Fresh water pumps pumping directly to sump. Please Help.

[Cinder]

Hi,

I'm new here and would appreciate your help on this weird issue. We own a 2000 560DB and yesterday, out of the blue, I heard the fresh water pump running for no apparent reason. I looked at the shower sump at the foot of the steps and noticed clean water running into it from the hose labeled "galley sink". Trouble is, the galley faucet wasn't running.

I cut off the pump at the breaker and the flow stopped. Tried the other pump - same thing. So last evening and this morning I energize a pump manually at the breaker when we need water, but the pressure at the faucets is 1/3 because fresh water is running into that sump!

This is beyond my understanding. Any ideas? :huh:

Rob Bloch
Currently in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

 

[Dave S]

Rob

First off welcome to CSR.

The problem you describe is sure a bit of a head scratcher and I am not sure I can help. However, I did download the owners manual from Sea Ray's web site for your boat to look through it. Page 7.9 shows all the routing of the gray water lines and I see no connection with the fresh water system so that deepens the mystery somewhat for me too. The first thing you might want to try therefore is to isolate the water line(s) causing the problem. Page 7.4 shows the water distribution manifold. I don't have a manifold on my 260DA so I am not real familiar with them but if you can turn the lines off at the manifold, you could go thru them one by one starting with the line for the galley sink to see if by closing off a certain line you can get the pump to stop. That may isolate the problem somewhat. I'll keep looking at the manual to see what else I might come up with. In the meantime, maybe one of the big boat guys might chime in here with some thoughts on the matter.

By the way, if you need a copy of the manual you can download it from this link http://www.searay.com/Archives_Manu...manuals/560_Sedan_Bridge/560_Sedan_Bridge.pdf
Just be aware it is 22MB.

Dave

 

[Hampton]

I'm completely changing my post after re-reading yours. If there is a "Galley Sink" line to your sump, does that come from the galley sink drain? Take a bucket of water and pour it into your galley sink. Where does that water go? Does it go into the sump in question? Mine goes overboard. If yours goes overboard, the line down to the sump is designed to catch water that has leaked out under the sink. If not, if may still be designed to catch leaking water. Either way, check for leaks under the sink. Try to trace the line that goes to the sump back up to it's source. Look under the sink while someone tugs at it near the sump. Look for the same color/size/marked line. This can help you find the source of the leak. My guess is it's under the sink in question.

 

[Pirate]

Rob- Your galley sink (along with all sinks, showers, etc.) will drain into your sump. Most likely, your sump is not labeled correctly (mine wasn't). There is a faucet on or a line/fitting broken somewhere that is draining to an area serviced by the sump. Good luck finding your break.

 

[Cinder]

Thank you, Dave S, Hampton & Pirate,

Well, the sump is labeled correctly. There are no iso valves anywhere. No water in the bilges. I traced the drain line from the sump up the chase where it disappears to port. The Galley sink is just stbd. of center. Under the galley cabinet the drain goes way to stbd, but behind the cabinets. Why would it go there? Especially to end up eventually on the port side?

D'oh!! Check the bridge sink, Dummy! The faucet was left on or got turned on when the spigot was turned down after its last use. That sink apparently shares the galley drain. (How it gets back to port side, however, I have no idea and hope to never have to find out.)

It had to be something something simple like that. My embarassment is in not being able to troubleshoot it sooner (and advertising that fact in a big public forum). LOL!!

Again, many thanks. This looks like a great site and I hope to be able to contribute useful advice in the future.

Rob

 

[Hampton]

I like the easy fixes. Congratulations.

 

[tobnpr]

I would not want, nor do I understand the logic of having a galley sink draining into a sump instead of directly overboard. Food and waste is going down that drain- that sump's gotta be a nasty nightmare. Why?

 

[Hampton]

I would not want, nor do I understand the logic of having a galley sink draining into a sump instead of directly overboard. Food and waste is going down that drain- that sump's gotta be a nasty nightmare. Why?

In that boat, the sink must be too close to the water line for comfort.

 

[Pirate]

I would not want, nor do I understand the logic of having a galley sink draining into a sump instead of directly overboard. Food and waste is going down that drain- that sump's gotta be a nasty nightmare. Why?

Nothing to do with proximity to waterline.... If we had a thru-hull for every sink, drain, bilge pump, AC pump, etc., out boats would look like swiss cheese. Don't put waste down the sink.... it's not a disposal! :smt001 Pre-wash dishes on the swim platform.