whale water pressure accumulator

[Duetto]

hi all,

we have a whale pressure accumulator tank (https://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|51|2234245|2234251&id=2654762) in our fw system. we've had it for about 3 years. recently i observed that the fw pump was cycling much more than has been the case. i tested the pressure in the whale tank and it was zero. since it has a regular schrader valve i tried pumping it up, but the air just came back out. so i tried to remove the valve but couldn't get it to unscrew.

i contacted whale customer servce who confirmed that it was a schrader valve but it was not replaceable. i find that amazing.

does anyone have experience with this unit/valve. is it replaceable?

thanks in advance,

 

[DDW]

It would be the stem in the Schrader valve that is leaking. I've never seen one that isn't replaceable. The whole valve body may not be replaceable but leaking at the stem is much more likely. The stem can be removed with a cheap tool and replaced with a new one, Napa auto parts, any bike store, etc. Is that what you tried? I don't even know how (or why) you'd make a Schrader valve without the removable stem.

 

[ssurabus]

If it turns out that it can't be salvaged, one option is to remove it completely and replace your water pump with a variable speed version. I did that on my MS400 years ago and have been happy with the performance and with having one less piece of equipment on the boat.

 

[Duetto]

yes, i used the tool designed to remove the removable part of the valve. i just did the exact same thing on my bike today. i will give it another try.

 

[Duetto]

ssurabus, i switched to this setup because we had 2 variable speed pumps fail within 3 years. so we've had the opposite experience with variable speed pumps.

 

[ssurabus]

I'm on about year 6 with mine. I hope you didn't jinx me. Good look with the accumulator fix.

 

[catalinajack]

hi all,



we have a whale pressure accumulator tank (https://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|51|2234245|2234251&id=2654762) in our fw system. we've had it for about 3 years. recently i observed that the fw pump was cycling much more than has been the case. i tested the pressure in the whale tank and it was zero. since it has a regular schrader valve i tried pumping it up, but the air just came back out. so i tried to remove the valve but couldn't get it to unscrew.



i contacted whale customer servce who confirmed that it was a schrader valve but it was not replaceable. i find that amazing.



does anyone have experience with this unit/valve. is it replaceable?



thanks in advance,

If you cannot fix it, consider purchasing a water heater expansion tank from Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They are one and the same as a marine accumulator without the price tag. Fifty dollars at most.

 

[Duetto]

catalinajack

yes, i hear you but we're on a catamaran and it's all about space. that's why i picked the small guy

 

[DDW]

ssurabus, i switched to this setup because we had 2 variable speed pumps fail within 3 years. so we've had the opposite experience with variable speed pumps.

There are variable speed pumps and there are variable speed pumps. I'd recommend the Marco, rather than Shurflo or Jabsco. Whole different design, whole different experience.

 

[Comodave]

I tried a variable speed pump quite q while ago. It made pretty loud sounds like growling so I went back to an accumulator tank. Don’t recall the brand pump.

 

[twistedtree]

catalinajack

yes, i hear you but we're on a catamaran and it's all about space. that's why i picked the small guy

Some of them are pretty small, so might still be worth a look. Well-xtrol aka Amtrol makes them as well as Watts. There are models for heating system as well as drinking water, so I'd get one rated for drinking water. As catalinajack says, probably no more than $50 from any local plumbing supply house. Groco sells one, but it's an Amtrol with a Groco sticker on it.