Water Tank Overflow

[Dean Abramson]

When we fill our water tanks, when they are full, I hear water running into the bilge. Is this normal? Is it coming out of the air vents, or is there an actual overflow valve?

Also, does this water get to the bilge via a sensible route (like in a hose), or is it overflowing into the area around the tank and getting the back side of all of my cabin teak, and other stuff, wet?

Yes, I can take things apart and look, but frankly, I have been taking this boat apart and putting it back together more or less continuously since April, and the fun factor is ebbing. Can someone explain this and spare me the spelunking expedition?

Thanks.

Dean

[Russell]

On my CD36 when I overfill the water tanks they do overflow from the tank vents and just into whatever area those vents may occupy then the water follows whatever route to the bilge. In the case of my bow tank, its no big deal, the vent if I recall goes up into the chain locker, I dont mind water there. The starboard setee tank though Cape Dory very stupidly vented the tank into my hanging locker there, so if I overfill the tank whatever is in there gets wet. The quarterberth tank I have no idea whatsoever where the vent goes, but it does not seem to hurt anything and it manages to find its way into the bilge.

[cbrenton]

Same situation on my CD 33. I always fill the tanks under direct visualization to avoid overfilling. It is also a good idea not to totally fill the tanks in the summer. Cool water from the hose expands if the boat is closed up and hot. It will then leak out the vents.

Charlie Brenton
"Carol Anne"
CD 33 #75

[Steve Laume]

If someone forgot to clamp the vent lines to the fittings or they are cracked the water will run out of the tank in a manner that either Cape Dory or you had in mind, Steve, who once forgot to tighten some clamps.

[Frank Vernet]

Dean,

On Sirius, our CD33, the water tanks' overflow hoses rise ~3ft alongside the hull, make a 90 degree curve and finish with a plastic nozzle tip pointed straight down. The problem is that the highest point of the overflow "loop" is approx. 1 foot below the deck fill.....which explains why they do not prevent overfill water from flowing down the side of your hull, through a couple of cleverly placed flowholes and into the bilge.

Problems arise when the water does not flow directly into the bilge but rather pools against bulkheads, setee sideboards, etc...and initiate the degeneration of the wood. It can also ruin your cabin sole. I speak from experience. If you've had overfills, check the base of the various interior panels for moisture and possible damage.

Best way to prevent the problem is to have someone watch the tanks as they fill and give signal when they are nearly full. I bring the water hose into the cabin and fill the tanks using the tank access ports.

Hope this help.

[Zeida]

Dean, as you have heard from everybody else, if you are by yourself IT IS A MUST to stand in front of the tank with the hose and visually make sure you do not overfill it - . If someone else helps, you can then use the hose to fill the tanks through the deck plates and have the other person stand guard by the tank inside. Otherwise, you will have water in the wrong place.

On my 33 I had a problem with the Stbd. tank under the settee. The plastic nozzle where the hose attaches to the tank broke and I had the water leaking into the main bilge. I was able to fix it, but of course, had to remove the piece of plywood under the settee cushion to get at the tank. Don't fret about having to take the boat apart over and over again... remember they are old boats, no longer made. The more you know about them and the more you figure out how to fix them, the more satisfaction you will get, in the end. It does get tiring, sometimes, but somehow you get over it. Just remember it is A MIRACLE when everything is working right at the same time. " Those are the times to remember...for they just won't last forever..."

My Bandolera happens to be there at this point in time, finally, after Wilma! I plan to go sailling for the weekend, and enjoy it while it lasts! Then, of course, something else will need to be fixed... but that is part of the game. I just added two SS mast steps to the boat, which help me get up to reach the head of the main... and I had to do them four times before I got them right!

Zeida

[Al Levesque]

Long ago I found that my filler hoses had accumulated crud that was washed down into the tanks every time I filled them. When I had cleaned them out it seemed to renew itself annually. Now I hand fill each tank from the cleanout opening. That way I can look into the tank first to see if it is clean and can assure that I am not overfilling. I found that a quick shutoff at my end of the hose makes it a simple process.

