Fresh water system during layup?

[Tim Good]

Ok so best practice dictates you empty the fresh tank when ashore in winter but do I really need to and do should I drain the pressurised system / calorifier also? Ideally I'd like to leave it all as is since it would be nice to have water from the tap when working on the boar over winter.

I'm in the South West (Portishead) and I run a dehumidifier, not a heater. I have tube heater but wasn't planning on leaving it running.

 

[sailorman]

dont for get the stern platform shower if you have one

 

[prv]

I don't bother draining it when in the water, but this year being the first time we've wintered ashore I did drain the calorifier and the pump. I forgot to empty the tank before dismantling the pump, so I then couldn't empty that too, but being half-full it will have had plenty of space to expand into. I'll give it a thorough dosing of puriclean in the spring.

Pete

 

[JumbleDuck]

I have never bothered to drain it,but I have flexible tanks and pipes which I imagine will cope with any expansion, and I check carefully before launching. The system survived a couple of -20 nights a couple of years ago.

 

[NormanS]

My boat is ashore in a cold place. I don't empty the tanks, but leave them isolated and about half full. I empty all the pipework, but not the calorifier. I have a tube heater on a thermostat, down beside the engine, and so far, for 8 years now, all is well.
It means that it's easy to get it all up and running for odd weeks aboard during the winter.

 

[prv]

I have never bothered to drain it,but I have flexible tanks and pipes which I imagine will cope with any expansion, and I check carefully before launching. The system survived a couple of -20 nights a couple of years ago.

What kind of pump do you have? That and the calorifier (which I guess you don't have?) are the bits that concern me.

Pete

 

[JumbleDuck]

What kind of pump do you have? That and the calorifier (which I guess you don't have?) are the bits that concern me.

Whale foot pump for the galley (rubber diaphragm, should survive a bit of ice) and Whale up-and-down-y pump in the bog, which drains itself after a few hours of non use. I was mildly concerned about the galley pump spigots and various tees at first, but they seem to cope, and - on the basis of no biological qualifications - I am happier about leaving pipework full of water than damp but empty, which seems to me to be asking for wee beasties.

 

[sailorman]

With the power switched off open a tap ( yank faucet) to drain off excess pressure & leave open to allow for expansion if it freezes

 

[Matt341]

Drained down at the end of October before lift out. We have 2x 150 litre moulded tanks which were run down until empty, the pump was left to run for a few seconds until it was clear of water and then the calorifier drain valve was opened. All taps were left open in the mid position so that both the hot and cold can drain back. I have a flexible hose jubilee clipped to a hozelock rubber tap adapter on one end and small hand pump on the other. Working forward from the transom shower I use this to pump air through the system and back to the calorifier. It's probably overkill and I wouldn't do it if the boat was staying afloat. If your calorifier drains into the bilge then make sure you run the bilge pump. Once finished I got my hand into the bilge and lifted the float switch so that the pump could run dry for a few seconds as the water in the bilge was fresh and so the bilge pump could freeze. Also worth running a bit of anti freeze through the shower sump to prevent that pump from freezing. Again, maybe overkill if your staying afloat.