Fresh water replumbing

Hi

I finally bit the bullet and replumbed my 2 fresh water pumps - a 230V Headhunter Mach 5 pump and a 12V Shurflo pump. Attached are photos of the setup.

Setup requirements were:
both pumps to be in parallel (Mach 5 when using shore power or genset & Shurflo when not using shore power or genset)
PRV (Pressure Reduction Valve) to reduce output pressure of Mach 5 (factory set to 66psi) to no more than 50psi
input: must have isolation valve, check valve, filter, use PVC pipe
output: must have accumulator tank, PRV, pressure gauge, bleed/dump valve (used when initially pressurising the Mach 5), separate isolation valves leading to hot and cold water lines

After speaking to Headhunter tech support (thank you Wilson!) I decided to put my only accumulator tank between the Mach 5 and the PRV, effectively isolating it from the FW system (specifically the Shurflo and the 30 gallon hot water tank). A future improvement will be to put a small expansion tank on the output side of the hot water tank to smooth out the Shurflo and allow for hot water expansion.

photo#1: the overall setup
photo#2: closeup of the parallel plumbing setup
photo#3: the bleed/dump valve and another angle of the parallel plumbing

I have the system set for about 38psi when the shower is running (using the Mach 5) and the psi jump to about 48psi for the last 15 seconds that the Mach 5 runs for after the last tap is turned off.

I have the PRV set for 48psi when the Mach 5 is running for its 15 seconds after the last tap is turned off and this gives about 38psi when the shower is running. When a second shower is on at the same time the pressure hardly drops at all - I love my Mach 5

The Shurflo switches on at 25psi and off at 45psi and stays at about 35psi when one shower is on.

It took 3 phone calls to Headhunter, 5 trips to the plumbing shop, a similar number of plumbing reconfigurations and several rolls of teflon tape to get everything finished. It might not be the prettiest thing in the world due to the pink tape, pink PVC primer and green PVC glue, but what the heck, it's in the ER and, so far, works like a dream!

Cheers
John

For future reference, they make clear PVC primer and glue.

The Headhunters are great pumps. We have one. But what about all that un-supported PVC pipe?

Great job. If you have the room I would add a brace for the PVC just after your filter in front of the valves just to be safe.

I guess we all do things differently based upon our skills and knowledge. Personally if I were to have undertaken this It would have been more like 20 trips to the plumbing supply store and a more colorful project with purple and blue glue.

dan

Concur with the more trips to the store. When I work on a project like this I make at least 3 trips to ACE HW a day. ACE is the only close HW store. They know me very well.

I feel bad for you folks, ya'll don't have McDonald's Hardware.

Furthermore, I would have a bucket or two of spare, excess pipes and fittings left over.

ulysses said:

Furthermore, I would have a bucket or two of spare, excess pipes and fittings left over.

Click to expand...

That used to be my problem. Then I realized that Home Depot and Lowes will take things back, no questions asked. I just estimate what I will need and add a few more of each part. When I'm done, I return the leftovers for credit.

BTW: I agree that the PVC pipe needs to be supported. That would be fine in a house but prone to failure from vibration on a boat. That's why I like hoses rather than rigid pipe.

N4712 said:

I feel bad for you folks, ya'll don't have McDonald's Hardware.

Click to expand...

+1.

And as others have noted, it does look like the pipes could use some support. If you ever redo it I would consider making a manifold that you could hard mount with soft hose going to/from it to the pumps.

I dont use PVC anymore, PEX only. I always get extra fittings and clamps for the "bucket". Pex fittings are reusable if you have a good clamp cutter. That little shurflo is an ok pump but my 12V Fatboy never drops below 45 psi. I hate when my shower water goes up and down and hot to cool. Not a problem with the Delavan pump.

This may sound like a dumb question but why do you need a shore power pump?

Good looking job! Question: Why PVC and not Pex?

Question
Why so big of PVC pipe?

Comment
The wiring could be tidied up

I am assuming the 230v pump is used when the gen is running ? Or only using ship board water from the tank when plugged in ?

It's hard to tell from the pictures but did you use unions at the inlet and outlet of the Headhunter pump so you can remove it easily if need be? And is the small expansion tank and its manifold screwed right on the outlet nipple of the pump and not supported any other way?

You showed me yours, I'll show you mine:





A few notes.

1) The accumulator tank is plumbed in the cold water line, prior to it's route to the water heater. It's hidden by the nose of the big pump.
2) The pressure switch shown is that for the 32v DC pump (the green guy on the bottom). As it is a diaphram pump, had to be plumbed close to the AT.
3) the 230v shallow well pump has its own pressure switch, no need for a PVR. I wonder why the headhunter needed a PVR?

This AC and DC set up is great, to answer some questions raised.
First, the AC pump (this Craftsman is rebranded Flojet shallow well pumo is fantastic for generating great pressure, in addition to powering the whole boat when deployed, it makes a great wash down pump for anchor and chain when water supply is not an issue (boat also has a raw water wash down). It can be rewired to 115v for use on an inverter, I never got around to it.
Second, it is nice to have a pump on both electrical systems for redundancy
Third, yes it used at the dock to cycle the tanks and for those who do not like to have shore water hooked up 24/7, if at all.

All in all, highly recommended.

One other thing i should note: the PEX type quick release fittings are rally nice when servicing the system, easy to put an end piece on and remove a component of the system or add to it.

Well here's mine. From left to right - 12v shurflo, Mach 5, saltwater washdown pro blaster.
The pressure tank is hidden behind the Mach 5.

Thanks for the feedback. To answer some questions:

The white PVC pipe is supported by a saddle bracket on a section of the pipe below the inlet isolation valve - you just can’t see it in the photos. I will be adding another saddle bracket above the check valve to “firm” things up. I mounted the Mach 5 on a piece of 1” rubber to cushion vibration.

I used 1 ¼” PVC pipe:
there was no easy way of hard mounting the inlet isolation valve, check valve and filter and then connecting them with hose or pex
so the flow from the water tank would be as unrestricted as possible/practical
I didn’t have any pex tools but I did have leftover PVC pipe, primer & glue

The “shore power pump” is a problem of US english Vs my Aussie english!! The Mach 5 is used when the boat is connected to shore power or the genset is running. On the vertical line just after the PRV I have a “T” capped off - this is where I intend to connect a shore water line.

Very astute as always Capt.Bill! The connections to the Mach 5 are “screw” type connections (is this a union? I’m not a plumber) so that the pump can be removed later if required. Currently the accumulator tank is not supported/braced but I am looking around for parts/things I can mount on the ER wall to create the necessary support

The wiring will be tidied up.

Before I replumbed the dog’s breakfast of a system that previous PO’s left me, the Mach 5 was being controlled by a pressure switch but Headhunter recommended removing it and using the electronics on the Mach 5 instead. I needed the PRV to reduce the Mach 5 outlet pressure from 66psi to less than 50 because I felt that 66 would test all the fittings on the boat (probably creating more work for me) and we could get a good shower from less than 50psi.

I should have noted that my referral to "per" was generic, if not inaccurate, mostly applying to the tubing. My fittings were SeaTech, requiring no special tools.

Marine Quick Connect Fittings on Sale

caltexflanc said:

One other thing i should note: the PEX type quick release fittings are rally nice when servicing the system, easy to put an end piece on and remove a component of the system or add to it.

Click to expand...

These:

probably these or Whale or even the kind they sell on HD or Lowes

Home Depot: