and see if it drains into the main tank.

 

[Frank Langer]

Thanks for the thought about a vent for the bow tank--a good idea to check, but yes it is vented. So to summarize, it is vented, it is situated above the starboard tank (ie. gravity should make it drain), there is a valve to open the line to drain into the starboard tank, and the water in both tanks looks clean--so there is no reason for it not to drain. But I'll check it all again very carefully next time I'm on the boat.
Thanks again.
Frank.

 

[NateHanson]

Might also check that nothing has crawled in the vent and died.

 

[CaptnNero]

itsy bitsy...

Ok, I wasn't going to say anything but there are spiders that are famous for blocking tubes on small Cesna airplane fuel tanks. That's why I suggested the disassembly of the drain tube with a light pressure test. I suppose the more likely place is the vent tube but if the tank was empty for a while even the drain tube could be blocked. Another possibility is a dislodged sheet of algae in the tube. I had a problem like that on a used RV once.

Might also check that nothing has crawled in the vent and died.