Connecting a Galley Faucet

[Blackacre]

I am trying to install a new kitchen faucet in my Beneteau Oceanis. The Foucet has a two hoses with 3/8” fittings. The boat uses 15mm red/blue hoses with whale quick connect fittings. What connector do I need?

I tried the Whale 3/8” - 15mm and it doesn’t fit the faucet. The male threads are too large to fit inside the female fitting on the faucet.

The existing faucet used 1/2 fittings which were in very bad condition and not reusable.

I thought this was going to be the easiest project I’m a list of things to do. It turned out to be one of the most time consuming... Thanks in advance.

[AKA-None]

Matching metric to standard sizes is a pain as you are finding out. Check amazon or your local pluming supply house. I ended up soldering a new end on the pipe to convert from one to the other.

[Blackacre]

Thanks. What I don’t understand is the faucet is 3/8” female which is one of two standard fittings in the US. The boat uses Whale Quick fittings which I ordered in a 3/8”male but it doesn’t fit and it doesn’t appear that Whale makes any other sizes.

On the other faucets in the boat beneteau uses a blue fitting to connect the Whale fitting to the 3/8” faucet. But I don’t know who makes those. Anyways.... what does everyone else use to connect there Whale fittings to their faucets?

[davedindubai]

Hi,
I'm having exactly the same problem on my Lagoon with plumbing fittings. (assume we have many of the same parts being used).

OH my god. As I was typing this and trying to find what may help you, I think I've just solved my own problem too.

Is your hose 15mm ID and is your new tap from EU? If so, this fitting in 5/8" barb to 3/8" BSP should solve your prob with a couple of jubilee clips?

https://www.hoses.co.uk/adaptors-and...e-tail-fitting

[Blackacre]

Originally Posted by davedindubai

Hi,
I'm having exactly the same problem on my Lagoon with plumbing fittings. (assume we have many of the same parts being used).

OH my god. As I was typing this and trying to find what may help you, I think I've just solved my own problem too.

Is your hose 15mm ID and is your new tap from EU? If so, this fitting in 5/8" barb to 3/8" BSP should solve your prob with a couple of jubilee clips?

https://www.hoses.co.uk/adaptors-and...e-tail-fitting

Thanks Dave,

I’m sorry to hear you’re having the same issue. It’s very frustrating. I was very surprised how little this topic is discussed online as everyone have faucets on their boats... I think most people must just reuse their old fittings.

My faucet was bought in the US (imperial) but I bought the 3/8” - 15mm wick connect fitting from Whale it just didn’t fit.

[SV Bacchus]

I just went through this X2, a galley faucet and one in the head. I'm presently in Stuart Fl and we have something here called Boat Owner's Warehouse (BOW). No I'm not affiliated.

I was able to go to a Big Box Store and buy the faucet I wanted and then to BOW and got a 15MM metric push to US thread that fit perfectly. I believe the US was 3/8" and the cost of each fitting was about $5.00.

I just tried BOW's website to see if I could find the part for you but found their website quite confusing. Maybe you could call them?

BOW

[LoudMusic]

Another thing to be aware of in plumbing is tapered threads and non-tapered threads. Unfortunately I do not have more information on hand, but it was explained to me when I was attempting similar plumbing refit on my FP.

[davewtsnape]

Do you use 15mm OD plastic pipe and QuickFit in the US? If so then any standard fitting from Home Depot/B&Q will do the job. You don't need a special Whale adaptor. Make sure you have some PTFE tape for the BSP end and it should be a breeze.

Now, if you can tell me how to contort my body and hands to fit the wrench to get the bloody things in-place easily that would be much appreciated.

Yours skinned knuckles.

[Blackacre]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Plumbing sizes are very confusing and are apparently identified by the inside diameter plus the thread type. This is not like machinery bolts found elsewhere on the boat.

I realize now that the Whale fitting I bought are 3/8" British Standard Pipe (BSP) and the faucet I bought is 3/8" National Pipe Thread (NTP), Compression Fitting.

I can buy a 3/8" fitting to 15mm hose barb and connect it with hose clamps like some have recommended or I can buy a 3/8" BSP to 3/8 NTP adaptor and connect it to the Whale fitting I previously bought.

I last month cruising the Caribbean without a kitchen faucet to wash the dishes and it was really irritating. I'm back in the states for a few weeks so I will stock up with a few different options so I have a better chance of finishing the project when i return. What I don't use will become spares which are great to have on board as cruisers will agree.

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by Blackacre

I realize now that the Whale fitting I bought are 3/8" British Standard Pipe (BSP) and the faucet I bought is 3/8" National Pipe Thread (NTP), Compression Fitting.

Yeah, that whole pipe & thread sizing thing is confusing and full of traps.

My solution was to buy the faucet, carry it into BOW and match the fitting to the fixture. As long as the other end was 15MM I was good to go!

The actual process was quite easy once I had the right fittings. The galley was first and was quite a bit more trial and error. The fixture in the head was much easier as I had the solution down pat by that time..

[davedindubai]

This might help:

British Standard Pipe - BSP (BSPP Parallel & BSPT Tapered)

[Blackacre]

Thanks. I have collected a few different fittings so I have options. I’ll report back when complete. In short, what I have discovered is that BSP is a common standard in Europe and NPT is the standard in the US. Both are imperial system (not metric) which is confusing. 3/8 & 1/2 are common fittings for both BSP and NPT but they are not compatible. You can find adapters online but they are not easy to find. Most people buy a BSP or NPT fitting to 15mm hose barb.

My Beneteau uses 15mm hoses and quick connect fittings from Whale. That’s pretty standard in a lot of boats.

In short, net time I would just buy my faucet from a European vendor and it would likely come with BSP fittings.

It took a lot of work to learn about all of this. Hopefully this tread will help someone else. Thanks everyone.

[Blackacre]

Update:

This has been the most frustrating project yet. Primarily because it should have been easy. There are a lot of pipe thread options and unless you are a professional plumber it can be very confusing matching fittings. I'll spare you all the details...

If you have a Beneteau, Jeanneau or similar production motor or sailboat it is likely equipped with 15mm flexible hoses for your hot and cold water supply. There is also a good chance they use Whale Quick Connect fittings. For reasons unknown to me, Whale does not provide a fitting for National Pipe Thread "Compression". So if you did like me and bought a faucet at your local store in America you will need the following fittings to make your connection.

Faucets in American use 3/8" or 1/2" compression fittings.

- Whale Adapter, 1/2" NPT Male to 15mm "WX1513"
- Everbilt (Home Depot) 3/8 in. x 1/2 in. MPT Compression Adapter

or

- Whale Water Systems Equal Straight - 15MM "WX1504B"
- Whale Stem Adapter, 3/8 NPT Male "WX1563B"
- Everbilt (Home Depot) 3/8 in. x 3/8 in. Compression Adapter


IM me if you have any questions.

[Freeflow]

thank you for sharing and saving some headache for my project :

[Blackacre]

Originally Posted by Freeflow

thank you for sharing and saving some headache for my project :

Thanks for the feedback. It’s comments like yours that make it worth the time and effort it takes to create posts like this. I’ve learned a lot on this site.

Fair winds sailor...