Accumulator?

[Cspirit]

I have a small boat (27 feet) with a simple cold water supply to galley and heads. There is just enough room to install a 10 litre calorifier. I understand that an accumulator is usually recommended and that it can reduce pulsing but I really don’t have room to install even a small one such as the Seaflo/Jabsco Pressurised version. I intend to use flexible piping connected to the existing water pressure pump. Given the small size of the calorifier and the non ridged pipework does the team think that I can get away without installing an accumulator? Of course, I can install the calorifier and answer my own question but I’d like to know if the odds are in my favour!
O

 

[johnalison]

I think that give the fairly short runs you will still get pulsing that will be tiresome and probably not good for the system. Although I don’t have one, I believe there are pumps that can function without an accumulator and it would probably be worth any extra expense to use one.

 

[vyv_cox]

My Sadler 34 came to me with a calorifier but no accumulator. It had been used successfully like this for 10 years. An accumulator is not essential, it simply reduces pump running time.

 

[pandos]

When I bought my boat in 2004 it had an accumulater, as I did not know what it was it took it out. Water system including a calorifier worked fine for the last 20 or so years...why not see if you can get along without it and if not you will surely find somewhere to fit one. Flexible pipework should probably make up for its absence...

 

[oldmanofthehills]

I have a small boat (27 feet) with a simple cold water supply to galley and heads. There is just enough room to install a 10 litre calorifier. I understand that an accumulator is usually recommended and that it can reduce pulsing but I really don’t have room to install even a small one such as the Seaflo/Jabsco Pressurised version. I intend to use flexible piping connected to the existing water pressure pump. Given the small size of the calorifier and the non ridged pipework does the team think that I can get away without installing an accumulator? Of course, I can install the calorifier and answer my own question but I’d like to know if the odds are in my favour!
O

My old boat accumulator was size of small coke bottle so surprised it cant fit in. As long as its upright it can be miles away from the pump outlet T off. It is often needed if using a pressure system and our house rainwater harvesting feed did not work properly till son fitted one in loft, but thats a 8m vertical run not perhaps half a metre in a boat

However I eliminated my boat accumulator as system would lose pressure and wake me up at night by re-pressurising. So I changed taps to ones with switch and directly fed pump from these switches, so not controlled by permanent power and pressure. The pump pulses slightly using one of the taps but not the other.

Try without and see how it goes, if not fit accumulator or do what I did and change taps

 

[neilf39]

If you fit a check valve to stop hot water potentially coming out the cold tap, the expansion tank allows the water to expand as it heats up. Without it you will get water leaking out the pressure relief valve every time it heats up and it will probably start leaking over time. If you have something like a jabsco pump with an internal bypass you don't need a accumulator but you should have an expansion tank for the hot side.