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V358 Fresh Water Leak
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Author:  sanfordturbo [ Tue May 10, 2011 9:05 am ]
Post subject:  V358 Fresh Water Leak
Mothers day out on Lake Lanier ended with puddled carpet in the cabin. At least it was clean fresh water and not lake water! The water was leaking from under the forward berth area right where my 51 gallon fresh water tank is located. After pulling out the drawer under the bed, i was able to barely see a shut off valve for the fresh water tank. My arm/hand barely reached it. Of course it took me 40 minutes to discover this undocumented feature.

After cleaning up the mess and pulling up all of the carpet, we called it a day and went home (with the wet carpet). Monday morning I called the marina service department, but they have 2 weeks worth of work to complete before they could even look at my leak. So, I logged into this website and began searching for a way to remove the access panel to gain access to the fresh water tank. BAM, 15 minutes later, i had detailed instructions under the Vista 348/358 thread. Thanks to everyone on this site who saved me TIME and MONEY by avoiding the service department at my marina.

Apparently, one of the blue hoses worked it's way out of its quick connect fitting between the bottom of the fresh water tank and the fresh water pump. The hose kinda dangles in mid-air. After taking a beating on the lake, that hose worked it's way loose and water began leaking all over the floor.

I'm heading to the hardware store today to find parts to replace all of those silly quick connection points up to the fresh water pump. Why they even uses these things is a mystery to me. You can see the shut off valve 6-8 inches up from the bottom of the tank.

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Author:  jsimon [ Tue May 10, 2011 9:12 am ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
Those fittings are industry standard and on tons of boats and RVs. Unless its broken or defective, properly seated they will not come apart. I would put it back together and and make sure its fully seated, and give it another try.

Just my $ 0.02
Author:  firecadet613 [ Tue May 10, 2011 9:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
Maybe cut the end of it fresh, to make sure its a nice clean cut.
Author:  aguyindallas [ Tue May 10, 2011 9:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
Having just replaced my fresh water pump, serviced the inline strainer...I would also advise to leave them the way they are. If properly installed...they are pretty solid.
Author:  sanfordturbo [ Tue May 10, 2011 11:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
I reinserted the blue hose into the fitting over and over. A slight tug on the blue hose and it simply pulls out with little resistance. The other connections are solid. The end of the blue hose was nicely cut. No jagged edges or tatters.

It appears the fitting itself sucks.

Ideas?
Author:  aguyindallas [ Tue May 10, 2011 11:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
Ahhh...I would go ahead and replace that fitting. One thing to try is insert the hose into the fitting and hold the hose in place. While pulling the collar of the fitting out, slowly begin to pull the hose and see if it grabs....I still probably suggest replacing the fitting for peace of mind if anything.
Author:  sanfordturbo [ Tue May 10, 2011 11:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
I tried your suggestion as well. I jammed the blue hose all the way into the fitting. I was surprised how far that thing could actually go into the fitting.

I used a flat tip screwdriver to lift up on the collar of the fitting to "lock" it onto the blue hose. The collar lifted up into place like the others, but the hose was able to slip out regardless.

I'll try and find that type of fitting at the local hardware store, or possibly the local west marine up the street in the opposite direction of home.

:?
Author:  jsimon [ Tue May 10, 2011 12:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
Yeah the hose does go in farther than you think. I always wet the end of the hose to help lubricate it on the o-ring. I just bought a few from west marine to plumb in a valve so I dont have to use the deck fill fitting to fill the fresh water tank. I had to order them.
Author:  jrcinnh [ Tue May 10, 2011 2:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
I've had that same leak every spring since I owned the boat. That hose system is generally good and used everywhere on your boat and tons of other boats, but that stretch of pipe has too sharp a curve and it stresses the joints. Finally this year I had my friendly mechnic use softer hose and route everything so there was no stretch. Plus he set it up so I can drain the water tank in the fall without removing that panel that hold the drawer.
Author:  sanfordturbo [ Tue May 10, 2011 3:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
jrcinnh wrote:
... he set it up so I can drain the water tank in the fall without removing that panel that hold the drawer.


Does it drain into the forward bilge to be pumped out?
Author:  jrcinnh [ Fri May 13, 2011 12:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
no he left a loop of hose so he can just pump it to bucket. This is after he drains the bulk of the water using the boats pump.

I could do this all myself but he includes winterization at a fixed price, and I'm not doing the motors myself.
Author:  wkearney99 [ Mon May 16, 2011 8:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
I'm guessing you read my thread about dealing with the water tank.

Those are Whale brand fittings and you will very likely NOT find them in a local hardware store. West Marine sometimes keeps a decent stock of them. I've seen them at other well-stocked marina boat stores too. One up in Harve de Grace, Maryland had a HUGE assortment of them. My advice would be to stick with the Whale fittings. They do work reliably. You probably just got a lame one.

I rearranged my hoses up there, and along the way eliminated that curved section. I ran a loop around the pump with a valve to allow me to refill the tank from the transom hose hookup. I hide the valve up above the center of the drawer. So I just open the drawer, reach up and open the valve to refill the tank. I've gotten reasonably good at estimating how long to let it run in order to refill it. Otherwise I pull the drawer out and rest a flashlight facing down onto the tank. This illuminates the water level as it rises.

You could do something with some elbows. Like run the line up from the tank outlet, elbow over to starboard and then down to another one at the pump. I don't recall seeing Whale offering a 45 degree elbow. THAT would be handy for this application.

But whatever you decide, be sure to find a way to anchor the line to keep it from flapping around. I seem to recall using a combination of zip ties into adhesive backed square mounts and proper pipe mount brackets. Another good way to do it is to glue down a piece of material (wood, plywood, PVC board, etc) and then screw into it.

I do wish there was a hatch or other panel that would allow easier access to that tank shut off valve. It'd certainly make winterizing a lot less hassle.
Author:  sanfordturbo [ Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: V358 Fresh Water Leak
Same problem, different season.

This time, I decided to replace the Whale connectors and 15mm lines with PEX. The Whale connectors just don't lock in properly. Sure, they lock in when you jamm the pipe back in the connector, but they "loosen" up after 10-15 minutes.

My trip to west marine was pointless.

Went to LOWES instead. Found the neatest stuff over there made by a company called Apollo.
http://www.apollopex.com/products/?cName=pex%20fittings

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Simply yank out the Whale connectors and 15mm line and replace with PEX stuff. These connectors BITE into the pex line and even have a twist lock to create a compression type fitting. This stuff doesn't move.
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