Do you leave your water pump on???

psneeld said:

Geeez Kevin...like you said...a well maintained boat "probably" will never have a problem.


You have bilge pumps that are powered indefinitely through battery charging...and even the smallest keeps up with a fresh water pump/sysem.


Fresh water pups ca run and have for many days if not months and I have never heard of one starting a fire...they are designed to run dry.


PLUS!!!!!! You are way cool and have your boat monitored via the internet...so you should at any point be able to ta in and see if something is wrong.


Leave it on and just ensure the backups you have...nothing wrong with conventional wisdom in the boating world...I just find it based on very limited real life experience.

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That's what I'm thinking as well.

I don't have water leaks at home either and I don't turn off the well every time we leave.

Worst case is I have to replace a pump someday. That's my real risk.
That will save me from having to pickle the water maker every time I leave the boat for a week.

Hawgwash said:

Ok, I need water maker lessons here.
- If you are gone from the boat does the water maker not sit idle?
- If sea water is the only source of anaerobic bacteria why, once all the sea water is removed, do you need to continuously flush?

Now the Rube Goldberg assists Red Green part:
If the flush occurs at regular intervals and for a specific time, could you not install a timer in the pump circuit to coincide with the flush?

Also, some insurance policies might have something to say about equipment during prolonged absences.

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The thought is you never remove all the organic matter so flushing is needed.

Yes I could install a relay but don't see now that I've thought about it a real reason to do so.

The more I think about this the more I think there is zero reason not to leave the potable water system pressurized.

ksanders said:

That's what I'm thinking as well.

I don't have water leaks at home either and I don't turn off the well every time we leave.

Worst case is I have to replace a pump someday. That's my real risk.
That will save me from having to pickle the water maker every time I leave the boat for a week.

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5 minutes of soul searching and a little practical experience goes a long way to quell the nervousness that is rampant in boating.

Sure...100% go for it...nope never gonna happen any which way but loose... Let your intelligence be your guide over a random mass of opinion.

Guys, low pressure cut off functionality is readily available in pressure switches, both external and internal to the pump. Many, if not most fresh water pumps are not designed for run-dry operation and there is no reason to lose one for that reason. Here is an example:

Amazon.com: Square D FSG2J21M4CP 30/50 PSI Standard Pressure Switch with Low Pressure Cutoff: Home Improvement

are ignition protected, thermally protected and can run dry without damage.....

Aqua King II Freshwater Pump, 4 GPM, 12V
Aqua King II Freshwater Pump, 4 GPM, 12V
SHURFLO Aqua King II Freshwater Pump, 4 GPM, 12V

SHURFLO Aqua King II Freshwater Pump, 4 GPM, 12V | West Marine

Typical in my experience.....

Thermal protection kicks in on those; they are not continuous duty. The point is that there is no reason to have a fresh water pump system that runs forever or burns itself out (motor or head).

Would you leave your AC ON while gone from boat for extended period? Why not? Isn't the water maker pumping an approximately equal volume each hour?

If my boat was in a slip, if I knew the plumbing were OK I would sleep aboard. But I wouldn't leave anything pumping constantly while gone.

On a mooring.... Never.

Removed the city water connection from the boat during the refit. 350 gallons of storage, so need for city hook up. Turn the pump off whenever leaving the boat for more than a day. Nothing needs water if I'm not on the boat.

At the home in Maryland, I turn the breaker off for the well pump if no one will be around for a few days. It's an older home with older plumbing. Have visions of a pipe failing in the 2nd floor bathroom and causing damage on both floors. Nothing in that house needs water if I'm not there.

In my Florida home, city water stays on all the time to keep the swimming pool full. Before I fabricated an auto fill for the pool, the guy who takes care of it would add water with a garden hose and turn it off after cleaning another nearby pool. Did you know that you can add 60,000 gallons of water to a pool in a week.....but it wasn't his fault.

Ted

cappy208 said:

Would you leave your AC ON while gone from boat for extended period? Why not? Isn't the water maker pumping an approximately equal volume each hour?

If my boat was in a slip, if I knew the plumbing were OK I would sleep aboard. But I wouldn't leave anything pumping constantly while gone.

On a mooring.... Never.

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Yes when the water maker is in operation. In flushing mode it's back flushing (usually goes through a charcoal filter then enters after low pressure feed pump). So the only water at risk of entering the boat is fresh.

ksanders said:

Ok, just a little FYI on watermakers.

They require either flusing or pickling when not in use for more than a few days.

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You definitely do not have to prickle a water maker if you are not going to be using it for just a few days. It's more like weeks.

But the reality is, I've fired up watermakers that have neither been flushed nor used for many months and in all cases they have made good water.

While flushing and pickling are great and should be done as recommended, in many cases it's not the end of the world if you don't.

I don't have a water maker and I do shut off the water pump when I leave the boat. I don't turn it on till I need water. The domestic water plumbing on Frisky is not as robust as it is in my home.

Glad I've no need (and don't have the space) for a watermaker.

N4712 said:

Yes when the water maker is in operation. In flushing mode it's back flushing (usually goes through a charcoal filter then enters after low pressure feed pump). So the only water at risk of entering the boat is fresh.

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I'll have to look up how a fwm works. I was under the understanding they pump seawater through a membrane It requires many gallons of 'outside' water for each gallon of potable. Isn't that water being used an actual increase in gallons aboard? So, Aren't you proposing to have a potentially unlimited source of water being pumped Into the hull? I know.... Electronics, alarms And failsafes all considered. But,,

Everything gets turned off except bilge pumps, both refrigerators and the battery charger. Plus I have to walk by the dockside water so that gets turned off also. I don't like leaving anything running when I'm gone for more than a few hours. Last summer I spent 3 months living aboard and kept the A/C running while at work. I never had an issue, but for the first week or so I was a little nervous but it's too damn hot here in FL to not keep it running if your living aboard.

Leaving the boat hooked up to dock water appears to have two potential problems, both mentioned in prior posts. A leak can have water dripping down and damaging walls and floors. Also a leak in the system can sink the boat.

Bay Pelican's fresh water system is such that a leak will drain to the bilge without damage to the walls or floors. As the hoses carrying the fresh water are low and usually under a cabinet this is probably true for most trawlers.

As to the leak sinking the boat this is a real issue and I have seen two boats that were sunk in their slips from leaks while connected to dock water. On those rare occasions when we are at a dock I install a garden hose flow meter. This will shut off the flow once three hundred gallons (my setting) have gone through the meter. Three hundred gallons will not sink the boat nor is it so small that the meter will shut off in the middle of a taking a shower. These meters are ten dollar items.

If I were to be away from the boat from more than a day, I would shut off the city water.

I like that idea about the garden hose meter. It will also give some sort of useage.

cappy208 said:

I'll have to look up how a fwm works. I was under the understanding they pump seawater through a membrane It requires many gallons of 'outside' water for each gallon of potable. Isn't that water being used an actual increase in gallons aboard? So, Aren't you proposing to have a potentially unlimited source of water being pumped Into the hull? I know.... Electronics, alarms And failsafes all considered. But,,

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The OP was not talking about leaving the water maker on to make fresh water. He was talking about leaving his fresh water pump on to pump fresh water through his water maker (while it's off) to back flush the system once a week to keep it clean.

And that flush water has to go through a charcoal filter to take out any chlorine in the flush water or the chlorine will kill the membranes.