We found a leak in our boat! - Project Brupeg Ep.362 

how much teflon tape to use? I'm no plumber but in the aviation world, three wraps on pristine clean threads. I see you found the crack in the polymer housing... I never trusted any plastic in a usage like that. Good that you're switching to stainless.

Just a thought - maybe it would help to mount that accumulator tank you have gotten around to installing yet. Without it every time you turn a tap off there is a pressure pulse through all the plumbing and that might have contributed to the plastic housing splitting like that.

Life vests at the ready!!! At least it was fresh, clean water not brown tank holding water 😱🤮🤣🤣 Handy the shop had a nice stainless housing. great update 2x👍

Extremely cheap NPT fittings can sometimes not seal even if you use tons of Teflon

I absolutely hate those nylon housings. They don't have any give. They just crack where as steel will bend along way before a leak happens. If you don't have an water alarm in there its pretty easy to build one. Get a float switch from a "Rule" bilge pump and hook in a buzzer instead of a pump. Easy peasy.

Note possible mismatch British Pipe Thread vs. NPT (American) and pipe tape is usually only 1.5- 2 turns max!

D sometimes the threads on built in pump nipples don’t aline. 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮This is why I hate built in plastic pump fittings until I used Gorilla thick pink plumbers tape here in the U.S. Got to send you a case soon. 😮 oh a crack go figure. Nothing new. So sick of everything being made of plastic. If see I plastic I always try to replace it with stainless press housings.

Use Loctite SI 5331. Not affiliated with the brand. Used it for plastic water tank threads to plastic fittings. No leaks, been 3 years.

Blue 'kimwipes' (paper towels) are great for finding leaks, dry off the area, then use a dry kimwipe to dab the area, the kimwipe turns from light blue to dark blue when wet ;)

Great job love your videos

Your early video comment was if you could stop the leak “that would be good enough”. If you haven’t been to sea in 20 foot seas and too often they unexpectedly show up, be advised big storms and big seas torque the boat in unimaginable ways. Everything you do needs to be done as good as possible. Adequate or good enough fixes will fail at the worst times and too often present challenges that are not easily overcome in a storm. I’ve spent years on a destroyer and the power of a big sea cannot be over emphasized!

I think that the yellow thread tape is for gas?

Never ever use tape on plastic or nylon, always use a putty type sealer, you may get lucky a time or two but plumber 101 don’t use tape on plastic!

I would like to see a bracket take the strain rather than the plastic fittings. .. the vibrations will cause failure also a bumpy sea. Better would be to put a flexible hose between the two and mount it to the wall.. Spares to repair? A hand pump as backup (and quiet) in the kitchen, the type with a long lever and deliver about a litre per stroke.. (can be expensive in brass) study them and make it out if stainless.. glass marbles make good valves... 💡 A float switch in the bilge upside down will act as an off switch, use a relay ideally the electronic type.. also actuating a piezoelectric buzzer. I prefer the Sea Flow float switches (20,000+ on/off with a little 700gph pump and switch all in one, then the motor failed because of brushes, switch still ok) the Rule float switch (mechanical type) (the mercury type lasted loads of years, till the metal pins going into the glass bubble corroded) started to fail after 3,000 on/off .. 3 did the same thing! (the plastic that causes the snap action of the contracts wears, then arcing does the rest, so no hysteresis) I do like the Rule 1,500gph (you can take it apart and fit new brushes, if it gets louder it's the brushes worn down and the copper wire embedded in the carbon hitting the armature.. stop using and change the brushes as it wears the armature away, but that does take a Lot of hours of use to get that way. 2 x 1500's cost about the same as a 2000gph, i assume the build quality is the same. Today I removed a leaking radiator and put in 1/4 turn valves (only circuit I couldn't isolate) and a copper pipe loop.. I'm going to make a radiator out of all the copper pipe bits and solder fittings I still have from boat fitting. It's a gravity system (no pump noise or draining the batteries) so I need water movement on the forward cabin circuit as it's nearest the gas boiler. I have pairs of 1/4 turn valves to isolate various parts of my gas central heating... I keep wondering.. What types of heating do you have? A wood burning stove is an excellent eco friendly backup and focal point in the lounge. Can you heat water or heat the boat from the engine water before it goes to the keel cooler? btw .. What is your Cat's name? Bella 🐈 sends 💖

Well done, Damien. Good on you for troubleshooting and fixing it. Props to the pump shop fellow. Congrats on a good repair!

