Nordic Tug 32 water pump

New to a 2008 NT32 and to this forum. My freshwater pump keeps coming on for short bursts all night - I can shut it off at the breaker for sleeping but why does it keep coming on briefly (2-3 seconds every 15 minutes)...? Any suggestions for how/where to access the pump itself or the expansion tank on a NT32?
thanks

Hi my Nordic 26 has a Jabsco pump which senses the pressure in the system. It comes on at any drop in pressure i.e.when a tap is opened. Seems you have a tinny leak somewhere. My pump is in the lazarette close to water tanks. Check the solenoid on the toilet if electric flush as can leak slowly as well.

Tootles said:

Hi my Nordic 26 has a Jabsco pump which senses the pressure in the system. It comes on at any drop in pressure i.e.when a tap is opened. Seems you have a tinny leak somewhere. My pump is in the lazarette close to water tanks. Check the solenoid on the toilet if electric flush as can leak slowly as well.

Click to expand...

Welcome. I will +1 what Tootles said.

Cheers.

H.

I have a 2000 NT 32 and my fresh water pump is starboard, aft bulkhead in engine room (or lack thereof), behind wet exhaust. I suggest following the fresh water lines and snug up each clamp.

thank you

thank you both - in my case the fresh water pump sound is coming from behind the sink in the head...? But I think you may be right that there is something that is allowing the pressure to drop (slow leak somewhere) that then causes the pump to kick on momentarily. I have no idea how to access the pump if it's back there...

Most likely, though not guaranteed, your freshwater pump is located under the forward part of the settee in the saloon. The plumbing is pretty straight forward with combined supply coming from the two tanks, then going out to the water heater and the rest of the supply (head, galley, deck shower, etc.). If you do not find a wet spot indicating a slow leak as you trace the lines, turn the pump off at the breaker panel and remove/clean/replace the pre-pump screen filter.

And I strongly recommend putting silicone grease on the cap after cleaning the filter but I still bet on the solenoid. I had that problem

thanks

I'll check for the pump in the saloon forward; and also check the electric flush solonoid for leaking. thanks for the suggestions and advice.

Foster,
One more thing to check: if you have a check valve just downstream of the pump, that may need cleaning. That is what happens on my boat.

I put a switch at the sink, no more trips to the breaker panel, my vote for best mod of the month.

The sound in the head could be the solenoid that is where mine is accessed through the door below the sink

You have a small leak somewhere. I've experienced this on my old C Dory 25. Im
in a Camano 31 now but I'm sure of your issue. It's a leak somewhere (aka a small drop in water pressure). It's not a big deal at all!! But if the sound is bugging you then please isolate it,.

I'll get back

Thanks for these "heads"-up. I'll check it out and post back what I find.

My 2006 NT32 has a similar, nagging issue. When I took delivery of the boat in 2006, the fresh water pump (located on bulkhead in engine compartment), would kick on in a brief, one second, "burble". This usually happened at night, when pump usage was minimal. After the dealer checked for leaks (none found), they replace the water pump. The burble continued and the dealer replaced the pump, the 3rd one in a couple of days. When I got the boat to our home port, the burble continued. I finally found a hose leaking behind the vanity in the head. Tightened the hose clamp, and problem resolved. Fast forward to now, and the burble has started up again. Again, no leaks found. I find that if I run the pump at full pressure for a second, the burble will hold off for about 6 hours, so before going to sleep, I've been shutting down the pump at the circuit breaker.

Since I haven't found any leaks, this Winter I was planning to replace the pump, yet again. Before I do that, a friend told me yesterday that he had a similar issue on his NT with the Jabsco pump. Doing the check for leaks found nothing, but removing and cleaning the small screen filter attached to the pump cleared up the issue. Something was in the filter causing a pressure leak. Before I replace the pump, I will remove the screen filter, since I have a full-house water filter attached coming from the tank to the pump. I haven't cleaned out that small screen filter since I installed the full-house filter several years ago.

When a pump that is controlled by a pressure switch turns itself on, the pressure in the discharge line has dropped. As has been explained there is a leak somewhere. If you can't find a leak in the places already described, the leak is probably in the pump it self.

Every pressure pump has two check valves of some sort built into them. Eventually they start to leak. The water leaks from the pressure side back to the tank. Replace the valves. Be sure you have a fine mesh strainer on the intake side between the pump and tank.

My pump has been rock solid and I would not hear it come on at all while sleeping. Then it started cycling, maybe once an hour. I checked the whole system for water leaks, all tight. Figured the pump was leaking through its internal check valves. So for giggles I let it run a whole half tank of water through it and an open spigot. Filled tank back up and it no longer cycles. Figure there must have been a hair in a check valve. Washed it out. And I have no pressure tank on system. Thought of adding one when pump started cycling, but nevermind.

Yes I agree to clean the screen but then I really do stress to use silicone grease on the housing when replacing the screen which helps to seal the filter housing on the pump. This resulted in much quicker shut off time as well on mine after use of pump