plastic city water bracket

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jimbeam

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Aug 21, 2019
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Fluid Motion Model
C-248 C
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2545G708
Vessel Name
waite & sea
I need the plastic city water connection bracket on the starboard side. where can I get one? 2008 R25. Probably any bracket
will fit from the newer models.

Thanks
 
Hi,

Richard in our parts department should be able to source you one, if not, aid you in finding an online vendor. He can be reached at parts@rangertugs.com
 
I had a cracked one on my 2009 R25, probably freeze damage. Unfortunately you are out of luck for a direct replacement as Jabsco changed the spec a few years ago. The new one they sell has a slightly larger diameter than your current hole, which can be solved with a few unpleasant minutes with a Dremel tool and a router bit. The kit has a template for the cutting that needs to happen. The part was about $40 from west marine as I recall. Got rid of my freshwater system leak though. Good luck! Robert
 
I had to replace mine as well. A small crack in the fitting was spraying water back behind the cabinets when I had the pump running. If the spray hadn't shot up, over and into the cabinet spaces I might not have noticed the problem. I also heard the water pump cycle. (I'm hoping that water back there eventually ended up running to the bilge.?????)

I bought the replacement from West Marine thinking that it would be a drop in. As you mentioned it was larger in diameter and some cutting was required. Old hole was 3-1/4 dia. New hole has to be 3-1/2. I bought a hole saw understanding fully how difficult it would be to cut a hole without a "pilot". Went to work thinking I'd be able to solve the problem some how. My boat was getting shrink wrapped the next day and I wanted to get it done.

Sure enough if you try to start the hole saw, even at an extreme angle, it is a bucking bronco. Even if you run the drill backwards it was hard to control. I needed something to act as a guide. Then I screwed the four mounting screws back into their old holes, leaving them standing proud by 1/4" or so. The old screw hole pattern was just the right diameter to keep the new hole saw under control and drilling the new hole went pretty easily. It was just sheer luck, but I was really tickled that it solved the problem.

New fitting went in nicely with a new hole pattern for their new screws. Looks nice on the boat as well. I got the "chrome" finish. The old one was faded creme or off white in color.

Another question: I hadn't thought of it but my fitting failed last spring on one of my first outings. Was it a winter freeze issue? Is there a way to winterize it? I'll definitely have it on the spring start up list as something to check. Not an easy check. Besides the spray water under the cabinets, I also heard the water pump cycle. I've never had the opportunity or need to use the shore water hook up. I just wanted to fix it. (I had disconnected the hose and plugged it all last season.) I understand there are some unpleasant safety issues with the shore hook-up.
 
Ranger Tug no longer uses these water connectors on its newer boats. I asked them why. I was told the constant pressure can cause tubing and connection failures as the boats age and plastics get brittle. The resulting tubing failures will flood the boat. I have one on my boat that I will never ever use for that reason.

PS: Here’s a thread from 2012 that discusses a Ranger Tug 27 fresh water fitting failure. Lucky Pease was on board, heard the failure happen and wasn’t connected to high pressure city water at the time
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2939&p=21536&hilit=hose+water+high+pressure#p21536
 
Mine sprung a leak this past summer. I was going to just plug the hose and leave it, but the outside plate was a bit grungy looking so I replaced it with the new one available. While I was at it I hooked everything back up. I never used the old one and won't use the new one.
 
We had one on our R-25 classic. Had city water hooked up in a marina with pressure on. Went to dinner. When we came back the bilge pump was running like crazy. Opened the engine hatch and saw lots of water. Tasted it and it was fresh. Heart stopped pounding and I turned off the water at the spigot. Turns out a hose came off the hot water heater fitting. Never used it again.
 
Our marina doesn’t allow city water pressurized hookups for that reason. It’s convenient, but if the plumbing breaks anywhere on your boat, the water will just keep flowing till it sinks the boat. If you’re using water from your tank on the other hand, it’ll just empty your tank and that’s it. No more weight is added to the boat because the water was already on board. If I felt I had to have city water, I would consider installing a normally-closed solenoid at the inlet and wire the solenoid to a reliable high-water alarm in the bilge.
 
Our 2016 C30 did not have a factory installed fresh water inlet. I installed a chrome plated brass fitting and installed a back flow preventer and brass adjustable water pressure valve inside the boat. I understand the concern about plumbing failures however, that concern can be mitigated with an inexpensive flow meter with adjustable shut off.

The flow meters can be adjusted to shut off when as little as 25 gallons of water pass through it. I set ours at 100 gallons before it shuts off the flow to the boat at at the faucet. If I use that much I simply have to go out and reset the meter. This way no more than 100 gallons could ever enter the boat before being shut down. If you were more cautious you could set the meter to 50 gallons. I also added a second pressure regulator at the faucet after the meter to make sure that I can keep the water pressure at around 35 psi entering the boat.

You can have the fresh water option without the risk of sinking your boat🙂
 
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