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Old 14-12-2018, 11:08   #1
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Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

I patched the two water tanks last spring in my new boat and it was obvious they had not been used for years. The boat's been on the hard for 5 or more years.

I flushed the tanks with various tank cleaners and bleach. I replaced all the hoses. The old pickup tubes were some sort of hard clear plastic. One had broken the remaining one was nearly completely black.

I was looking around for a replacement and didn't want to use plastic because it has to sit immersed in the water for long periods of time. I decided to go with copper. Various sources said that copper was safe and actually had antimicrobial properties.

Over the winter I'm redoing the water system with PEX. I've got all the materials except for new pickup tubes.

First, I can't find anything designed to replace the fittings I'm currently using. The original tanks have a male screwed-in fitting with a 90-degree turn to a hose barb. The fitting accepts a 1/2 inch copper pipe. The pipe is just shoved into the fitting, no glue or caulk involved.

When this system went on line this spring, it worked fine but I was getting some air from somewhere and the pump would cycle every minute or so. I'm thinking that the pickup tube was source of the leak.

In the new system, I could reuse the existing pickup tubes or try to replace them. One issue in the current setup is that the pickup tubes do not touch the bottom of the tank because of the curve of the tanks.

Anyone know a source where I can get fittings designed for this purpose? And should I continue to use copper for the pickup tube?
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Old 14-12-2018, 11:12   #2
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

The tanks are most likely original to the boat. That makes them 40 years old. I could always have new tanks built to replace them.

This place can create custom tanks for any purpose:
Triple 'M' Plastics » Our Process
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Old 14-12-2018, 13:05   #3
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

Copper should be fine for the pickup tubes, and if you get an inexpensive pipe bender you'd be ale to put a bend in it to reach the bottom of the tank, if need be. Might need to experiment to get that fitting right.

Without knowing all the painful details of the fittings, I couldn't guess just how you can make a better fitting/bend/seal, but "its just plumbing". Whatever type of bulkhead connector gets you through the tank top, whatever type of adapter (threaded, flared, clamped) makes a snug fit from there. Since this is a suction tube, if you need to use some layers of teflon tape (the "gas pipes" kind is thicker) to make a snug fit, that should work perfectly well. If it is a jam fit and you use a couple of hose clamps to make it tight, again, that should work too. Obviously more elegant to find real fittings that make a real fit, but to do that you may need to go to a real plumbing distributor and not a big box store. There are fittings that the real suppliers carry, that the big box places never have. Although, sometimes Ace Hardware has the oddball stuff.
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Old 14-12-2018, 22:49   #4
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

"When this system went on line this spring, it worked fine but I was getting some air from somewhere and the pump would cycle every minute or so. I'm thinking that the pickup tube was source of the leak."

Surely the air is getting in somewhere between the pump and the outlet?
But I'm assuming it has a pressure switch which switches on the pump when you turn a tap on.

Does your system have an accumulator tank? If so it may need pressurizing.

.Water pump cycling on and off - Yachting and Boating World 9 Oct 2016

Short cycling fresh water pump - YBW.com31 Mar 2014
Jabsco fresh water pump pulsating? - Yachting and Boating World 10 Jun 2013
freshwater pump puzzle: pressure switch? - Yachting and Boating ... 24 Sep 2012

https://www.canalworld.net/forums/in...eps-coming-on/


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Old 15-12-2018, 02:03   #5
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

My HWS had a pump which switched on when we turned the taps on. The pump turned on because the pressure in the water pipe dropped.

If your water pipe had an air leak or the tap was dripping water the pressure would drop and eventually the pump would start up.

Maybe this will explain how a bladder tank works

At what pressure should my bladder tank be set?


When my pressure pump started coming on every 15 minutes I got the plumber in and he took a bicycle pump up onto the roof and pumped up the tank (about 2 psi). That fixed it: no more problems.



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Old 15-12-2018, 03:43   #6
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Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

I made a copper pick-up tube for my Generator to get fuel from my fuel tank.
I soldered the copper tube into the brass fitting, then discovered since my tank was aluminum that copper was a bad idea.
West Marine sells pickup tubes, they are aluminum fittings and plastic tubes, just cut to length.
I went that route instead.

