Roger Long wrote:
I woke up last night to the sound of the fresh water. I'd left the
switch on and it started in the middle of the night. The pump was
running dry and the water tank was empty. There isn't a
corresponding amount of water in the bilge and I couldn't find any
sign of a leak so I'm trying to figure out where the water went.
I don't think your water tank is empty...I think the diaphragm in your
water pump has failed.
The pump has always cycled about every 10 minutes so I've been
thinking there must be a small leak somewhere but I never could find
it.
As a diaphragm starts to fail, the pump will start to cycle for no
reason (there is a reason: a drop in pressure caused by the leaking
diaphragm)...at first just a brief "brrp" once or twice a day, then as
the tear in the diaphragm gets bigger, more and more frequently and
longer--and will take longer to prime when you first come aboard... till
finally the pump runs continuously without pumping any water.
I'll bet money that's what's happened. All you have to do to confirm it
is check the water level in your tank.
If your heat exchanger were leaking, you wouldn't have water in the
engine, you'd have coolant in your water.
--
Peggie
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Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304