Draining down water tanks (and all pipes, calorifier, etc)

[MagicalArmchair]

I have just purchased a Bavaria 40 (2002 J & J designs) and want to put her to bed for the winter.

To drain the two water tanks, just turn on a tap and let it run until its pumping air? Or is that too much stress for the fresh water pump to be under and should I find another way to drain the tanks?

How to drain the rest of the system? I have some food grade antifreeze I could run through and leave in the system to save draining down the calorifier?

[Yngmar]

The pump should handle it just fine. Ours is a Shurflo and isn't bothered by pumping out both tanks repeatedly when we do our annual maintenance.

Antifreeze sounds good. Probably better than draining anyways, as less likely to miss a puddle somewhere.

[Salty]

When it comes to draining the calorifier turn your taps being used for the water to run out of to the hot position and let it run until no more water comes out, and do it with all taps individually and not forgetting the deck shower ⛄️❄️

If the boat is ashore for the winter, I use the deck shower hose as the drain and pull it out as far as it will go and leave it dangling overboard where it then also acts somewhat as a Syphon with its end being below the underside of the hull. Don’t forget to remove the shower head from the end of the deck shower, just in case any water remains within it as the cost of replacing the head will not amuse !!

To combat the risk of frost damage I’ve installed a couple of mains electric pole heaters, one located next to the calorifier and the other next to the water pump and pressure vessel. It does mean leaving the shore power supply connected and switched on which normally I try to avoid, but with global warming our winters in parts of the UK don’t always get so cold.

[MagicalArmchair]

Thank you, I'll try the wash down shower to drain them out (I must admit, I haven't yet tried that one, so I'll need to locate it first...!)

[tiger79]

When it comes to draining the calorifier turn your taps being used for the water to run out of to the hot position and let it run until no more water comes out, and do it with all taps individually and not forgetting the deck shower ⛄️❄️

That won't drain the calorifier; the hot water outlet is from a pipe which goes up to the top of the tank.  To drain it, use the cold inlet or the PRV, depending on the way it's plumbed.

[MagicalArmchair]

Great, thank you.I'll use the shower to drain down the tanks before I clean them out (there is some dirt in the bottom of both tanks), then I'll put a drop of anti freeze in and run that through the pipes.

Stupid question alert... (old boat had only cold water). To run the antifreeze through the calorifier, do you need to run the hot tap?

[Salty]

.
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............to run the antifreeze through the calorifier, do you need to run the hot tap?

I would, but others might do it differently.

[Yngmar]

Stupid question alert... (old boat had only cold water). To run the antifreeze through the calorifier, do you need to run the hot tap?

Yes. The calorifier is pressurized (and filled) by the pressurized cold water from the pump, with hot water coming out at the top (if heated by the engine coolant or immersion heater).

[sy_Anniina]

To avoid filling the whole calorifier with antifreeze, I drain The calorifier and connect calorifier cold input tube directly to hot output, thus bypassing the now-empty calorifier.

Thus enables me to fill hot water plumbing and hot side of taps with antifreeze.

BR

Tommi
s/y Anniina

[MagicalArmchair]

Thank you, that diagram is very helpful indeed. As is the tip of draining down the calorifier. Do these Bavaria's have a water filter built in somewhere? If it does exist, where is it and what sort of element does it need?

On de winterising, is there anything else I need to do to recharge the system with water to prevent air locks?

[tiger79]

Do these Bavaria's have a water filter built in somewhere? If it does exist, where is it and what sort of element does it need?

On de winterising, is there anything else I need to do to recharge the system with water to prevent air locks?

Many Bavarias have an inline strainer fitted just before the pressure pump (see pic).  Mine has a Whale pump, but the Jabsco ones are similar.  The metal mesh strainer can be removed and cleaned.

In the spring, you just need to fill the tanks, turn the pump on and open hot and cold taps to let air out.

[MagicalArmchair]

Thank you for the responses, so here is my pump and expansion tank. Ah ha, is the strainer the thing that sits between the two?



And I found (eventually!!!) the calorifier, any thoughts on how I would drain the little sucker once I have all the water out? Or whether I should even bother? It's lagged quite well by the looks of it...

[Rampage]

If you want to drain the calorifier, then the pressure release valve should at the lowest point in the tank.  Open that and the calorifier will empty out: open a hot tap and turn the pump off, open the valve and it’ll drain by gravity.

[MagicalArmchair]

If you want to drain the calorifier, then the pressure release valve should at the lowest point in the tank.  Open that and the calorifier will empty out: open a hot tap and turn the pump off, open the valve and it’ll drain by gravity.

Is there any way to catch the water or do you just let it run into the bulge and clean up from there?

[sy_Anniina]

At least my calorifier has long enough piping that I can unmount and lift it high enough to be drained to a bucket.

Tommi
s/y Anniina

[Rampage]

Is there any way to catch the water or do you just let it run into the bulge and clean up from there?

That’s probably easiest but you could run a bit of pipe from the PRV to a container. 

[MagicalArmchair]

And the PRV would be somewhere at the bottom of this side of the calorifier pictured below, and it'll just "unscrew" by hand?



And it'll look a bit like one of these suckers when I find it?

https://www.vetus-shop.com/vetus-pressure-relief-valve-12-bsp-barand34-p-3218.html

Thanks again for the help.

[Keweetoo]

Hi,
Your PRV may look like mine (B35E yr 2000)  - have just replaced the calorifier as the PRV was continuously leaking as well as other fittings leaking and tank not keeping water hot very well. The PRV will be at the bottom of the tank on the cold in supply and should have a second length of blue hose attached, which probably just goes to the bilge around the engine. Hold open the small lever will  allow the water into the drain pipe (collect in a container).
Mike

[MagicalArmchair]

Hi,
Your PRV may look like mine (B35E yr 2000)  - have just replaced the calorifier as the PRV was continuously leaking as well as other fittings leaking and tank not keeping water hot very well. The PRV will be at the bottom of the tank on the cold in supply and should have a second length of blue hose attached, which probably just goes to the bilge around the engine. Hold open the small lever will  allow the water into the drain pipe (collect in a container).
Mike

Great, thanks Mike. I’m on the boat now and have located the pipe you speak of however it’s got a cap on the end. Guess that needs removing first?



This is the end of the pipe that runs out of the top of my last photo

[Rampage]

Look carefully at all the pipework.  Some Bavaria’s (mine included) have the PRV linked by a bit of pipe leading back into the water tank, so that any water coming out of the valve doesn’t go into the bilge but into the tank.

[sunshine]

If you take the pipe from the hand pump you use for oil changes, it will be the right diameter to stick down that blue pipe once you take that end cap off. If you then pump, you'll get about 10 litres out of the calorifier. You might need to leave a hot tap in the heads open to allow air into the calorifier, and maybe also turn the prv so it sits open.

[MagicalArmchair]

Thank you all, the above was a life safer. I removed that cap in my last photo, left the PRV open and all the water in the calorifier entered my bilge through that pipe. Lots of mopping later, and we were done. Clearly I'll find a less messy way of doing this next winter once I have the boat back home, but this ticked the box for now and she is now safe.

Thanks again.

[dawntreader]

I may be wrong but I was under the impression that the white 'cap' is a 'breather' and should be kept above the height of the water tank?

[Yngmar]

The white cap (Whale WX1546B) is just an end stop for an unused pipe, not a breather.

[Bertie1972]

Hi

I'd like to drain mine (Bav 30), but am not sure exactly which pipe - I'm guessing it's the one adjacent to the red knob?

How best to remove without risking spoiling the seal?