fresh water tank

Cj2law

Cj2law

Member
Oct 31, 2014
56
St louis
Boat Info
2003 Sea Ray 240SD
Engines
350 Mag w/ Bravo III
i have an 03 240 SD. It is new to us and we have never owned a boat with fresh water. I located the switch to turn it on. the light comes on and stays on for about 5 seconds. Is this a sign of a bad pump or somthing else. I also checked the fuse and it is good. Help please
 
The water pump will run for a few seconds until it build up pressure. The pressure switch on the tank will then shut it off. Do you get water pressure at the sink?
 
No pressure anywhere. There art 4 spray ports and none of them are working.
 
As someone who has trouble-shot the exact same issue, let me share my findings. With the help of this great forum, it came down to gunk in the lines after non use for a long period of time (probably left from water in the lines- I don't winterize bc it was in heated storage and in the past I didn't do anything special to treat the system). The gunk clogged up the aerators in both faucets, to the point I only got a drip or two when I turned on the faucets. This was after I verified the pump was working correctly, I didn't have water leaking somewhere it wasn't supposed to, and I tested it with both fresh water pump and dock side water inlet, still no water. So at first I was thinking check valve or something but I could hear water filling the HWH from the dock side water, and I could hear the water pump running, building pressure and shutting off, but still no water at the faucets. Pull you aerators off, check for a clogged strainer/filter before/after the pump. You can always disconnect water line after the pump to verify you are getting water after the pump. FYI, bleach/water solution left over night in the entire system and a lot of flushing will do wonders for making your system usable again! Good luck and let me know if that doesn't help.
 
I try to make it a point to fill my tank with water and about 1/4 gallon of bleach each spring and run it through my system. I then run a few more tanks of straight water through to flush out the bleach. We don't drink this water, only used for washing so even if there is a little residual left it shouldn't hurt anything.
 
True North said:
As someone who has trouble-shot the exact same issue, let me share my findings. With the help of this great forum, it came down to gunk in the lines after non use for a long period of time (probably left from water in the lines- I don't winterize bc it was in heated storage and in the past I didn't do anything special to treat the system). The gunk clogged up the aerators in both faucets, to the point I only got a drip or two when I turned on the faucets. This was after I verified the pump was working correctly, I didn't have water leaking somewhere it wasn't supposed to, and I tested it with both fresh water pump and dock side water inlet, still no water. So at first I was thinking check valve or something but I could hear water filling the HWH from the dock side water, and I could hear the water pump running, building pressure and shutting off, but still no water at the faucets. Pull you aerators off, check for a clogged strainer/filter before/after the pump. You can always disconnect water line after the pump to verify you are getting water after the pump. FYI, bleach/water solution left over night in the entire system and a lot of flushing will do wonders for making your system usable again! Good luck and let me know if that doesn't help.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, My pump isn't working, It just clicks so I guess I am going to have to replace it. Thanks for you quick response, I am going to give it a thorough cleaning before I put it all back together. Thank you again for the input.
 
Just an update, Got everything working, the pump worked after all what I had to do was stick a small screw driver into the pump and give at a little jiggle. the blade in the pump apparently was froze in place had to break it free. I had to replace two hoses and one shower head and the tank then pressurized and worked all summer long. Thank you again to all the helpful boaters in this group, you guys have made being a boat owner a little cheaper.
 
A good way to keep everything working is to use it as much as you can.
I didn’t hook up to dockside water once this season. Instead, I use the fresh water tank for everything except drinking water and filling up ice cube trays. Between showers, washing dishes, the heads, etc., I probably ran 2000 gallons through the tank this season.
 
Cj2law said:
Just an update, Got everything working, the pump worked after all what I had to do was stick a small screw driver into the pump and give at a little jiggle. the blade in the pump apparently was froze in place had to break it free. I had to replace two hoses and one shower head and the tank then pressurized and worked all summer long. Thank you again to all the helpful boaters in this group, you guys have made being a boat owner a little cheaper.
Click to expand...
Just curious what you mean by a blade in the pump.
 
He probably has a rotary style pump as opposed to a diaphragm type. He most likely gave it a nudge to start the seized rubber impellor.
 
JVM225 said:
A good way to keep everything working is to use it as much as you can.
I didn’t hook up to dockside water once this season. Instead, I use the fresh water tank for everything except drinking water and filling up ice cube trays. Between showers, washing dishes, the heads, etc., I probably ran 2000 gallons through the tank this season.
Click to expand...

Totally agree, this was our first year in a marina after many years on moorings. We thought, "Great, we won't have to be filling our fresh water tank as often, connected to shore water."... lesson learned, it's better to keep using your onboard water to keep it fresh. By using the shore water, that fresh water tank sat for long periods of time, and even with water treatment, it accumulated enough gunk that when we spent a weekend on the hook, it was constantly clogging the screen filter before the pump with black goop. Not fun to have to keep lifting the hatch to reach down, unscrew that little filter, and clean it out. Did a freshwater tank flush a couple times, and used onboard water for the rest of the season. No more clogs.
 
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