Water in my bilge

[Geoffreykwright]

Hi - I noticed about 3" of very clean water in my bilge on this past weekend.  I pumped the bilge dry (with a wet/dry vac) about a month ago - shortly after launch so I was surprised to see this water.  I pumped it dry again and have 1" 30 hours later (again - clean water).  I have also noticed for the first time this year my water pump is running for about 5-6 seconds from time to time even if I am not running water (it just comes on and runs - but only very occasionally).  We were on-board for these 30 hours (when the 1" came back) and had the electric water pressure on the whole time. I am guessing there is a small leak in the freshwater system which is filling the bilge?  Does that sound plausible?

I've not noticed the problem getting any worse when the  pump is shut off at the electrical panel.

FYI - I have checked all the thru-hulls and they seem to be dry.  I would think if a leak was coming from the shaft then I'd have some oil or grease in the bilge - i'd not think the water would be so clean.

Thoughts?  Thanks in advance.

[KWKloeber]

They could be related or unrelated.

Have you looked at the stuffing box and counted drips?

kk

[patrice]

Hi,

Did it rain in that period?
Because if you have keel step mast, when it rain, you will see water dripping in the bilge at base of the mast.

If you need to search for another leak, what I did when I was searching, remove the floor board, put a line of toilet paper around on the hull before the drop in the bilge.  When you come back to the boat, take a look where the paper is damp.  It will help to narow where to look.  You can also put some around place you suspect.

Good search.

[Stephen Butler]

Had the same problem and traced it to a cracked fitting on the aft water tank.  Then went through the boat and changed all the fittings on the water tanks and also the anchor well.  Tried to do something about rain water coming down the mast, and applied some material in the sail grove, which helped a little.  Hope this helps.

[Stu Jackson]

I have also noticed for the first time this year my water pump is running for about 5-6 seconds from time to time even if I am not running water (it just comes on and runs - but only very occasionally).  We were on-board for these 30 hours (when the 1" came back) and had the electric water pressure on the whole time. I am guessing there is a small leak in the freshwater system which is filling the bilge?  Does that sound plausible?

I've not noticed the problem getting any worse when the  pump is shut off at the electrical panel.

Yes, very plausible.  This is a very specific instance of where there is a leak somewhere in your pressure water system.  Happened to me a few years ago.  I traced it down to a leak in only one of the two hoses that run from under the galley sink back under the engine to the head sink.

It could be at any number of places.

I replaced ALL of my hoses and the problem disappeared.

Things to check:

As Stephen said, connections at water tanks

Hoses

Connections (there are a LOT of them!)

The pump itself --- All of those pumps are the same, BUT, BUT, BUT I've found Shurflos to be better than Jabscos and there's another make that's even better than Shurflo (sorry I forgot the name, could be Johnson).   I bought a replacement pump (Shurflo on sale) when I started to have my issue.  I went through the Troubleshooting Guide in the manual (If you don't have one, you can find them online).  The pump was fine.  Some folks have trouble with their pumps, either the pressure switch or debris in the diaphragm (IIRC there are three or five diaphragms in these puppies), even with "perfect" and unleaking hose systems.

Good luck.

Ain't playing TRUE DETECTIVE fun? 

[KWKloeber]

Stu-

Troubleshooting guide I had TW uploaded a while back:
http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Pressure_Pump_-_Troubleshooting_Guide_from_ShurFlo

I had similar pressure drop/pump running symptoms due to a pinhole from corrosion at the Seaward WH inlet weldment. (or was it outlet - CRS  )

kk

[mregan]

Check the hot water heater.  Mine had a small crack and I was finding the same issue in the bilge.  Drove me nuts for a while until I figured it out.

[Geoffreykwright]

All - thanks for the advice.  Checked all of the fittings under the galley sink (i.e. in/out of the water pump, etc) and everything was dry.  As I was about to pack in the detective work for the day, I found some more light in the galley (sun came out).  One more look in the bilge and I noticed a "micro-river" dripping down the port side of the bilge - so fine it was really hard to see and would have not seen it without a light shining right on it...but clearly coming from the area of the water heater.  Looked in there and the hot water hose out of the water heater had a slow drip...simply a loose hose clamp.  tightened it up and drip stopped.  If there is no more water in the bilge on my next  inspection, then I think that was it.
thanks for all of your input on this.

[Ron Hill]

Goeff : You definitely have a leak somewhere in the fresh water system - that's why the pump turns ON for a few seconds and the turns OFF when the pressure is built back up!!

Take a paper towel/Kleenex and start touching each hose connection.  Then look at the paper towel. 
You'll have a bunch of connections to check, but you'll eventually find it.  Good luck!!

[bayates]

We had exact same problem. Just fixed it. Found the two hoses for supply side of water heater had creaks in them and leaked under pressure. The pump was cycling ever few minutes. Once we replaced the two very short hoses no more leak or pump cycling.

[Lance Jones]

Two comments. You said you noticed a small stream on the "PORT" side of the bilge. That would not indicate that as a hot water heater problem - Starboard side would. Also, is your boat in Salt or Fresh water? If it is in salt, dip your finger in the bilge water and taste it. If it is salty, the problem is not a fresh water leak.