Water System Problems

[Dockhead]

Just yesterday I got back to my boat in Denmark after a grueling business trip to SE Asia. Because Russian airspace is closed, getting to and from Northern Europe to SE Asia has become much harder, longer, and more expensive. Singapore used to be a reasonable nonstop flight from Helsinki or Copenhagen; now it's a rather grueling trip with a stop in Doha, Dubais, or Istanbul, and overnight in both directions instead of just in the Eastbound direction.

Yesterday I arrived from Singapore via Istanbul, an exhausting flight via two completely full planes, and I in economy class because I'm working on a startup without the budget for normal flying. My friends, via WhatsApp (which works for free on Turkish Air flights via satellite), are asking me periodically -- you must be dying to go to sleep. Yeah, after three overnight flights in 8 days, 5 cities -- I could use a long sleep. But even much more, I want a shower.

I'm driving the rental car after finally arriving, and I'm thinking -- I am dying for a long, hot shower.

I arrive at the boat, get the Eberspacher going, warm up my heads compartment with additional electrical heat, and get in the shower. Bliss! I think. I wet myself down with the luxurious hot water, then soap myself up all over, turn on the tap to rinse off, and -- nothing.

I can't repeat here what I said at the moment -- against the forum rules.

So I wipe the soap off as best as I can with a towel, and dive into the bilge to work on the water system. Just what I wanted to be doing after 20 hours of flying, and no sleep!

I remove and disassemble the pump, which is only two years old, a Johnson. It takes a bit of time, working methodically, but I find the problem -- failed microswitch in the pressure switch. A tiny cheap part weighing about 5 grams -- totally unsuitable for this applicable IMHO.

Remember my goal is to get water back on TODAY, so setting this aside and ordering a new part is not a plan. So then I disassemble the previous pump, and I think I find the problem -- a corroded connection. I fix this, put it all back together, and reinstall it. Not easy single handed, and I have to change the mounting position and rerun some of the lines because this pump is taller.

I switch it on and, Eureka! Works! So I finally get that blissful shower, and I'm somewhat proud of myself for being able to solve this whilst at the point of exhaustion and sleeplessness. But then another problem from the previous pump appears -- it produces overpressure and occasionally pops off the pressure relief valve on the calorifier.

Argh. I'm sick of these problems. I lost two precious days of my summer cruise year before last screwing around with the water system, and I'll be damned if I do that again this year. I need to fix this once and for all.

So here's where I need advice from you guys. I am thinking the following:

1. Give up on the built in pressure switches, even if the original one on my boat served faithfully for 15 years without a problem. I guess they just don't make them like they used to.

2. Therefore go to an external pressure switch, something adjustable, a quality one, and with a gauge. This will require a good bit of replumbing and reconfiguring to the water system space, but I don't see an alternative.

3. Add a non-return valve between pump and switch to eliminate dripback and subsequent unnecessary running of the pump.

I've already got the new accumulator tank, installed year before last when I was fixing the system before.

What do you guys think? Anything to add, subtract, or change? Or should I just replace the more robust looking pressure switch on the Jabsco pump? Or cut a loop out of the spring to reduce the pressure cutoff?

And here's some advice -- don't use Johnson water pressure pumps with the original pressure switches. They are utter carp.