Pressure salt water ?

[Sven]

Since we now live off mostly homemade water (reverse osmosis) we're seriously discussing having a pressurized salt water system for pre-washing dishes and to feed the electric head and so on. We got a washdown pump that we expected to install for just washing mud off the anchor but now we're wondering if we should install it with feeds to the other uses I mentioned above.

A few questions ...

Having a pump that pumps salt water into the boat seems very questionable unless there is a failsafe shutoff somewhere along the line. Suggested ways of handling that ?

What kind of sink faucets would be appropriate for salt water ?

I assume regular small diameter reinforced hoses would be ok for distribution but plastic fittings in a pressurized system tied into the ocean worries me here too.

Maybe a salt water tank that is filled under manual control once per day or so and tap the pressurized salt water system into that ?

We won't be doing this in the next few weeks so there's no hurry but I would be interested in hearing what others may have done in a similar situation.

Thanks,



-Sven

 

[nramsey]

Why not use a foot pump. They were pretty common and you would not have to worry about a sticky switch filling your boat with water.:0

Neil

 

[Mort Fligelman]

Salt Water Pump

Sven: My 35-3 came with a foot operated fresh water pump (assume it was put there if you did not want to rum the electric pump) and a foot operated pump marked " seawater".

If you check the documents section of this forum you will find all of this information in the 35-3 instruction manual under plumbing.

This pump as you will see served two purposes......pull in seawater, and empty the Ice Boxes.......

The through hull was nylon or delrin that had a marlon valve attached......when open the seawater could be pumped in, and when closed and the proper drain valve opened you could pump out the ice chests......

My best guess would be that attached to a proper through hull this would work perfectly for your purpose, and the method of internal distrubution just a matter of proper material.

My .02 which is worth less than that......good luck....happy voyaging....

Regards

 

[u079721]

I installed a wash down pump on our E38 some years ago, and there used to be a diagram of my installation among the documents here. I basically just took a T from the sea water foot pump at the galley, and installed a Shurflo pump under the sinks. I then ran tubing forward to the anchor locker, and aft to the cockpit, installing faucets at both terminals. I don't see why you couldn't do the same, but add a faucet at the sink as well. For safety you just keep the breaker to the pump turned off except when you use it. Having said all that, I'm not sure how much better a pressurized sea water pump would be than just using the foot pump at the sink, which always seemed perfectly adequate just for rinsing and washing dishes.

Here's my write up from before:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=116&id=699