Larry,
I have an issue with debris in my tank blocking the water exit elbow in the
bottom of the tank. Traded some emails with Graeme Nolan on it. Have
pasted them below. (You might want to drop to the bottom, to follow from
start to finish) However, to answer your question, the only thing that I
know of is just to run the water pump. Takes a while, and I usually turn it
off for a cool-down period when it gets hot. From Graeme's message, the
only other possibility is to cut the tank open, and best idea I had was go
in from the top and put in an inspection port. I have purchased the parts,
but have not done that yet.
I have tried a siphon hose - as I really don't like to run the pump so much
to empty the tank - but the challenge is getting the end of the hose lower
than the tank. If someone has a better idea, or has cut open the tank, I
would like to hear as well.
Mike
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From: Graeme Nolan [mailto:GraemeNolan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 11:16 PM
To: Michael Zotzky
Subject: RE: Seawind 1000 Water Tank Question
Michael, the SW1000 water tank is made up of fiberglass separately and
glassed in. Coming in from the top of the tank is feasible but the tank is
30" deep. There is a 2" gap between center saloon seat and top of tank. You
could cut a 4" inspection port in the seat to get access to cutting say 2"
inspection port in the top of the water tank. You could then use this port
with a sizable pump to vacuum the debris from the bottom of the tank. The
access holes would need to sealed on exit. This may be a simpler fix. Kind
Regards, Graeme
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From: Michael Zotzky [mailto:mzotzky@xxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Tuesday, 15 June 2010 12:27 PM
To: Graeme Nolan
Subject: RE: Seawind 1000 Water Tank Question
Thanks for that, Graeme. Re the water tank, it is a separate tank sitting
below the forward saloon bench, or is it actually just a glassed
compartment? I am wondering whether an inspection port cut into the top of
the seat would be a good entry into the water tank? If so, that would might
not have the leak issue, and would allow me to access in the future if this
happens again. Do you have any engineering drawings? What is the clearance
of the elbow vs the bottom of the tank? Am wondering if maybe a stronger
pump might be able to suck the debris out of there.
Also, how is the fuel tank held in place?
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From: Graeme Nolan [mailto:GraemeNolan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 8:40 PM
To: Michael Zotzky
Subject: RE: Seawind 1000 Water Tank Question
Michael, the connection for water outlet and level indicator is under the
saloon floor immediately ahead of the fwd fuel tank. There are two through
the wall fittings with elbow down to the bottom of the tank. Unfortunately
you have some persistent debris (most likely silicon) blocking your water
outlet. Unfortunately the first step is to remove the fwd fuel tank. Then
try swapping the water intake and level indicator hoses although loose
debris would block both. The next step is surgery on an empty water tank to
access removing debris. This access can be a 4" hole immediately next to
the water outlets but would need to be fiberglassed back up as an inspection
port would not hold the full tank pressure. Kind Regards, Graeme
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From: Michael Zotzky [mailto:mzotzky@xxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Sunday, 13 June 2010 11:21 AM
To: Graeme Nolan
Subject: Seawind 1000 Water Tank Question
Hi Graeme,
Laurie, Shannon (daughter) and I just returned from a 10-day cruise on the
Seawind. Everything went very well, and the boat continues to shine. I did
have one peculiar issue pop up though. We burned out a water pump - the one
connected to the fresh water tank. I had the forethought to buy a spare
before, so was ready. (Which was really good because we relied on the tank
for drinking water too) The second pump worked ok for a while, but then
acted like it was out of water. I thought it was just air locked, and
removed the supply hose to it, and tried to siphon water out. What I found
was great difficulty in trying to suck the water through the hose. I
removed the water fill cap on the front of the boat thinking there was a
vacuum, but no change. I hooked up the dinghy inflation pump, and tried to
blow the line clear to the tank. That apparently removed whatever was
blocking, hooked everything back up, and it worked fine.
The next day we had a rough crossing, and again the suction line was
plugged. Cleared again and it worked ok. Today same issue.
Anyway, could you tell me where the tank is, where the connections are to
it, how to access. Any idea of what my problem could be? Almost seems like
a piece of plastic is floating around in the tank. We had this issue with
the tank near empty, as well as filled halfway. The water tastes fine, and
there is no smell. But right now I cannot depend on having available water
without disassembling the suction line?
Mike