Hi Damien FYI yellow thread tape is for gas and white and pink is for water

Good to stop leaks on a boat. See you wound wound the tape in the correct direction when you were reassembling the new pump housing.

I was told by a tech guy from an equipment manufacturer that thread tape on plastic threads is not advisable. The tape deforms the thread.

Murphy law stuck. That was the perfect replacement. Nylon is ok till it fails. Then there is nothing that repairs it. At water leak sensor in the future? To guard against water leaks of all sorts. Just no mixing water and electricity 😮☠

Well Dame, you've obviously fixed the problem - belt and braces - but I've had leaking plastic screwthreads where they crack at the bottom of the thread, almost impossible to see

I was told by a plumber that Teflon tape was c**p, and to use old-school hemp and graphite grease. Guess what? No more time wasted wrapping ten metres of teflon tape on, no more cranking plumbing fittings up to a million foot pounds, and best part, no more leaks. It just works - sometimes the old ways are best.

Hey Dame, did you notice the tape was put on counterclockwise from the factory? That can make the tape bunch up and leak, and or damage the threads. Just an idea. I hope you and Jess are well, and your family issue is all square.

I have said it before, I love watching how you end up fixing stuff like MacGyver. I personally do not like plastic housings where there is pressure involved and any kind of threaded fixing in the plastic, it always seems to fail. Nice shiny metal housing ... good to go. The say water and electricity doesn't mix, LOL.

Do you know that you are applying the PTFE tape all wrong The manufacturers state that you need to wrap the tape into the groves of the fitting by using the sides of the tape and not simply wrapping the tape around the fitting that you are doing Great work Cheers

Get some Loctite 55 thread sealing cord, it’s good for water, gas and even hydrogen, it’s a lot nicer to work with than teflon tape and in my experience gives a better seal with less faffing about.

Hey Damien, I'm no plumber but have you ever considered using hemp for those joints ? Not sure that it can be used with Nylon but just throwing that out here.

Sinking boat? I do not think so 😛

Well I bet you could have done without that, I would suggest getting a water alarm in the coffer though there’s way too much that could go wrong in that area not just with the pump, but the tank doors the Perspex and every one of those screws, it’s a simple thing that would save a lot of hassle and water. 😊

Hi guys, have you thought about adding an 'O' ring to the equation? Is there somewhere you could add one inside that coupling

The cracked housing is most likely why it didn't want to self prime.

Well done. Plastic/nylon pump housings are a great idea when you're filling water troughs for the horses or topping up the duck pond, but when you're on a boat, a thousand miles from land, there's something very comforting about a bloomin' great chunk of stainless steel (especially when you've got a repair workshop and welding gear at hand).

Nice they were able to fix you up with a stainless housing. As for Teflon tape, my experience is 3 to 4 wraps max. Manufactures recommend 2 to 3. A problem can occur with too many wraps. The teeth of the fittings don’t properly mesh, so now, rather than the tape helping seal the connection, it becomes a layered gasket. Also, over time, the distortion caused by many layers of tape can weaken the fittings.

Pink tape is a bit better for water and cost less. Yellow is best for gas and fuel and grey for stainless pipe. You guys do use stainless.

I spent many years working on heavy equipment and farm equipment. I can keep 3000psi of hydraulic fluid from leaking, but 50psi of water pressure will leak every time.

So is a water alarm system 🤔 in the future endeavors for the coffer dam area like a bilge alarm system ?

