PDQ OWNERS FORUM

I screwed up and ran the fresh water tank dry. Now, though the pump is still working it is just sucking air and won't re-prime. The fresh water tank is full.

The water simply isn't draining into the lines. I guess it may be a huge air lock or perhaps something that was sucked up from inside the tank is blocking the flow of water.

I'm in Georgetown in the Bahamas. So, I appreciate if you'd tell me how best to proceed.

John Lennie
M/V Float Her

Be sure you have opened the galley or other, sink faucet. The air in the line has got to get out some way. If that doesn't work take the incoming line off the pump and see what happens. I would then suck on the line. If nothing you have an obstruction. Now, blow into it or better yet rig up an air pump(inflatable, bicycle etc) to see if you can blow the obstruction out. Hope this helps. Good luck and let us know the fix.

If you remove the pump and turn the valve on do you have water flowing freely into the bilge???

Bill
MV Mary Jo

It took some time to find the cause and solution to the pump re-prime issue. This is what we found...
1. The tank output hose, that feeds the fresh water system, had been shoved fully into the tank making contact with the bottom. There should be around 2" of hose visible on the top of the tank. Otherwise if you pump the tank dry you suck up the mineralization (calcium I think) at the bottom of the tank. We lifted the hose off the bottom.
2. The mineralization clogged the water filter under the fridge. This was not immediately apparent as the filter was set to bypass and the filter canister was empty. It wasn't until we disconnected the input and output hose to the filter that we confirmed it was the filter. The pump was sucking at the output side of the filter but there was virtually no sucking on the input side. We removed the filter head and dissasembed the unit and it was full of the calcium crud. We thoroughly cleaned the filter head and re-installed.
3. Some of the crud had gotten passed the pump and clogged the sink faucet as well. So this was dissembled and cleaned as well. In our PDQ there is a little yellow rubber ring that forms part of the hose connection to the faucet. We forgot where the yellow rubber gasket and this leaked until we remembered the gasket.
Float Her is back in good shape now.
Thanks,
John Lennie
M/V Float Her

Thanks. It is great for all concerned when the results are posted here. Glad it worked out for you, and now you are intimately familiar with that portion of your boat's systems.

Cheers,
Duane

We had problems with calcium like minerals also. Our boat has a access plate on top of the water tank. When I removed it you could see the mineral chunks on the bottom of the tank. There was still several inches of water in the tank so I used a hose and syphoned water and minerals out of the tank. I probably got 99% of the minerals out and it solved the problem for us.

Yes, cleaning out the tank sediment (from whatever sources) is something we should do periodically. It was interesting that I did this in Feb of 2015, but wound up removing the filter because the housing inlet was clogged with gravel/flakes within about 18 months. Of course, we were cruising extensively at that time and using the system a lot.

John,

Could you please clarify exactly what you did by "removed the filter head and dissasembed the unit and it was full of the calcium crud. We thoroughly cleaned the filter head and re-installed." I'm also dealing with some clogging issues in my water lines. I've cleaned out my water tank and want to make sure my water filter is clean. I'm unclear about how you disassembled the water filter head. It looks like a molded plastic device that cannot be disassembled.

The top or head of the filter has to be removed to be cleaned. It is molded plastic but when removed, or unatttached from the water lines, you can give it a good cleaning. Best of Luck

This problem is unfamiliar up here (Chesapeake) because we drain and vacuum the tanks each winter. Not just in terms of equipment maintenance, but water quality, you might want to think about this as annual maintenance of a potable water supply. With a shop vac it is a matter of minutes.

These were in my vent this fall. The just don't look like bugs anymore.


While you are at it, you might want to see if bugs are crawling in the vent (there is no screen). Bet they are. If you were an land, the plumbing code requires a strainer, but not on boats. Go figure.

Like an oil change, prevention is easier than the cure.

I did a fresh water system flush last week after 2 years. We had a lot of flakes floating in the tank water and clogging the filter. I researched this and learned that chlorine causes a reaction in Aluminum tanks that produces corrosion and the floating flake debris. My tank has what look like "barnacles" along the interior seams. The recommendation was to NOT ever do periodic bleach shocks. The solution was to flush the system in a strong solution of WHITE VINEGAR -- apparently it neutralizes the effects of cholorine/bleach. I did it... 10 gallons of white vinegar to a full 80 gal tank of water... flush it through the system... let it sit for 30 minutes and drain it out. Flush it with another tank of just water.

I also removed and cleaned the faucet heads in the galley, head sink, head shower and stern steps shower. It's amazing how much crud gets stuck in the faucet screens.

This process seemed to work. My water flow is much better.

Has anyone found a replacement for the original "Waterguard" by Shurflo water filter unit that works? The bypass valve handle on my old Shurflo is nearly impossible to turn any more.

The company that made our Shurflo model was apparently bought some years ago by Pentair (the water filter company). They make a similar model called "OMNIFILTER U30" <https://is.gd/qUA7ON>. However, I have tried 3 of these and every one leaks profusely at the air purge button when it is on "Filter" mode (slightly less but also on "Bypass" mode). I have contacted customer support at Pentair about this and they kindly sent me the replacements. I told them I believe they have a defective design. They even sent me larger OB1 water filter (without a bypass mode) to try <https://is.gd/awtIKz>. But it is considerably larger and I don't think it's going to work for us - we use that space under the refrigerator for pots, pans, trays, etc.

I'm still looking for a water filter housing that has a air purge valve that works. Anyone tried a Yacht Mate water filter housing FH4200CW34PR with 3/4" PT inlet/outlet ports? Or a Pentek 158648 1/2" 3G Slim Line 10" Blue Water filter Housing?

Curious about the "air purge valve" on the water filter. I don't recall my older Shurflo having one and it has never been an issue. Wouldn't any air introduced during a filter cartridge change just vent up the tube into the tank?

Now, the very rounded wheel you have to use to put it in bypass mode is a joke, in my opinion. It is hard to get a good grip and it takes a bit of torque to turn it, but that is a different story.

So did every PDQ come with a fresh water filter?
I can’t find one anywhere on my 05.
Nothing at all under the fridge. I had the same problem with water flow and it ended up being the valve before the pump
had clogged with calcium. Took it off cleared it out and
was good to go. Where these filters added or am I just missing something?

Bill
Mv 34 075