One whale foot pump/faucet, two sources

[Ketchgould]

I would love to come up with a system where we could use one whale foot pump to one faucet but drawing from Lake Superior or flexible tanks.


Is there a design that eliminates contamination? How about using loops?

What about having a third source being air, and to clear the lines we would select the air and pump this through the whale and to the faucet, then select tank or lake?

Any ideas?

Thanks
Christian

[Aussie_Sequoia]

I thought of doing this with salt water, but no matter which way I figured it... I still had to waste too much fresh water clearing the lines to make it worth it.

[S/V Alchemy]

I can't see this working without cross-contamination, and while most of Lake Superior is drinkable and arguably nicer than muni water, I wouldn't want to take a chance that I was sailing over some, uh, "ballast discharge". So I would say if you want a raw water intake for dish-washing, etc. you get a hand pump or a second foot pump.

It is possible that you could plumb into the lake via the sink discharge just below the waterline. Then you can simply pump until the lakewater circuit runs clear again, which if you are underway is going to be pretty quickly as the galley drain will be sucked clean.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Ketchgould

I would love to come up with a system where we could use one whale foot pump to one faucet but drawing from Lake Superior or flexible tanks.

Hi Ketchgould. We have this exact setup on our previous boat up here on L. Superior. I set up a simple Y-valve below the sink, connected to a foot Whale pump. We switch between tank water (a flexible tank) and lake water easily and quickly. We draw from a thru-hull below the waterline, and have an inline filter to remove big stuff. It's an easy and simple system for those with limited counter space around their galley sink.

Lake Superior is very clean once you get away from the urban zones (which are few), or small marshy anchorages. You have to aware of where you are, but it's pretty easy to be in clean water up here on Superior. I routinely drink directly from the Lake, so am not very worried about clearing the line when switching. I also keep the common connection purposely short to limit the amount of waste water needed to clear, but as I say, I'm not very concerned with water quality up here.

NOTE: I would NOT recommend this approach outside of Lake Superior.

[Ketchgould]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Hi Ketchgould. We have this exact setup on our previous boat up here on L. Superior. I set up a simple Y-valve below the sink, connected to a foot Whale pump. We switch between tank water (a flexible tank) and lake water easily and quickly. We draw from a thru-hull below the waterline, and have an inline filter to remove big stuff. It's an easy and simple system for those with limited counter space around their galley sink.

Lake Superior is very clean once you get away from the urban zones (which are few), or small marshy anchorages. You have to aware of where you are, but it's pretty easy to be in clean water up here on Superior. I routinely drink directly from the Lake, so am not very worried about clearing the line when switching. I also keep the common connection purposely short to limit the amount of waste water needed to clear, but as I say, I'm not very concerned with water quality up here.

NOTE: I would NOT recommend this approach outside of Lake Superior.

Mike- thanks for your notes. Any ideas on how to make this work in an environment not like Superior?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Ketchgould

Mike- thanks for your notes. Any ideas on how to make this work in an environment not like Superior?

Well, the issue is clearing the raw water from the system when switching to tank water. If the water you're sailing in is non-potable, then you're going to use more tank water clearing the system. I would think you could still do this reasonably by being wise with your water use. Use the flush water to wash dishes, or water plants, etc.

How about setting up the raw water loop such that it would gravity-drain back out the thru-hull when the pump stops? That might make it more efficient. Also, you could add greater filtration to the raw water line, although you're still going to have to be careful.

[S/V Alchemy]

Are things REALLY so tight that you can't have two taps and two pumps (or a foot pump and a hand pump? You can even drink Lake Ontario away from land, but I wouldn't suggest it as the premise on which I designed my boat plumbing.