Ralph,
That is a perfectly proper repair/modification..
If  the hose fails  then  an improper piece of hose was( evidently) used.  I have OFTEN used hose in my  fresh water lines. BUT it is reinforced plastic for fresh water and  of course all the engines have RUBBER lines as in " heater hose". That certainly takes more of a beating than  the few lbs of pressure on the fresh water line!

Reply

Hey guys,

I only know of you guys from what you contribute to the list, and I know that you are trying to help, buttttt, IMHO most of what has been proposed is not good advice. These types of repairs are what we used to be able to call Dutchmans. Now if you had hired some tradesman to fix the problem, and one of these repairs blew off and caused a lot of damage, you probably wouldn't be so accommodating.
Ralph said it best with "It worked for me".  Not that there is anything wrong with this approach, but it won't work for everybody. I make these decisions all the time and am comfortable with them, however remember the liaryers will slice and dice you with the same if they don't conform to generally accepted standards.

As far as the copper fuel lines go, copper tubing can be found in a number of gauges or wall thickness's (sp?). Typically refrigeration tubing is around .032-.035 wall (can be as low as .025) and non-refrigeration tubing is .065. So you can see choosing the correct wall will influence longevity. You can also get it PVC wrapped if external corrosion is a problem. As far as it not being USCG approved, I would guess that's because nobody has seen the benefits to jump through the hoops to do it, it's such a widely used product and the return wouldn't be worth it. Unless someone can take me to school otherwise (and I'm always willing to learn) I'd go with the heavy wall copper over the hose, with copper to brass flare fittings, if conditions warrant.  Support it properly and it will perform adequately. Use the approved fuel hose with the swage fittings where there's movement. Get them made up at the local hose supplier for peace of mind. Or spend the money and get copper-nickel or stainless tube.

As to threaded pipe fittings, there is an art to knowing how to make up a fitting, only learned from experience, but unless you are a real knuckledragger there is no reason to not use threaded fittings.  If you use teflon you can usually get that extra quarter turn with no problem. The trick is not to be too heavy handed. Please don't caution me about ptfe tape.

In regards to potable water lines, I'm considering using the Pex tubing with the  crimp type fittings with the brass compression rings. I see this material being allowed in the major building codes, so I'm going to make the plunge. It' going to be difficult because I never thought plastic toilet seats were the future.

Best thing is to read the ABYC before you start. That's going to tell you what is prohibited. Most of the rest is fair game, within reason. The Canadian version of the ABYC can be found online at no cost.

Regards,

John
Suquamish, WA

John;
I've been trying to find it for twenty minutes, unsuccessfully.
Would you mind giving us the URL?
Thanks,
Terry
Tamarack

alweld@comcast.net writes:

On Island Eagle I went with all new PEX for my potable water system and the
results have been excellent.

Scott Welch
www.islandeagle.net

"The person who makes no mistakes usually doesn't make anything"

At 11:43 PM 12/20/2005, you wrote:

I posted this about a year ago:

Transport Canada has "Construction Standards for Small Vessels" document
that seems to follow the ABYC standards fairly closely.  If you don't want
to pay for the ABYC documents, this seems to be a pretty good place to look
for information on "proper practices".

      <http://www.tc.gc.ca/MarineSafety/tp/TP1332/menu.htm>http://www.tc.gc.ca/MarineSafety/tp/TP1332/menu.htm

Steve

Steve Dubnoff
1966 Willard Pilothouse
www.mvnereid.com
sdubnoff@circlesys.com

Scott H.E. Welch wrote:

I'll second the PEX. As a licensed plumbing contractor, I can attest to
its durability. Yes, you do need the crimp tool, they're not cheap, but
for marine applications, you probably would only need 1/2". There are
other sizes available, but I don't see the need for them on a boat,
unless it's big enough to require 3/4" main feeds.

PEX is a great material. It can freeze almost solid with little damage,
and if it's kinked or pinched, can be restored to its original form by
evenly heating it with a heat gun. The whole idea with PEX is that it's
cross-linked, so the molecular structure retains its original "memory".
The fittings have the advantage of being flexible without losing any of
their watertight integrity, so once a fitting is crimped, it can be
rotated with no consequence. We were reluctant to use it after the mess
the industry suffered with qest pipe and the whole polybutylene fracas.
Fortunately we never put any of it in, so never had the nightmares that
came later. PEX uses brass fittings and copper crimp rings, so it holds
up well. We've been using it for about 5 years now, and do most of our
re-plumbs with it. I have used it on my own boat to add a washdown and
deck fittings. Also used it to replace the water heater. The
polybutylene that is on newer boats can be fitted to the PEX fittings
without special adapters. Older qest PB pipe generally requires adapters
as the ID is not the same. I highly recommend PEX.

steve

Perhaps he's thinking of Treansport Canada's "Construction Standards for Small Craft":  http://www.tc.gc.ca/MarineSafety/TP/TP1332/menu.htm

Tuesday, December 20, 2005, 11:43:34 PM, Terrence wrote:

TN> John;
TN> I've been trying to find it for twenty minutes, unsuccessfully.
TN> Would you mind giving us the URL?
TN> Thanks,
TN> Terry
TN> Tamarack
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Scott / Steve,
Who / where is a good source for Pex?
Jeff
Southern Nights

Scott H.E. Welch wrote:

with

the

the

I'll second the PEX. As a licensed plumbing contractor, I can attest to
its durability
steve

Jeff Barfett wrote:

Jeff,

You should be able to obtain it from any plumbing supply house. I don't
know where you're located, so I can't recommend one, but any of them
will likely have it. Vanguard is one of the better lines, although there
are plethora of others who make the pipe & fittings. If you're planning
to buy a crimp tool, buy a good one. The crimp rings are the key to the
integrity of the system, there's a gauge that checks the finished crimp
to insure it's the correct diameter, if it doesn't pass, the crimp tool
must be repaired or replaced. The pipe is available in different colors
if you really want to be anal with your install, but the white or
translucent precludes the need for keeping extra inventory. Most of the
pipe must be purchased in 100' rolls. You may want to get next to a
local plumbing professional, find one who owns a boat, buy him lunch
BEFORE you start picking his brain, and you may be able to use up his
scrap tubing or at least be able to get smaller lengths than a whole
roll of the stuff.

steve

Steve Sipe scsipe@suscom.net writes:

You may even be able to rent/borrow his PEX crimping tool for a weekend.

By the way, just as an aside, it may also be useful for listees to know that
linesmen for the local electrical utility often have very nice, very
heavy-duty crimping tools that have been known to migrate down to the docks
for the weekend. Another good type of friend to have if you need to do any
wiring.

Scott Welch
FirstClass Product Manager
www.firstclass.com

"The person who makes no mistakes usually doesn't make anything"