However in your case, copper would be fine, just be sure to solder the tube into the fitting and it won’t leak air.
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Old 15-12-2018, 04:15   #7
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

Here is a good schematic diagram of a water system which must be similar to yours.
https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvis...hwater-Systems
People also ask

What is an accumulator tank?

An accumulator tank is a water chamber which has a pre-pressurized internal air bladder. They are installed in the pressured side of your pump and dampen water pressure 'spikes', reduce pump cycling, help increase the pump's life and also save battery power.Feb 8, 2018

What is an Accumulator Tank and do I need one? / RV World - Shop ...

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Old 15-12-2018, 05:12   #8
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

We used 3/8" stainless steel tubing we had around for hydraulics. I drilled a hole in the fiberglass tank lid the same diameter as the tubing OD. I cut the tube to length, put a die nut on the top side for threads. Then put on my brass 90 to start my fittings process. See picture below. Click image for larger version

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Old 15-12-2018, 10:20   #9
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

You do not say what metal the tanks are, or even if they are metal at all. I would avoid copper because of dissimilar metal corrosion. It is especially incompatible with aluminium and is not keen on stainless steel either.


I would go back to plastic. They are much better now than they used to be. On my boat the only copper pipe was for the transfer of hot water from the propane-fueled on demand water heater to the galley and washroom. I had stainless steel and aluminium permanent tanks aboard. I also carried emergency drinking supplies in a carpet-lined secure rack of separate 20 litre blue polythene jerry-cans. You need enough emergency drinking water to get you to port if the weather stinks and you can not use solar stills, or have no water maker aboard. Two twenty litre containers of good water would be my minimum. Containers can be rowed ashore and filled from local supplies or streams--but if one uses water from streams--use also purification tablets.

The WORST thing that can happen to your water is for it to finish up in the bilges and to get pumped overboard. I replaced all of my metal piping except for the hot water where I used lagged copper. All else was that black plastic high pressure hose used for domestic supply at better than 50 psi.
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Old 17-12-2018, 16:57   #10
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

Big Jim, I would just make a pickup line out of copper tubing, on solid piece to avoid suction leaks. You can also rework or manufacture a bulkhead fitting and either clamp or solder with no lead solder. We did this for both water and diesel fuel tanks- worked great.
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Old 18-12-2018, 12:10   #11
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Banks View Post
You do not say what metal the tanks are, or even if they are metal at all. I would avoid copper because of dissimilar metal corrosion. It is especially incompatible with aluminium and is not keen on stainless steel either...
Sorry, didn't think this was an issue. I have plastic water tanks. There is no metal on metal. The copper tube was the only metal part in the system, other than the faucets. The copper tube happens to fit into the elbow that screws into the top of the tank. It is simply shoved into the fitting. The tube fits tightly but there is no glue or sealant. Oddly, I can't find any of those elbows anywhere at the moment.
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Old 20-12-2018, 09:42   #12
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

I made my own dip tube for my aluminum tank from copper, guess I didn't hear the chorus of don't use it lol.

Mine doesn't actually touch the tank so hoping it's OK.

Anyways, I used a piece of copper and carefully bent to fit down to lower part of curved tank. Attached copper to rest of hardware using a compression fitting with 1/4" NPT. Everything after that was simple.

I machined my own mounting flange from aluminum that is tapped into tank and secured with RTV and screws.

I have pics from my fuel polisher thread if you want to find that, shows everything in detail
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Old 20-12-2018, 11:26   #13
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Re: Water pickup tube? Copper or other?

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Originally Posted by sailah View Post
I made my own dip tube for my aluminum tank from copper, guess I didn't hear the chorus of don't use it lol.

Mine doesn't actually touch the tank so hoping it's OK.

Anyways, I used a piece of copper and carefully bent to fit down to lower part of curved tank. Attached copper to rest of hardware using a compression fitting with 1/4" NPT. Everything after that was simple.

I machined my own mounting flange from aluminum that is tapped into tank and secured with RTV and screws.

I have pics from my fuel polisher thread if you want to find that, shows everything in detail
Direct contact would be bad. However, water can also conduct various currents and reactions if it contains dissolved minerals or salts. So, the aluminum could be adversely affected depending on what kind of water is in the tank and for how long.
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