Hose replacement to HW heater w/ Hose Flix

Randy and Mary Davison · November 19, 2007, 08:15:42 PM

Another mystery...

I replaced my engine to hot water heater hoses today and found this 2 inch long hollow piece of plastic stuff sticking a half inch out of the hot water tank outlet. Can't figure out if it's something that came unglued from inside the heater or was some form of flow restrictor put in by the PO. Anyone seen this before?

It does explain why the hot water always heated very slowly from engine heat!

Randy

Stu Jackson · November 19, 2007, 09:44:52 PM

Randy, in an earlier reply on this thread I mentioned extender hoses that the PO had tapped onto the engine HW connections when he replaced the heater in 1997, the year before we bought Aquavite. They served to make the final connections easier to avoid reaching all the way to the heater with the hoses, especially the forward connection.

Here's a picture I just happened to take yesterday of the aft one.

Hawk · July 28, 2009, 09:56:17 PM

Stu/Craig,

Between water pumps and wheel pilots lately I'm not looking fondly at another job while the weather is so nice out west, BUT this thread has me thinking that I ought to check the hoses before heading across the Strait of Georgia on Friday.
Question is can I simply lift my galley sole and inspect the condition of the hoses...........Thanks.

Hawk

prh77 · July 29, 2009, 04:14:49 AM

On my 1988 Mark 1, raising the floorboard will do nothing for you, the hoses have to come out for inspection. And if you are going to do all that, you may as well change them.

Stu Jackson · July 29, 2009, 07:21:15 AM

Quote from: Hawk on July 28, 2009, 09:56:17 PM
...can I simply lift my galley sole and inspect the condition of the hoses....

Sorry, nope, because if it was that easy do you think I'd have written this detailed description of how to pull them through?

The wood sole is over the fiberglass "shell" below.

Stu Jackson · July 29, 2009, 07:59:24 AM

Quote from: Hawk on July 28, 2009, 09:56:17 PM
I ought to check the hoses before heading across the Strait of Georgia..........

If your concern is losing coolant on this particular trip, then you could simply bypass the hoses that go to the hot water heater at the engine by connecting another hose where they start and end. You won't have hot water until you find shorepower, but you won't have the concerns during the crossing. Actually, the crossing should be the easy part, it's a sailboat, right?

Hawk · July 29, 2009, 09:15:43 AM

Right, we will be sailing across but at some point in the islands motoring is necessary.

Thanks for the info. No hint of a problem but this will go on the hot list.
Hawk

Ron Hill · July 29, 2009, 03:04:23 PM

Tom : What Stu was trying to tell you is that the engine will run without the coolant going thru the water heater!
All you need is a short 3/4" piece of 3/8" hose and connect it from the internal waterpump to the thermostate housing. In other words remove the water heater hoses and take a piece of 3/8" hose and connect it to the two engine openings you took the heater hoses off of!

I've met a number of cruisers that have eliminated the hot water heater for one reason or another. In fact, all new engines come with that "jumper" hose and you have to remove it to connect it to a water heater. A thought

Stu Jackson · November 23, 2009, 08:58:47 AM

How to "SAVE" your antifreeze when doing this hose replacement: see How to BURP your engine: reply #6 here: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4518.0.html

Ralph Masters · September 07, 2014, 10:20:42 AM

When we bought the boat, a 1987, hull 367, the hoses were disconnected from the engine side, but still connected to the water heater. I pulled the hoses out, from the engine side, and they were old wire reinforced but did not look broken or damaged like Stu's.
The hoses were about 5 feet long each, the water heater has the connections on the port or inboard side.
I'm replacing with standard 5/8 heater hose based on that the old ones were not worn and chaffed.
The rest of this project should be as easy as pulling out the old hose.

Thank you,

Ralph
Ciao Bella

Ralph Masters · September 13, 2014, 07:19:34 AM

Replaced all the hoses and hooked it to the engine. Went out for 40 minutes of motoring yesterday and got hot water. Project completed. I was surprised after 40 minutes that it wasn't real hot and that the amount of hot rain out so quickly. Comments?

Ralph

Roc · September 13, 2014, 07:30:39 AM

Ralph,
That is odd. If I run less than that, the water is super hot. It doesn't usually take that long to get the water hot. Maybe you have some air trapped in the hose stopping a good flow of coolant into the HWH.

Stu Jackson · September 13, 2014, 07:36:38 AM

Ralph,

At what rpms were you "motoring around" for those 40 minutes? What thermostat do you have installed: 160 or 180? I agree with Roc, but if you did have air in the system you'd be overheating rather quickly. Wouldn't hurt to burp again, though.

Ted Pounds · September 13, 2014, 08:19:14 AM

If the air was only trapped in the lines to the water heater he wouldn't overheat...

Ralph Masters · September 13, 2014, 01:49:28 PM

Thanks for the comments guys. Some good questions there. After I put the hoses in I used a funnel to fill the hoses and HX, only took about 1/2 a gallon to fill. That was Wednesday. I ran it pier side long enough to check for leaks and bring engine up to temp. I have the 160 thermostat.
Friday first thing I checked was for leaks then checked the coolant, it was still right at the top. When I motored out I ran at about 2100 RPM most of the run, the temp was up to 160 and held very steady. I did notice that the temp seemed to take longer to come up then normal and I put that off to that it's now heating the water heater too so the cold water there will have an affect on how fast it comes to full operating temp. I know I'm getting full water circulation because both new hoses were hot and I did get hot water. Just not as fast as I kind of thought I would.

Ralph