Water pressure direct from shore, bypassing pump

[Anonymous]

I guess there is a name for this but I can't find it anywhere, even on West Marine. I want to be able to connect the dockside water supply directly into my boat, leaving it coupled, so that the dockside pressure keeps my system pressurised without needing to have the water pump switched on, saving the life of the pump and reducing noise and removing the need to keep filling the tanks. I've seen quite a few boats fitted with these systems but don't know anything about them...are there any special issues, kits available, dos and don'ts? What are such systems called!

Many thanks.

 

[VicS]

Any reason why you cannot T into the pressurised side of the system via valve, but I'd put a nonreturn valve between the T and the pump so that if the pump valves let by it wont overfill the water tank or just a valve to shut off.

You would need to be sure that the existing pipewok can withstand the full mains water pressure

 

[Ships_Cat]

The most important part of the installation is a reliable bilge alarm.

Also, as has been said, some ports have quite high water pressures which your existing system may not cope with.

John

 

[mikesyam]

Check out caravan shops, they do kits for this which includes a water pressure reducer which drops the pressure down as it would be far to high for a caravan/boats system which were only designed for a pumps pressure.

 

[simonfraser]

i bought a similar pressure reducing bit of kit from the local plumbers merchant

it can be adjusted for different pressures

i used mine to stop my water filters exploding

 

[Anonymous]

Excellent points, thanks! Thinking that through, I need to connect the supply via a solenoid-controlled valve (ex- washing machine?) whose supply is, ideally, from the NC contact of a float switch, so that in the case of leakage the water is cut off. Or is there a better way? There is quite a bit of wiring and hardware suddenly appearing.

The point about the pressure reducer is also important. The problem I see is that a pressure reducer that can maintain the static pressure at a lower level with zero flow is a comparatively complicated piece of kit.

Many thanks for your input.

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks, do you have any idea what these systems are called? It feels daft to be describing the system every time, when in all probability they have a recognised name!

 

[john_morris_uk]

Does that mean you will become another of those boats who hog the only water tap that will reach my boat when I visit the marina?

No problem when there's a tap for every berth, but a couple of times we have struggled to fill our tanks because of boats 'permamently plumbed in'.

 

[Anonymous]

[ QUOTE ]
Does that mean you will become another of those boats who hog the only water tap that will reach my boat when I visit the marina?

[/ QUOTE ]Most marina berths in southern Spain have a tap per berth. We do, here in Almerimar.

As for being close enough to reach your boat, it is almost unheard of for marinas to provide hoses here in the Med...everyone carries their own and it is up to you how long it is but down here, the tap is invariably only a few metres away from the berth.

 

[john_morris_uk]

No worries, and we do carry our own hose.

I have only cruised Spain in a limited way (N Coast where there aren't many marinas). My problems had been in some French marinas where there were limited taps on the pontoon. It doesn't happen very often either.

 

[rogerthebodger]

Jabsco do a presure reducing connection to control the pressure so the valves in your water pump are not damaged

like this

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day Lemain,

Hmm, did some work on yacht last year that had a reducer and plumbed in hose, she sank in the marina during the small hours.

No one on board, thank heavens but the damage bill was huge.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[pvb]

Here\'s a pic...

Here's a pic on the West Marine site of a Jabsco combined inlet and pressure regulator.

You'd certainly need a solenoid-controlled inlet valve as well. The ones fitted to dishwashers have an air-pressure operated shut-off device, with a thin tube going to the dishwasher tray. When the water levels reaches the right level, the valve switches off. As the tray is quite shallow, presumably the same system might work in the bilge (although I think an electrical system might give more peace of mind).

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Here\'s a pic...

Many thanks for that. I've been put off the idea...it would be a convenience but to achieve a safe installation I will need to put in a lot of work plus the cost of all the materials.

Thanks to all who contibuted - shows how worthwhile it is to bounce ideas off this forum before bashing on with your pet project!