Fresh water system leak?

Steve Barrett

Steve Barrett

Member
Oct 13, 2017
30
Chesapeake Bay, Edgewater, MD
Boat Info
Boatless
Engines
Boatless
Checked on boat this morning and found both water pumps running and freshwater tank empty. Filled tank and marked water level on side of tank and let it sit with pumps off for a hour to rule out the tank itself leaking. The water level did not change so tank itself is not leaking. Turned on fresh water pumps and ran water until all lines were purged of air. Ensured all faucets were closed. Pumps constantly run and never shut off and water level in the tank is slowly dropping. Checked every connection, cubby and bilge for any trace of water and can’t find any. Tank is now 3/4 full so approximately 30 gallons of water has leaked somewhere but I can not find it. I appreciate any suggestions you guys may have. Thank you!
 
Find the water manifold and close them all. If its still running after that it is "Up stream". If not, turn each leg on one at a time to find which one the leak is coming from. Once you know that, you can chase from there.

On a side note: mine had fittings in the bilge that needed to be replaced.
 
I have replaced 99% of my 1998 era boat freshwater fittings. I have found leaks behind the fridge, in the floor by the shower/sink sump box, under the aft stateroom bed and in the engine room...
 
andrewfoley said:
Find the water manifold and close them all. If its still running after that it is "Up stream". If not, turn each leg on one at a time to find which one the leak is coming from. Once you know that, you can chase from there.

On a side note: mine had fittings in the bilge that needed to be replaced.
Click to expand...

Hey Andrew, if his boat '99 is built like mine '98... we don't have manifolds.
 
Mixing valves on showers are a pain, but had to change fittings on them also. Sounds like you do not have a drip, but a sure enough leak. As mentioned above, I have changed 90% of my fittings. Should be somewhat easy to find leaking that bad.


Bennett
 
Thank you for the suggestions so far. Guess I am going to have to start taking some things apart and inspecting for any signs of leaking. I agree, it should be easy to find a big leak but also concerned about where is all that water getting trapped?
 
Just changed out a leaking whale 15mm tee fitting on our 2003 3970. Sounds like I've got a lot more of this in my near future!
 
Put some food dye into water tank. It makes leaks easier to spot and it is easy to clean. BTW do you have faucet in rope locker?
 
I recently found two leaks. One, the mixing valve on the forward shower was cracked and leaking. I found the water by looking in the forward salon floor hatch. The water was backing up between the starboard hull and the stringer. As I write this, the leak only manifested itself while running the shower, which I think is not your problem.

The other leak was in my aft cabin, under the pull out sofa bed. I had to remove the decking that the cushions are secured to. I could see signs of water through the "inspection" hole.
20190920_202635.jpg
 
Might want to check the heads. Poor seal on one of them will dump fresh water pretty fast. Good thing is it gets routed to the holding tank.
 
You need to remove cover where you see inspection hole. Looks like your water tank is there
 
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