Shore water connection-gctid394329

[ILIKESKI]

Does anyone know how to use the water hookup on a 3888 is there an on off valve does it fill the tank etc

Thank you

[Pacrimrat]

The 47 doesn't have a valve. I suspect the 38's the same.

Just hook up a hose to it and turn on the water.

The 47 manual say to turn off the DC pump when you're using shore water.

I use shore water all the time, but when I leave the boat I turn it off at the dock, every time, even if I'm just going to be gone for an hour.

[mmichellich]

I believe if you do not turn off the 12 volt pump when the system is pressurized via shore water the 12 pump can be damaged. It has done so twice (slow learner) on our motorhome.

[jmcannonball]

I have not found a shut off valve on my 38. I also turn off the DC pump when connected to the water utility. There has to be a one-way valve somewhere because my water tank does not fill when I am connected to water utility.

[mmichellich]

jmcannonball wrote:
I have not found a shut off valve on my 38. I also turn off the DC pump when connected to the water utility. There has to be a one-way valve somewhere because my water tank does not fill when I am connected to water utility.

The pressurized shore water is on the facet side of the 12 volt pump. Other side of pump goes to tanks. Seems like 12 volt pump is the restriction. I hope anyone doing this uses a pressure regulator or your thru hull itself is the pressure regulator. Folks that have no or a bad regulator can sink their boats.

[Pacrimrat]

The pump has a check valve in it that keeps the water from flowing to the tanks.

There must be a check valve in the shore water connection too or you would pump water out of it with the DC pump.

I posted the thing about turning off the DC pump a couple years ago and a member came back and said that he never does it on his boat or RV and has never had a problem.

I'm just going by what the Bayliner manual says. I don't have any experience with the back pressure damaging the pump because I turn it off.

The factory shore water connector has a built in 40 PSI regulator. If yours doen't have one then they sell inline regulators at Lowes or HD in the garden watering section.

[Papa_Charlie]

There aren't any valves to be turned to hook up to shore water system. There is a check valve between the shore connection and the DC pump and one at the deck connection so that both systems are isolated.

There are a couple of things to consider when connecting to shore water.

1) Always use a pressure regulator at the dock faucet to restrict the pressure coming into the boat. Many deck connections have them built in but it is possible, at least in my mind for this to fail. If it did the pressure from many city systems would be too much for the systems in boats to handle and could cause them to burst. I would always run a pressure regulator at the faucet to reduce the pressure in the hose and prevent it from breaking too. Besides these are pretty cheap items and good insurance.

2) Always shut down the water pressure when you leave. If a line were to fail on the boat, the shore system could over come the bilge pumps. There have been boats that have gone down from this scenario.

3) When you connect to shore water you are no longer using the water in your tanks. That water is just sitting there. It does not take that long for stagnant water to go bad. Make sure if you plan to run for long periods using shore water that you treat your tank water and cycle it periodically.

The last item is the one that concerns me the most. I actually will not use shore water for many reasons, the big one is I want the water in my tanks to be used and cycled. I had a friend that ignored his tanks for a period of time as he was using the shore connection. Not sure how long but when he did use the water in the tanks it had become tainted and he became very ill. I live on board and find it little trouble to fill the tanks once a week. One advantage is the water always taste sweet.

Just my opinion.