It prevents water from going any further than the valve. Diy osmosis repair and trudesign seacocks thru hull and ball valves duration. But what about if a gate valve had stripped its internals, or a ball valve had seized. A seacock shouldnt freeze simply for lack of grease, any more than a nut would freeze on a bolt without grease. Seacocks may be constructed using a ball valve but not all ball valves are seacocks.
Sailnet community replacing seacock gate valve with marine. Ball valves seacocks ball valves their strength, light weight, and freedom from corrosion and electrolysis makes them the ideal valve for controlling inlet and outlet water requirements above and below the waterline. Ball valves inline valve or flanged seacocks that are exercised frequently operate more easily and are likely to remain free of marine growth. It is a bronze gate valve that the current owner says was in the boat when he bought it some 15 years ago. Its a shutoff valve sometimes a simple ball valve with a handle for shutting off a thruhull fitting. Thruhull ball valve combination issue exposed threads and simple locking nut for support at least use the groco combination threaded thruhull. Its threads mate with those of the throughhull fitting, which has nps national pipe straight threads. The other end of the seacock has a threaded female bsp fitting.
Servicing tapered cone seacocks photo gallery by compass. Groco 114 ball valveseacock and raw water strainer. Lightweight and free from corrosion and electrolysis marelon seacocks are ideal for controlling inlet and outlet water requirements above and below the waterline. Annual maintenance is an important part of boat ownership and one of the most important jobs to add to your list is to inspect your seacocks. Leaving a valve open or closed without moving the handle can cause freezeup. In an emergency, a quick glance at a seacock will tell you whether it is open or closed. I was trying to figure out a way to work on this seacock while in the. Sometimes lime scale can jam up a ball valve, so try flushing a solution of white vinegar down the pipe every now and then, followed by a little light lubricant. Through hull sea cocks and ball valves are often in hard to access spaces. A true seacock features a flange that is bolted or screwed to a fairing block afixed to the hull. Your old sv series seacock may be replaced with a groco ball valve, safety seacock, or seacock. Complete with drain plugs, 4 predrilled mounting holes. Seabungs revolutionary design allows the maintenance and changing of seacocks whilst afloat, allowing you to keep your water inlets and outlets safe at all times without the.
The ball turns in plastic seats but i doubt if you could buy new ones. The task of regularly opening and closing valves, however, is often neglected because valves are difficult to. The sea cock and ball valve helper is purpose built and designed to assist you in opening and closing your sea cocks and through hulls. To keep seacocks functioning reliably, they must be exercised regularly and lubricated at least once a year. A proper seacock is more than just a mounting flange with holes for bolting it down.
So perhaps i ought to be including gate valve ball valve removal and replacement in my annual maintenance regime. Many boat owners prefer the simplified operation of groco bv, sbv, sbvp or bvs series ball valves no wingnuts to loosen and tighten, and no temporary water seepage. Ball valves just do not last like a true tapered cone seacock does. Infrequent servicing leads to seacrud build up in the spot on the cone when it is in the closed position. Put your boat in the water with a properly installed bronze seacock and a marelon seacock for 6 months what will happen, a 60% overall loss in ts and fm values of the marelon.
When you then move the valve it carries this abrasive crud into the valve body thus wearing it down. Ul marine approved, housing cast of heavyduty 85555 naval bronze machined with tapered pipe threads npt on the outflow side, and straight threads on bottom for the thruhull. The seacock is made up of a valve body, which is what you see, with a cone or ball valve inside the body attached to a handle. Only a 45 turn is required to close it, which gives the required visual indication. The caveat here is that they need to meet the minimum strength requirements and do not have a threadmismatch. Thruhull and valve the woodenboat forum is sponsored by woodenboat publications, publisher of woodenboat magazine. Buy groco 1 ball valveseacock raw water strainer combo bvs. May 11, 2011 even if maintenance has been neglected and the seacock is completely seized, open or shut, it can probably be recovered to workable condition, and can usually be made as good as new. This question does come up from time to time, as we still see a fair number of boats using this type of valve as a seacock. Space saving design with strainer and integral seacock.
