2008 R25 Water Heater leak

S

shawnpb

Active member
Joined
Sep 16, 2020
Messages
38
Fluid Motion Model
C-248 C
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2544G708
Vessel Name
MOKUHONU
It appears I have a water leak coming from the electric water heater or possibly the connection from the water pump connected to the engine coolant. The rear locker is very wet and it drains into my rear bilge. This also explains why my coolant level was near empty one day and a high temp alarm went off. I'm struggling to find information about pulling the heating unit out for inspection. Any thoughts would be most appreciated.
 
Replace it if it’s original. They wear out. I replaced mine when it was 9 years old for the same reasons. Search my posts for helpful tips on my experience of doing it myself.


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I just replaced the water heater on my 2012 R27. I don't know if those two years are as similar in heater setup as other years are for the 25 & 27. If they are you may find my post of some help:

http://www.tugnuts.com/viewtopic.ph...&sid=629ba746f8a93b067de154f3f8dad46f#p139345

A same replacement heater can run as high as $700+. The work can be DIY but I definitely recommend two people (heads) attempting the work. Good luck. Gary
 
Yes, helpful, "Getting to the engine coolant hoses off the back is uncomfortable for sure going thru the head sink floor, but with a small socket wrench loosening the hose clamps was under-whelming.". I can get to those cabin heater coolant lines now! The R25 seems similar your R27 so your past post helped. Thx
 
I replaced mine on our 2008 R25. I disconnected the heater hose from the red dot heater below the Helm seat which allowed me to carefully slide the hot water tank aft to enable removal of all the hoses from the tank. I had to remove the cover from the new tank to get it through the hatch. Once through I reattached the cover. Good luck.
 
stevevoyce@yahoo.com":n5zewgiy said:
I replaced mine on our 2008 R25. I disconnected the heater hose from the red dot heater below the Helm seat which allowed me to carefully slide the hot water tank aft to enable removal of all the hoses from the tank.
Click to expand...


That sounds like a great solution making it a lot easier to replace. But I don’t understand the flow circuit that goes to the forward heater and to the water heater. Doesn’t the hot water flow from the engine through a pump and then to the forward heater? Does it then go from that heater to the water heater and back to the engine? If so, do you only need to disconnect one hose at the forward heater (if you can tell which one to disconnect) assuming there is enough slack in the return line from water heater to engine?

Thanks for the insight.
 
Hot engine coolant (could be 200 deg F) flows from the engine to the water heater to heat up the 6 gallon reservoir via an exchange loop. Then the coolant flows forward to the helm seat heater which blows air over a radiator to heat the cabin. The less hot coolant then travels back to the engine. At least that's how it is configured on Gayle's Faerie. I also installed a mixing valve as others have done to make the most efficient and safe use of the 6 gallons of hot water. Efficient because it doesn't just send 200 deg water to the faucet but instead mixes it with cold water to bring the temperature down thus using less hot water from the reservoir and extending its useful life when the engine is off. Safe because instead of 200 deg water going down the line, its only 120 deg. HTH, Gary
 
This is all great information & extremely helpful. Does anyone know of a circuit diagram pictorially showing the connectivity? I know it's verbally explained , but a diagram for future reference would be great. Providing slack from disconnecting the cabin heater lines make the R&R much easier.
 
So a little update, taking in all the advice, the water heater is all drained & electrical & plumbing all disconnected. My biggest issue is pulling it out of the locker. Been working on that for an hour & I'm not even close. There's no way this coming out the locker door. Am I missing something? Thx!
 
Aw! Just like you mentioned in your last post!! I didn't catch on to that after 1st read. Thank you!!
 
Because yours is a 25' and different year, the locker opening may not be the same as mine (27' 2012), but I was able to remove the heater intact without damaging the boat in any way or removing the cover to the heater. I removed the water pump and battery charger off their mounting positions on the outside wall and they both had enough wire slack to be moved out of the way. Then I slid the heater back well into the opening.

Now for the tricky part. On my knees facing starboard, I lifted the closest side of the heater (port) up and above the fiberglass shelf (about 5" wide running fore and aft that is next to the engine compartment) and was able to shimy the unit out. There was literally a millimeter or two of clearance but it did come out. Just keep working it. Again, if your locker dimensions differ even slightly you may not be able to do it and then you'll have to do the disassembly.

HTH, Gary
 
I just replaced my 2008 r25s water heater. Simple enough job and it came out of the compartment no issue but was most definitely a tight fit. Replaced with identical s600 heater from fisheries.
 
Seakr25":1deidef0 said:
I just replaced my 2008 r25s water heater. Simple enough job and it came out of the compartment no issue but was most definitely a tight fit. Replaced with identical s600 heater from fisheries.
Click to expand...

So how did you access the engine coolant lines? Did you remove hoses at the cabin heater first and if so, both hoses?
 
I’ve been off this site for quite awhile as I sold my tug.
This old post of mine may help. This was on a 25 SC.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12231
 
I removed the outboard hose that runs forward to cabin heat exchanger through the access under the bathroom sink , I was then able to unbolt everything else and side the tank towards the rear of the compartment outside enough to access the inboard hose that runs from the engine. Reinstalled in reverse order …
 
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