Hot water by pass

I used a shop vac in reverse this year. Not a ton of pressure, but lots of volume.

It worked great and I think I used 2 gallons of A/F to do the head, 3 sinks, the shower and the cockpit wash down using the on board pump.
 
could the same be done with a shop vac to blow or suck three water out?
While the high air volume of the shop vac is good, I would NOT use it to blow out a potable water line. Think about all the dust and gunk in the shop vac tank and hose. If any of that got in the water lines it would set up a condition for a) bad taste, b) bad smell, and 3) growing nasties.

Using the shop vac to suck could work. The challenge is adapting a 1/2" water fitting to a 3" vac hose. A standard compressor hose is already 1/2". I simply use an trigger-operated blow gun with a rubber end. I stuff that into the fitting and press the trigger. Of course that means you need to have access to a compressor. I've had 10 gallon rolling compressor for years that I've used for home projects so I just throw it in the back of the car to winterize the boat.
 
I just might have to invest in an air compressor. That would reduce the amount of pink I need to buy and eliminate the hassle of flushing and flushing and flushing the fresh water systems in the spring to get rid of that smell/taste!

IMO, it's totally worth it and the way to go. I used 1 gallon of pink this year. 1/3 went in the water tank just to ensure it was empty, 1/3 went down the toilet to ensure the waste line was covered, and 1/3 went in the shower sump. Everything else was blown out with air.

After my cordless impact driver and slip-joint pliers, the compressor is probably my most oft-used tool.
 
IMO, it's totally worth it and the way to go. I used 1 gallon of pink this year. 1/3 went in the water tank just to ensure it was empty, 1/3 went down the toilet to ensure the waste line was covered, and 1/3 went in the shower sump. Everything else was blown out with air.

After my cordless impact driver and slip-joint pliers, the compressor is probably my most oft-used tool.

Hmmm. Family has been asking me what I want for Christmas. This just might be the ticket.
 
While the high air volume of the shop vac is good, I would NOT use it to blow out a potable water line. Think about all the dust and gunk in the shop vac tank and hose. If any of that got in the water lines it would set up a condition for a) bad taste, b) bad smell, and 3) growing nasties.

All good points. I don’t drink the water out of my system, but do treat it anyway for dish washing, showers, etc.

The compressor doesn’t produce the purest air though either with the oil and condensate from the tank, which if not drained regularly might get a bit rank.
 
I don't have a need a powerful air compressor so I use one of these: http://www.blackanddecker.com/produ...ls/inflators/high-performance-inflator/asi300

Available for less than $40, is oil-free and can operate on shore or battery power. It provides enough air to blow out my fresh water system. The rest of the year I keep it at home in case I need to inflate a tire or a ball for the grandkids. It also needs an adaptor for the shore water connection but those are readily available at Walmart or RV stores.
 
Hmmm. Family has been asking me what I want for Christmas. This just might be the ticket.
Not a bad gift at all.

I have an older version of this one from Craftsman. Fits nicely under my workbench. I prefer an oil-lubricated compression for longevity. I had an oil-less pancake compression that literally burned out the oil-free piston sleeve. It was smoking. I didn't want to buy another compression so went with oil-lubed as a replacement.
 
What about this?
AIRHEAD AHP-12H Hi Output Air Pump (12-Volt) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FE5PBA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_jNKcAbB66FJQ2

Also, is it necessary to run pink through the sump pump? What If i clean and dry the box? what about other bilge pumps? Also, do you blow the AC lines the same way?

I have one of those pumps for my boat toys. It could work fine. It's high volume, low pressure which is actually ideal for blowing out water lines. You won't get the full rated volume when you add on the small adapter though; the rate volume is with no attachment.

If you clean out and dry the sump box no pink is needed. I used pink because for my setup it's a pain in the neck to open up the cover for the sump. It's far more time efficient for me to pour some pink in the shower drain.
 
All good points. I don’t drink the water out of my system, but do treat it anyway for dish washing, showers, etc.

The compressor doesn’t produce the purest air though either with the oil and condensate from the tank, which if not drained regularly might get a bit rank.

Good point. I drain my tank fairly often. Still probably better than a shop vac, IMO.
 
Good point. I drain my tank fairly often. Still probably better than a shop vac, IMO.

I was thinking also that for me at least, the vacuum thing is followed by alcohol laden anti freeze, which might clean things up a bit.

I don’t have a small compressor. If I did I’d probably use it for this.

I did happen to have this odd ball fitting that fit into the vac hose and the plumbing perfectly.
 
The more I think about this and the more comments, the more I agree that the ratty old vacuum from the garage isn’t suitable for this.

The vacuum I used for this is a very small one that I’ve only used up to this point to blow out my A/C lines. I haven’t done anything but blow air out of it.

As I said, we don’t drink the water from the on board system and don’t know anyone who does now that I think of it.

One thing I find strange about my boat is that it has no shore water inlet, a thing conspicuously missing in a larger boat with so much other junk on it.
 
But why not open all faucets and suck the water out through the supply? Sucking it out shouldn't contaminate the lines. Understand the blowing it out with one though.
 
As I said, we don’t drink the water from the on board system and don’t know anyone who does now that I think of it.

I try to keep my water system clean enough to drink from. I occasionally do, but I think I'm the only one on my boat to do so. We teh transom shower all summer to shower after swimming in salt water and I certainly don't want to shower with funky-smelling water.
 
Yep, even if you don't drink the water you may brush your teeth and wash dishes etc. I try to keep my water tank and lines clean and drinkable even if we prefer bottles for taste. One way is to continually use/refill the tank by never hooking up directly to shore water. This way water does not sit in the hose and bake in the sun and the water is turned over in the tank not allowing things to just sit in there and grow.
 
Emptied the water tank, put in about 3 gallons and circulated it through the cold water system. Emptied the antfreeze out and flushed it in the heads. Then blew out the lines. Wanted to get antifreeze in the pump, filter, and tubing up to the the manifold.

I used this 12V pump to blow out the water lines worked really well. Blew out the hot water heater too. Got it on sale for $24

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XCG24KJ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then used one of these for the AC line. Worked perfectly. I used a sea flush and a shop vac at first to blow out the water then back filled with antifreeze just in case. I think they sell this at harbor freight as well. The orange hose with one wrap of duct tape was a perfect fit into the thru hull.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0181EDCZ6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

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