[Parfait's Provider]

Filling from the deck goes slow and is fraught with all those worries about what is going on, back pressure, etc. Open the cleanout and you can fill at full force of the hose and see what is going on with no risk of filling the bilge. It is much faster than dribbling water down the deck fill.

[John Ring]

Water tanks should be vented to the sidewall of the galley sink with small thru-hull fittings. All connections should be watertight.
Overflow just goes down the sink drain without making a mess below.

John Ring
CD28 Tantalus
www.yachttantalus.com

[Russell]

Water tanks should be vented to the sidewall of the galley sink with small thru-hull fittings. All connections should be watertight.
Overflow just goes down the sink drain without making a mess below.

I have no intension of running plumbing from 3 water tanks on the opposite side of the boat and 1 a very long run away all the way to the galley sink. Other then the tank that vents into the hanging locker, I dont have any problem with overflow finding its way to the bilge, I have never had a dry bilge and the design of the CD36 would not lend itsself well to it ever being dry anyways.

[Cathy Monaghan]

Hi Dean,

Here's my 2 cents.

We had a similar problem on our CD32 and here's what we did to remedy it.

The first thing we found was the the vent hoses didn't make it all the way up to the underside of the deck before they looped around. They should be as high as possible. Secondly, after they looped around they pretty much just ended. That's another bad thing since you don't want the end of a hose that will potentiall leak inside a hanging locker or other storage compartment where you're trying to keep things dry.

What we did was add checkvalves to each of those hoses before the loop. The valves should be open most of the time so your tanks will still be vented and only close when the boat is heeled and water is present. After the checkvalve and after the loop, which now reaches the underside of the deck, the hose should be extended so that the end of the hose is in the bilge not inside a compartment. So if any water gets past the checkvalve it will flow into the bilge.

It's also a good idea to just ignore the deck fills and fill each of the water tanks from down below. That way you can watch as a tank fills and shut off the flow of water before it overflows.

Anyway, this fix seems to have worked for us.

Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[L.DeMers]

Dean and all,

On our CD30c, filling the water tanks from the provided deck fill resulted in junk wasing down into the tank, and also, severe leaking from the cleanout port, as the tank bulged upwards from the water pressure of the fill hose being full of water too.

So we stopped using that hose 10 years ago, and simly fill the two tanks from inside the salon, using the cleanout hole. That way you can see the levels, how dirty the tank may be, and you can control how full it gets too. Problem solved!

[L.DeMers]

Dean and all,

On our CD30c, filling the water tanks from the provided deck fill resulted in junk wasing down into the tank, and also, severe leaking from the cleanout port, as the tank bulged upwards from the water pressure of the fill hose being full of water too.

So we stopped using that hose 10 years ago, and simly fill the two tanks from inside the salon, using the cleanout hole. That way you can see the levels, how dirty the tank may be, and you can control how full it gets too. Problem solved!

One other hint: Use an Omni in-line water filter (at your home center for about $30) and a charcoal paper filter element, and those tanks of water will taste perfect and will be clean and very drinkable.

[Judith]

When we bought our CD270, the water tank was checked, then filled, by a knowledgeable surveyor--who also helpfully pointed out that overflow would result in a WET wet locker (as some of you have pointed out).

However, when we had to fill it for the first time ourselves last week, we realized we're missing a crucial piece of information: where's the 'Fill' line? How do we tell the difference between "Full to intended capacity" and "Uh-oh, your wet locker is in trouble now"? We settled on stopping with the water level just barely covering the internal baffle.

Any further info would be greatly appreciated.

Judith

[chase]

I fill my tanks from inside. In a perfect world I wouldn't have to, but it is easy enough and I can control the situation. I've read all the horror stories on this board about busted tanks and I intend to avoid that problem as long as possible.

Chase