Dame & Jess, do you have sensors to alert you when water is where it's not supposed to be?

the commercial boat that went astern without bow thruster on one engine, used the tide to move him astern and a strong on the beam wind, turned out just as one would like, lol , that's what I want to believe , lol bow thruster's are not necessary but they make life easer, to quote a experienced old salt.

They are well know to. Crack Sunk a few boats over the years 8:14

Leeks turnips carrots onions and 1kg of venison. you need the old fashion plumbers white paste. Fixed it...steel lol

I guess an O ring won't fix a cracked housing

Ah, plumbing. What a total pain in the backside. Great that the local shop had the fix in stock, also not surprised given the crap quality of so many plumbing products. Now, back to the original scheduled programming.

A stich in time, saves nine. Replaced the plastic housing with a stainless steel one.

The pump's electric so it's all good...

Seems like some of these pumps are designed to fail.

Fantastic episode n love that you were able to fix the issue locally and that it all happened before you went to sea. Do you have a warer level alarm in the cofferdam and do you have a spare pump??

At least with a leak like that you will never sink the boat. The water was always on board, now it is just not where you wanted it to be.

We were using 24v fresh water pumps and had 2 fail in less than a year, bought a 240v water pump from Bunnings 5 years ago and is still going strong

Another great episode. As a floating boat now general maintaince should be the cycle of work for ships repairs. But your on top of that. All threaded fittings on flexable hoses should be made of metal (brass) especially going through bulk heads. Modern water supplies have gone to plastic . But long term brass connections can reduce safety check time for wheelhouse duties. Just the boats vibration can render weekness in plastic strength. Better to find these while in Port & a create a list needed for gradual replacement. An expense but to put mind at ease an important 1. This your boat with your ideas . The video quality has always impressed me . You will .are your own decisions with final boat preparation for a trip out to sea. You can tell in your voices that the hurdles are knee height now. Well done.

Cracked body on the seam of the pump? With Aloha...

Dry is good ;)

Hi there is a common thought that the tape is not a sealant but only a thread lubricant..once three or four wraps are installed a pipe dope/sealant is applied and let it set up..that is current pipe joint sealing process

Hi damo, and Jess must be a common fault if they make a steel one as in replacement anyway, thank God you can get it fixed. Probably a lot cheaper than I am buying a new one. Keep up the good work. Always enjoy the videos Cliff from Logan City Queensland Australia

Woohoo!🎉 good show!👍👍

!!!! NEVER LEAK. !!!! Sealant, Tape, Sealant! Try it. Will even seal metal and plastic threads together!!

A pressure pot/accumulator is a good idea, Electric pumps prefer infrequent long runcycles rather than frequent short ones each time you rinse yr tooth brush. And i've the same pump so went to check and it's the steel version, that's nice to know. cheers, doi

BRILLIANT..!

G'day Crew, If it's not dripping ,, no tetracyclin is necessary. Cool vid guys ,as always . Respect....!

When it leaked the second time I was thinking you might want to use air pressure to find then leak...which you ended up doing but in a roundabout way :)

Use loktite 55 impregnated string it never fails and you don’t have to tighten the crap out of fittings with massive spanners.

as a general rule, I use hemp and sealant for all internal connections where possible, If a leak occurs, it'll swell to seal or minimum not increase a leak as time goes by,

Great job! It is always a good thing when after doing plumbing work, you don't have leaks and not have the Fountains of Venice. Keep up what you are doing and the best to you.

Yellow teflon tape is normally used for natural gas. I do not use teflon tape on anything, I have a large variety of thread sealants for any application.

Even the wrong progress is progress.

Hi Jess!! ^_^

It’s the joint line in the molding file the threads

Damon you should wrap the tape in the opposite direction so that when you tighten the joint the tape doesn’t want to back up, also no more than 3 wraps is needed with a good tape. Get a spare mechanical seal for the shelf while it’s on your mind.

Hi guys , yes iam still here I have watched all your vids and you have come a long way .... Stay well stay safe ........

Cracked housings are a pain

Remind me again why you wanted a boat...😂.

😊😊

Keep on keeping in good people ❤