Seacocks partsvu is proud to carry a selection of seacocks from leading suppliers like groco, perko, forespar, and others. Cone and plugtype seacocks need to be disassembled to be properly serviced, but ball valve seacocks are easily maintained by spreading a dollop of waterproof grease on both sides of the closed ball. An essential part of keeping your wooden boat in commission watch this short video to find out how to service a seacock as shown by a member of suffolk yacht harbours boat building team. They should be used on all thruhull fittings for maximum protection. I unfortunately discovered this frozen seacock minutes before my boat was to be launched. Mar 18, 2006 the large 1 12 valve that is the galley sink drain was only threaded onto the bronze thruhull nipple two and a half turns. This marelon seacock comes complete with a through hull fitting with a mushroom style head. Now, simply close and open the valve several times to ensure smooth and easy operation. Forespar offers a wide selection of extremely strong and reliable marine grade marelon ball valves and seacocks. Older and some larger seacocks have a cone shaped rotating inner valve assembly that sits inside of the housing. Seacock valves since 1998, iboats is the most trusted water lifestyle online store for boat parts and accessories, boats for sale, and forums. The 1 12 marelon valve behind it that is connected to two of the cockpit drains was completely frozen open. Some types of seacock especially blakes tapered bronze fittings require regular servicing, while others just need frequent use. The mushroom that is the actual thruhull has straight threads like a bolt, so that a locking nut, or the base of the seacock itself, can screw down on it for its entire.
Groco seacock 3 full flow ball valve bv3000features patented fieldselectable and changeable direction of rotation for installation in otherwise unusable locations. You disconnected the hose at the seacock, opened the valve, and no water came gushing in. Newer seacocks are designed and constructed in similar fashion to ball valves and are actually a version of a ball valve. Perko bronze seacock ball valve suitable for applications that require long, scoop or flush type thruhulls. It contains specially arranged internal threads, top and bottom which is why an ordinary ball valve or gate valve should not be. It is possible to grease a seacock without taking the boat out of the water however, as well as free it. Ball valve seacocks getting stiff to openclose ybw forum. Triflange base and hole pattern provide easy retrofit for most popular brands. Will eventually change all the gate valves on the longbow so interested to hear oppinions. Available in several sizes to fit pipe from 34 to 2 inch diameter. Seacocks are required to shut off the flow of seawater supplied via a throughhull fitting to onboard equipment, including engines, gensets, livewells, airconditioners and the head.
Responsibility for proper selection, use, and maintenance of any product remains solely with the purchaser and end user. Seacocks are available with bsp or npt threads, or direct hose mounting depending on the type of valve. The forum is a free service, and much like the free content on public radio, we hope you will support woodenboat by subscribing to this fabulous magazine. It is a standard nickelplated ball, nylon trim type, probably 25 years old and never seizes. It is held in place with a nut and washer on the opposite of the handle along the rotating axis. In this photo we can see the cone or plug and the taper is evident. Too often, what passes for a seacock is in fact a mismatched collection of plumbing components, the most common of which pairs a throughhull fitting, the mushroomshaped male threaded component, with an inline ball valve. Sometimes lime scale can jam up a ball valve, so try flushing a solution of white vinegar down the pipe every now and then, followed by a. Seacocks and ball valves groco buckalgonquin perko.
The only ball valve i have on board is in the galley sink drain. You may also see gate valves, but they are not recommended for use as seacocks. The valve body has a corresponding taper in it and the two are lap fit or ground to fit and mate nearly perfectly the beautiful thing about these robust bronze seacocks is they are made from the same material, all 85555 bronze. Apply lithium grease to the ball or cone from the outside with the seacock closed. Nov 06, 2019 the most common types of seacocks are the flanged sea valve a seacock with an integral flange used to support and mount it directly to the hull and in line ball valve, which is a seacock designed to be supported entirely by the throughhull fitting. Ive read that these are not compliant with current industry standards. A flanged seacock or a flanged adapter, as pictured above, is far stronger and also much safer than screwing a ball valve directly onto the thruhull fitting. Marelon is a pretty strong plastic, and since it doesnt corrode it can be a good choice for thru hull and seacock. This is commonly done with a ball valve screwed onto the thruhull fitting or with a real seacock as shown on this page. Gate vales also have a reputation for failing internally because the different metalssteel inside, bronze outsidearent compatible. Special report special report what every sailor needs. The valve is normally located on top of the thruhull fitting so it can be shut off incase the hose breaks or maintenance on the system is being done. Their teflon seals and typically chrome plated balls are selflubricating. Dernord full port ball valve stainless steel 304 heavy duty for water, oil, and gas with blue locking handles 1 npt 4.
