Galley fresh water manual pump.

[Noah]

Seeking some advice:
This weekend I began the first step of my total electrical overhaul, switching to four 6v batteries, new charger, new Blue Sea 360 main distribution panel...yada, yada, yada...but this is a subject for future write-ups.

Meanwhile, after retrofitting my battery box, I went to wash my sticky, resin laden hands, and no pressure water. Duh! No batteries! Thus my question: How do you recommend setting up a manual fresh water pump. My current set-up has the foot pump inside the galley door to pump the icebox/with Alder Barbour reefer. Assuming I keep the pump for the ice box, for defrosting and conditions like this when using ice, is it "kosher" to also plumb (tee) this same foot pump to pump potable water too.? Gray water and potable water through the same pump!? I think this is a "no-no". Or, do I need to install a second pump, either foot or separate spigot lever pump. My saltwater galley spigot has long been removed by some PO.   Advice, please.

[patrice]

HI,

If you would like to keep the same pump, may be look at adding a Y valve at inlet and outlet.
You need to select where water will come from and where to send.

Or if you plan on using the manual pump more often for the faucet, plumb it for this application, and put a small 1/4 turn valve at the fridge.  When you need to empty, put a glass under outlet valve, open in the glass and empty in sink....

[Noah]

Thx patrice. I can figure out how to plumb...the worrisome issue is whether to use same pump for fresh water and ice box drain which is gray water?

[Stu Jackson]

We had that galley foot pump to the ice box.  With a fridge, you don't need the drain.  Cap it off (also prevents hot air entering the box) and use the pump for the water only.  Much simpler.

[Indian Falls]

In my world melted ice is not grey water.  I would not bat an eye at using the same pump for draining the icebox or drawing water from the holding tank.  You're not going to drink from that spigot anyway and if you are like me it would go through the coffee pot first or be used to wash something or boil something.  I like the idea. I just wish the icebox fitting was not in the side of the ice box. I still have to mop out about 2 cups of water.

[Ron Hill]

Noah : Put on your thinking cap and make yourself a diagram.
 
Take the hose from the fridge drain pump and put a garden hose "Y" (with cutoffs) in that line.  Then take the that stainless button out of the top of the divider between the two galley sinks and fill it with a Whale water spigot (some boats came with this as a seawater pump outlet).  "T" into the fresh water line (before the 12V pump) and include a one way (no back) valve.  One side of the "Y" is for fresh water and the other side is for  fridge water.

I haven't given you an exact set by step, but with your diagram I'm sure that you can figure it out.  So now with the foot pump you can empty the fridge OR pump fresh water - by turning those cutoffs!!  Good luck

[Noah]

Ok guys... Forget how to plumb it, my concern is NOT HOW to use the existing foot pump to pump both fresh water (drinking water) and the ice box drain, but whether or not it is "safe" to do so. Some folks caution about draining icebox water into the bilge because it is so "nasty" yet aparently have no qualms about suggesting I use the same "drain" pump for drinking water.  Would you do it?

[Ron Hill]

Noah : I don't believe there is a problem.  If you are still concerned then take a teaspoon of bleach to a cup of water and put it in the bottom of the fridge and pump it thru before pumping fresh water!!

Tip : If you get a 1/2" 90degree copper tubing elbow and put some tape on one end it will snuggly fit in the fridge drain.  Then take a 4-5" piece of tubing and put it in the other end.  Cut the end to a shallow angle so it sits on the fridge bottom.  Now you can pump 99% of the water out of the fridge!!

A few thoughts

[Noah]

Thx Ron for the copper tube tip! I also think I feel comfortable with the bleach rinse solution for the rare times I will use the drain pump for drinking water.

[Indian Falls]

I don't know if I got grouped in with the lot that pumps ice box water into the bilge or not.. I just want to clarify that the place where I keep my food and other edibles does not create Nasty water, nor do I ever pump anything into the bilge, nor do I drink straight from my holding tanks.

In that regard I have no quams pumping the ice box with the same pump used to push water out the sink spigot for coffee pot or boiling/cooking or washing etc..    Should the refer get stale or contaminated with blood from meat or whatever then a good dose of bleach is perfectly acceptable for sanitizing the pump for the sink spigot.
Would any of this pass an inspection in a restaurant? NO. But far as I know, I don't require that inspection.
But that's just me.

[Stu Jackson]

I agree with Dan.  However, I expressed my opinion in an earlier post:  it just seems wasteful and needlessly complicated to do this at all.  Cap the box drain and just hook the foot pump up to the center-line spigot and be done with it.  With the fridge, we've found we only have to clean the bottom twice a year or so.

[dgill]

Here is a suggestion:

Completely detach the fridge drain hose from the foot pump.  Using this same short length of water hose which is still attached to the fridge drain (but no longer attached to the foot pump), now add at the distal end a shut off valve.  If this existing length of hose is not long enough, get a longer piece of hose, it should be long enough to allow you to bring it/and the shut off valve outside of the lower cabinet door.  Now just place a small container on the floor and put the hose/shut off valve into the container (a small plastic pan about 8 x 10 works really well), open the valve and let the water drain from the fridge.  As your pan fills, shut the valve, empty the pan into the galley sink, and then repeat.

Now you can use your foot pump solely (no pun intended) for your fresh water system - just plumb it into one of the tanks.  In my system I have cut off valves that isolate both the fore and aft tanks so that I can draw from either and I can also isolate the foot pump when I want to use 12v system.  It works.  Try it.

D. Gill
#389

[Noah]

Interesting "system". I will consider it. FYI- I have a Y-valve connected to my pressure water pump that only allows me to draw out of one tank or the other. This was installed by PO.

[Stu Jackson]

Noah, get a blinkin' sponge to clean out the bottom of the box.  Golly, this is not that hard.  Trader Joe's makes a really nice "rag" to replace sponges and paper towels, too.     $14 for two long lasting towels, found them from a Sail magazine article.   KISS.  You have so much electrical work to do, that this pales in comparison. 

[Noah]

Stu-thanks for looking out for me. But this job is low hanging fruit while waiting for electrical parts. Battery box and engine battery shelf glassed in below aft bunk, house bank box filled in and vented to fit four T105s that come Saturday, inverter here, new main panel arrives Monday. You know what they say about idle hands...