Why is my bilge pump going off?

LWinters · #1 (**permalink**) 08-26-2007

So after five months I took my old boat out for a spin now that I have a transmission again. Everything ran great and had a nice day on the water until I saw the bilge pump was active. Not just once, but three times in about 10 minutes which meant my deep bilge was filing quickly.

Once I got down below I tracked the leak down to the hot water heater. There is what looks to be a release valve that was loosing a lot of water. My first reaction was to flip off the water pressure switch and the leak stopped immediately. Just wondering if this could be in some way tied to running the engine after a long lay up or just an isolated valve problem with the hot water heater. I think the engine does heat the water in the hot water heater when its running so thought there might be a connection.

The engine did run a little hot, but not too much. Probably time to give the heat exchanger a dip. Any ideas before I tear in are much appreciated. Thanks,

LW

citation34 · #2 (**permalink**) 08-26-2007

Lee, I've a Irwin Citation 34 that, when I either have the hot water heater on or run the engine for any length of time, will do the same thing. It releases water out of the pressure valve on the water heater unless I turn off the water pressure pump. Does yours do this with the water heater on? I would really like to see what you come up with. I'm leaning toward a worn out pressure release valve on the water heater.

Mark
Citation 34

LWinters · #3 (**permalink**) 08-27-2007

The water heater was definatly not blowing water through the release valve when operated under A/C. It only appeared while motoring this afternoon. I'll let everything cool down overnight and fire up the water pressure to see if it is still leaking or not under A/C.

I am wondering if this might not be a symptom of an overheating engine? It might be time to invest in a IR thermometer.

bestfriend · #4 (**permalink**) 08-27-2007

Just replaced the pressure valve on my water heater. Flowed when I had the water pump on and the heater on. I understand that they fail very easily, especially for lack of use. 15 bucks to replace, no more leak. Lee, just started reading your web page, lots of nice info.
Best

sailingdog · #5 (**permalink**) 08-27-2007

It could be a worn valve, or the valve could have mineral deposits that are preventing it from closing completely. You could try removing the valve, soaking it in vinegar to de-lime it, and then replacing it... if the cause is mineral deposits, this may fix it... otherwise, just get a new valve and replace it... they're not all that expensive.

LWinters · #6 (**permalink**) 08-28-2007

Thanks for the info everyone. For $15 I might hold off on stinking up the boat with vinegar until I do my next head flush and just replace the valve and keep the old one for a spare.

Thanks Bestfriend. It's already dated as the only page I've really had time to keep somewhat updated is the log, but glad you enjoyed it.

LWinters · #7 (**permalink**) 09-01-2007

Problem solved and it wasn't the water heater at all. The old coolant cap was worn our and allowing the coolant to slip out. This was causing the engine to over heat enough to trip the over pressure valve on the hot water heater. A new cap solved that problem, but the now pressurized cooling system revealed a leak in a cooling hose. Got that fixed, engine runs at a perfect 180 and the water stays in the hot water heater where it belongs.