Seacock warning, probably most relevant to Australians

[GILow]

Yesterday I discovered that a six year old bronze seacock bought from what is probably Australia’s largest marine retailer had failed internally. I had the lever in the closed position but water was still flowing, completely unimpeded. Further investigation of the problem caused the handle to fall off. The shaft had rusted through.

Now this is a bronze fitting on a fibreglass boat in a completely dry, well ventilated area. The boat is NOT connected to the marina power supply and the fitting is electrically isolated from the rest of the boat.

This suggests strongly to me that the fitting is total and utter garbage.

Unfortunately I threw the handle in the bin, but for those who’d like to check their boats it had a dark blue plastic coating on the handle with no obvious brand name. (I probably should have been suspicious at that alone. )

I don’t know what the expected lifespan of a bronze seacock is, but I would have thought ten years was reasonable. Six years does NOT feel reasonable to me.

Those that shop at this particular store might wish to double check their seacocks.