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Old 10-14-2016, 10:49 AM   #1
Montenido
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City: La Paz, BCS
Vessel Name: Ansedonia
Vessel Model: Californian/Carver 52CPMY
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 379
Smoke in the Cabin

Hi folks,
I was just down in La Paz for a short week of projects aboard Harmony. Well, one morning I was listening to the morning net and enjoying my coffee, when I noticed a light haze of smoke and the smell of electrical insulation burning. Yikes!

I quickly grabbed a flashlight and began a methodical search of the boat. No obvious causes were found in the main cabin and forward and aft staterooms, so I headed into the engine room, where the smoke was a bit thicker. I checked the AC cooling pump, as it had been running since I came on board, but that wasn't it.

I found the problem to be my main freshwater pump. It is a 5gpm automatic pump that used to be sold by WM. The problem was that the sealed pressure switch somehow had some water leak in and short it out. The switch is in the center of the end shot of the pump. I am including the model # and other info in the pictures just as a FYI for those of you who might have the same pump.

Luckily, I was comfortably tied to the dock, and not underway at night in stormy seas. I was able to swap out the pump with a similar spare carried onboard, and I ordered a new replacement, to be delivered and installed on my next trip down.

I also discovered that my 2 gal accumulator had developed several small rust holes/leaks, so I ordered a new one of those also. Strangely, none of my smoke detectors had gone off yet. Maybe I found the problem early?

Anyway, just sharing my experience.

Cheers, Bill
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