Spring Commissioning / Fresh Water Lines

[HappyPlace]

We had our boat (2014 R31) put back in the water after being stored on land for the winter. Last December, we had the boat fully winterized, including the fresh water tank system. Yesterday upon doing our spring commissioning, everything seemed to go well, with the exception of two fresh water faucets. (Bathroom & Kitchen) The cockpit faucet and the master head work fine. I ran out of time to investigate before I had to leave the marina. I forgot to check the aft shower and day head too.

The First Mate and I were discussing this issue on the ride home and had a few unanswered questions. I am thinking this is a problem with clogged filters in each faucet head, but wasn't sure if these were the only filters/screens for each faucet. Also, is there more than one fresh water pump? Just trying to be a little proactive before making the trip back down.

Any input is appreciate,

Al Sr.

 

[Dale777]

Al Sr.,

On my 2014 R31S, there is only one fresh water pump. It is directly below the hatch that is immediately inside the cabin. If you are standing next to the stove, it is beneath your feet. Lift that hatch cover to expose the pump. It has a screen on it that might need cleaning out. Also, every faucet has a strainer at the tip of the faucet and sometimes additionally elsewhere in a hose connection. Just recently for the shower, I even had to replace the whole mixer valve since it was plugged up with debris.

 

[Lorron]

Al Sr.,

On my 2014 R31S, there is only one fresh water pump. It is directly below the hatch that is immediately inside the cabin. If you are standing next to the stove, it is beneath your feet. Lift that hatch cover to expose the pump. It has a screen on it that might need cleaning out. Also, every faucet has a strainer at the tip of the faucet and sometimes additionally elsewhere in a hose connection. Just recently for the shower, I even had to replace the whole mixer valve since it was plugged up with debris.

We recently acquired our 2015 31CB and the shower has a slow leak. How did you access the mixer valve to replace it? It doesn't look like it can be done from the shower side.

 

[BradOwens]

On our 2012 R29 the shower mixer valve can be accessed from the mid-berth (AKA The Cave). There's an access panel at the forward end of the berth. I believe the 31s are laid out the same way.

 

[Dale777]

Lorron,

As BradOwens indicated for his R29, on my R31S access to the shower mixing valve is forward of the forward panel in the mid-berth (aka the "Cave"). However, you might get any plastic cuttings (or other debris) out of the valve by accessing the mixing valve from the shower. Use an allen wrench to remove the set screw for the shower valve handle. Then, the valve cartridge can be screwed out from inside the shower. If you get it out, then try cleaning it up.

If that doesn't work out, then you will need to remove the forward panel in the "Cave" to expose access to the entire shower mixing valve that has three hoses connected to it - one inlet for hot, one inlet for cold, and one outlet to the shower hose. If you don't have an air conditioner, this job should be straight forward for access.

IF you have an air conditioner, then it is a b..ch. You will need to put on a head lamp and lie mostly on your back, prop yourself up with a pillow, and reach over the air conditioner to then access the hoses and the valve partly by feel and partly by sight. If you have to do this, good luck! I did this but swear to never do it again. If you do this, then be very careful of the plastic hose connectors on the valve. They break easily. I could not find a replacement (not even at Ranger Tugs parts department). I eventually found brass connectors from an outfit in Canada, ordered through Amazon, that worked really well. In my case the problem required buying a replacement valve from Ranger Tugs and installing it, since the original valve has a back flow mechanism that was stuck. If you need the brass connectors, this is the link to them:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Z ... UTF8&psc=1

 

[Lorron]

Thank you Dale 777. From my experience with plumbing, the seals inside the Fontana/Ranger Tug shower control look very touchy and delicate. I didn’t see any obvious debris in the cartridge keeping it from sealing but I did the best I could to clean it up and reinstalled it. No change…still leaking. Though I do have A/C, when I opened the forward panel in the “cave” I thought “Oh, Dale 777 was wrong, this won’t be so bad”. Yeah, right. Pulling out the old shower valve was truly, as you said, a b**ch. It was in fact a freaking b**ch. Prying barb fittings out of reinforced hose is real hard when you’re 70 and on your back with no leverage. Of course, one of the ½” barb X ½” Female Pipe Thread nylon "L" fittings broke. I visited every potential source within 20 miles, including West Marine and a couple RV stores and nobody had it. It’s the ½” FPT that’s impossible to find. Though every hardware guy I spoke with joked about it being a female issue I’ll resist the temptation to do so here. I managed to cobble together the necessary nylon connectors and got a good crank on all the hose clamps on my new Home Depot Moen shower control and guess what? No more leaks. Thanks for convincing me this job was do-able. It took way too long but I’m retired so it doesn’t matter that much. Doing it myself probably saved me $350. Might have paid for whatever my wife bought online yesterday. But she's a great deck hand so what the heck.

On another note and for a different reason which I won't go into here, I also had to replace my galley faucet. Like the shower control, it’s also Fontana brand. As far as I can tell, parts for this brand are unavailable anywhere. I may be wrong but I’m beginning to suspect it is crap.