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Shower Drain Line: To Sink Through Hull instead of Torpedo Tube

mpearson

Mark Pearson
Staff member
I'm going to be re-plumbing Zia this fall. It will involve (hopefully) replacing all the old grey polybutylene with 1/2" PEX.

Does anyone know why the shower drain pump outlet goes all the way back to the torpedo tubes to discharge? Instead of just going into the head sink discharge through-hull that is 1 ft away? The only thing I can think of is Morgan wanted it to work when the sink through-hull was closed?

Can you think of a reason not to plumb it into the sink discharge?

Thanks!
-Mark
 
I did exactly this, but was wary of adding a T connection below the waterline, so I plumbed it as high as possible (just below the sink). This worked fine but generated some overflow into the sink basin, which then quickly drained.

My problem has been with the pump. We use the shower so little that I cannot seem to keep that pump primed. And thus whenever it was needed it always seemed to just rattle on uselessly while the water stayed put on the floor.

Result, I just cut the hose and let it drain into the bilge. I figure soapy shower water is still cleaner than a lot of what goes in there...
 
Thanks for the info Gents!
Then I'm going to tap it in fairly high on the sink drain. And I'll put the shower pump down lower so it doesn't have any priming problems.
 
I connected it to the sink drain. If the Tee to the sink drain is below the waterline, you will also need a vented loop, which I added as well. It quickly fills the sink faster than it can drain, which might be why it was not plumbed there to begin with. But 3/8" line for a shower drain is way too small, and the run to the torpedo tube way too long. That just didn't work. No issues priming the pump in the stock location. It works great.

I would not drain to the bilge. Soap and hair can clog bilge pumps. The shower pump can deal with it because it is a diaphragm pump. Plus, I don't like my bilge to smell.
 
Mark, I still hve the grey tubing back to the (new, improved) torpedo tube. I have never had problems and I am not sure I would want that drainage backing up into the sink. (Well, each spring I make sure the pump is still primed, then it lasts ll summer. Sometimes I have to help prime and sometimes it is fine. But to each his own. Good luck with the main replumbing job. Dealing with the run under the port settee may be a bit of a trial.
 
Hi Terry - what is tricky about the run under the port settee? I did a quick look at it and it seemed straightforward. But then again at the beginning of my projects, things usually seem straightforward ;)

I haven't totally decided what to do with the shower drain yet. It has always worked fine for me, and I was considering just leaving the 3/8" polybutylene. But since I am re-doing everything else in PEX, thinking of that too. Also since I'm increasing the size of it all to 1/2", I'm a little worried about fitting it all on the run back towards the Galley.
 
There is plenty of room in the port settee. You could make a couple runs of 2" pipe in the space there. It is easier if you take the top off but that might not even be necessary. I was able to run 3/4" PCV from my macerator all the way back to the head by feeding it through the existing hole under the galley sink. IIRC the grey line is zip tied to other stuff in the settee, so you will definitely need to take the top off if you want to remove the old line. If you keep using the torpedo tube (which isn't a bad idea) I would use no less than 3/4" I might do that when I am feeling like taking on an unnecessary project. Even if you catch all the hair in a screen, soap, oil, and dirt will solidify in that long horizontal run.

Terry, either you are much luckier than I was(sometimes I am quite unlucky), or when your pump needs priming, what is really happening is that you are pushing something though that undersized hose. A diaphragm pump doesn't need priming. With all the hoses dry, it should instantly start pumping. I fought that hose very often prior to switching to the sink. Using pressure to push stuff through, using liquid plumber to clean it etc. It worked "ok" when it was clear but clogged often. Going to the sink it doesn't clog, and doubled the flow rate. It used to struggle to keep up with the shower, now it is much faster.
 
Thanks for the advice. I have a strainer before the pump to try to prevent the clogs in the pipe. If one wants to remove the settee flat, I assume one has to remove teak trim and then find the screws holding it down. Mine has been painted several times.
 
I know cutting new holes in boats is a fairly unpopular activity but here is another way to access that space under the settee. I did this when I was replacing plumbing. If you tap on the face of the settee you should find a couple spots where the paneling is covering these access holes in the fiberglass. I drilled in the middle then used a router with trim but to open it up the same size as the hole in the fiberglass. I still need to build a door to cover it, at the moment it is a bit of an eye sore. But plan to build a door that matches the rest of the boat. That space can be used for additional storage. No small parts as there is a gap at the bottom leading to bilge but items like oil filters, racor filters, will fit and are larger than the gap. There is a member on here that had gutted his boat due to termites, that is where I first learned about that space. I believe there are two holes, the other one a little more forward.
 

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Thanks for the advice. I have a strainer before the pump to try to prevent the clogs in the pipe. If one wants to remove the settee flat, I assume one has to remove teak trim and then find the screws holding it down. Mine has been painted several times.
I wasn't so lucky. Mine had vinyl covering it. Ripped that off. Then the Teak trim. Then all the screws. If I recall, they were hidden under the teak trim. Then I found that there was a veneer on the galley and head bulkheads holding the top on. So I still had to carefully cut around the edges. However, the work is invisible after replacing the vinyl.
 
BJoslin
Does your boat have the port side water tank in the space under the settee?

Jim
Mine does. There is at least 4 inches between the tank and that panel. I don't recall the openings in the fiberglass because I went through the top. I did have to add some glue, as after removing the teak trim the paneling started to come loose. So another option might be to remove the paneling in one piece after removing all of the trim.
 
Jim,
Yes I have port and starboard tanks. There is a void between where the tank sits and that settee bulkhead. If you zoom in you’ll see there is another fiberglass partition in there. The water tank is outboard or that.
 
I connected it to the sink drain. If the Tee to the sink drain is below the waterline, you will also need a vented loop, which I added as well. It quickly fills the sink faster than it can drain, which might be why it was not plumbed there to begin with. But 3/8" line for a shower drain is way too small, and the run to the torpedo tube way too long. That just didn't work. No issues priming the pump in the stock location. It works great.

I would not drain to the bilge. Soap and hair can clog bilge pumps. The shower pump can deal with it because it is a diaphragm pump. Plus, I don't like my bilge to smell.
Could putting a non return valve on the sink fix that issue of overflowing the sink when draining the shower ?

I'm thinking of either going to the sink, or simply making a brand new thru hull above the water line as it is so easily accessible.
 
Fortin
There might not be enough room below the sink drain to add a check valve. We have the issue of the shower drain pump occasionally backing up into the sink drain but it's not often and gravity quickly takes care of any water that remains.

Jim
 
Fortin
There might not be enough room below the sink drain to add a check valve. We have the issue of the shower drain pump occasionally backing up into the sink drain but it's not often and gravity quickly takes care of any water that remains.

Jim
I think that a check valve would just be another thing to get clogged up. The sink fills with water, then it drains. It is no big deal.
 
I ran the shower discharge line up through the head cabinetry and through the port side cabinet of the head compartment and out though a new discharge port just below the cap rail. Directly overboard seems best.
 
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