R27 2016 Filling water tank and level, water flow

[Walker2022]

Hello! Trying to get ready for first weekend. We did not get a lot of help when buying so have a lot of questions and can't seem to find a you tube video for this. Filling the fresh water tank. How do I know it is full? Can I see the tank somewhere? I filled up the tank til I heard the water close to the opening.... Turned on the pump. It just spit and sputtered with sporadic times the water flowed, then not when I opened the faucets. Do I need to tear apart the faucets? I have poured through the manual-nothing about this. Thanks!

Found the water gauge near the instruments-but does not seem to move when flushing water out. I took the faucets off and just am letting the water run through the lines-still just sputtering with periodic water flow. I guess just let them run?

 

[CaptT]

I generally fill the tank until I get a return flow out of the overfill vent which is just below the water fill inlet on the side of the hull.
The water pump, in my C-28, is behind the front panel in the cave. If you feel around the monkey fur covering you will find, I believe, 4 square head #2 screws. When the panel is removed you can access the water pump. (Yours may be behind a different panel. Have someone turn on the pump while you are in the cave and should be able to hear and determine it's location. ) Clean the small filter on the side of the pump and replace.
You can also see and inspect the tank and tubing here. Have someone turn on the pump and check for any blockage, leaks etc.
Make sure you turned on the pump, using the switch next to the tank Guage which is above the kitchen sink on mine.
You should be able to find most issues in these locations, if not you may have to track your lines, one by one, from the tank to each facet and to and from the hot water tank to each facet, disconnecting each line to make sure they are free flowing. You should also check/replace the diaphragm in the pump or the pump itself. I chose to replace the pump with better grade of pump and added an expansion tank to allow for a more even flow of water with less pump cycling.
I hope this helps.
Terry

 

[Red Raven]

On my 2014 R27 Classic I fill the tank until water comes out the vent just below and aft of the fill port. The pump is in the cockpit storage locker. Start your troubleshooting there. There is a filter screen on the input side. Check the screen for gunk or debris and clean it thoroughly. You may have to disconnect the filter housing from the pump to get the screen cover off. Easy enough by releasing the red slip locks. Once this is clean and resembled check for water flow at the output of the pump. If good but no water at the faucets then you will have to disassemble the faucet heads and clean or remove screens and check valves. A search on this site will give you plenty of examples for how to remove and clean faucet screens and check valves.

Never had a reason to gain access to the tank.

Curt

 

[KKRCRACE]

I had the same problem on my 2018 C24. The boat was about 3 years old when I started having water flow issues. I checked everything including putting in a new pump and the problem was the pickup tube in the water tank. It was too long and after time the plastic water tank top sagged down enough to block off the pickup. I removed the tube and cut off about an 1/8 inch and angle cut it so it would never seal to the bottom again. After doing that my water flow was better then when it was new. In my case I should have started at the beginning and not the end of the system.
KKRCRACE

 

[knotflying]

Hello! Trying to get ready for first weekend. We did not get a lot of help when buying so have a lot of questions and can't seem to find a you tube video for this. Filling the fresh water tank. How do I know it is full? Can I see the tank somewhere? I filled up the tank til I heard the water close to the opening.... Turned on the pump. It just spit and sputtered with sporadic times the water flowed, then not when I opened the faucets. Do I need to tear apart the faucets? I have poured through the manual-nothing about this. Thanks!

Found the water gauge near the instruments-but does not seem to move when flushing water out. I took the faucets off and just am letting the water run through the lines-still just sputtering with periodic water flow. I guess just let them run?

Make sure the tank is full. No issue if the water overflows from the fill, so make sure it is full. The water gauge is not very accurate. It won't start moving (if it is working) until a good amount of water is out of the tank. The pump will usually spurt initially after refill if the tank was run dry. If you are not getting a constant flow, check the pump filter first. And also disconnect the outlet hose at the pump and see if you get good flow there. This will rule out a bad pump. If all that checks out, some of the tugs have filter screens at the water supply line connection to the faucet line. Remove the fitting and check that out.

 

[GaylesFaerie]

All good advice above. In addition, you don't mention how long you wait while the faucet is sputtering. I have found that when filling my tank for the season start, it can take a long time (sometimes more than 5 minutes) for the pump to pull water from the tank up front back to the pump and then forward again to the sinks. I would sit there waiting for something to happen and get nervous something was wrong. I read the pump manual which states the pump can run dry without damage so I simply wait and eventually I get full flow at both sinks. Your issue *may* be as simple as waiting longer before turning the faucet off and starting to troubleshoot. HTH, Gary

 

[Walker2022]

Thanks everyone! When we bought the boat we believed everything was working. Not... But a good learning experience.
We found out the cap on the Johnson pump had a tiny crack that you could not see unless the cap was taken off. So replaced that and the mesh. Working better now!!