Theres more to a reliable seacock than a throughhull and a valve. Marine hardware 1 12 inch bronze 90 degree boat seacock shut off valve. As part of your normal maintenance program you should exercise all sea cocks and through hulls at least monthly. Usually they are located in the lower part of the bilge. While it is not a seacock in the proper sense any valve that penetrates the hull becomes a seacock if it meets the 90 degree handle rotation definition set forth in abyc h27. Marelon is a pretty strong plastic, and since it doesnt corrode it can be a good choice for thru hull and seacock material. The reason not to do as you suggest is that it doesnt solve the problem if, indeed, it is a problem the surveyor points out, and also overcomplicates things.
Special report special report what every sailor needs to. At a minimum, seacock valves should be inspected annually for corrosion and exercised openedclosed regularly to make sure they are operating correctly. Ball valves have a rotating ball within the bore, with a hole right through it. But i wouldnt want to do this whilst afloat unless i knew i could get it off easily, without damaging the skin fitting. First make sure that the component that the valve supplying water to is turned off. A seacock is your ultimate line of defense against sinking due to a plumbing malfunction. It is a good idea to lubricate them annually and exercise them once a month during the boating season. Although bronze plug seacocks by different manufacturers will vary slightly in construction details, the general principles are the same, and maintenance pro. The 1 12 hose that connects to the drains is dryrottedcracked on close inspection. Apart from lubrication by kitchen discharge it gets nothing. In theory most ball valves can be disassembled for checking but there is little maintenance that can be done.
The marelon seacock and thruhull will have a ts of 7,500psi and a ts of 250,000psi. Triflange base and mount hole pattern provide easy retrofit when replacing most popular brands. Im willing to bet the current abyc standards dictate the use of ball valves. Boat seacock ball valve 600 psi wog 3 14 inch female bronze. Marelon seacock failure like many boats manufactured since the early 1990s, priorities has marelon thru hulls and ball valve seacocks made by forespar. When this is in line with the bore, the valve is open. Sv series seacocks info sheet sv series, 1 of 1 maintenance. Ball valve this is still called a ball valve until you install it on the top of a flanged adapter or a thruhull fitting then it becomes a seacock. From the original gate valve or ball valve fitted to a through hull fitting, cast valve assemblies from blakes and perko through to the latest nonmetallic materials, we have a range of seacock valves to suit almost all applications. Lubrication for marelon ball valve sailboat owners forums. Tiara yachts 340176 groco ibvf2500b marine boat 2 34 inch brass valve seacock. Fast shipping, easy shopping, quality customer service and great pricespartvus promise to you. Seacock maintenance is best done out of the water for obvious reasons. Servicing or reconditioning a seacock howto youtube.
A seacock can also be a thruhull and valve used together without flanges. One of the sinking claims occurred when a bronze gate valve disintegrated and broke in two. Even if maintenance has been neglected and the seacock is completely seized, open or shut, it can probably be recovered to workable condition, and can usually be made as good as new. Grocos flange issue exposed threads also, make sure you get a ul 1121 approved ball valve. Aug 20, 2012 ball valves pretty simple for routine maintenance. Outside the boat, the ball is usually within reach, but to lubricate the interior side of the ball requires removing the hose attached to the valve. The cone or ball has a hole through it and when the hole is oriented inline with the thruhull, water flows through the seacock. Ball valve seacocks are not as easily serviced or disassembled as tapered cone valves, but this shortcoming is offset by the fact that they rarely require attention. Pko0805005plb 34 inch pipe pko0805006plb 1 inch pipe pko0805007plb 114 inch pipe pko0805008plb 112 inch pipe pko0805009plb 2 inch pipe. The bronze seacock will still have a ts of 35,000psi and a fm of 15,000,000psi. The maintenance a seacock receives depends on its style. I have been too busy stripping varnish and painting her topsides.
Seacock ball valves, nickel plated brass female parallel thread to pn 20 300 psi with teflon seals, mirror plated chrome ball. Groco 1 ball valveseacock raw water strainer combo bvs. Top quality seacocks are manufactured by groco, buck algonquin and perko in marine grade bronze. This seacock has a full bore the inside diameter of the ball is the same as the inside diameter of the hose connection so there is no resistance. To lubricate ball valves and seacocks while the boat is in the water you must.
Whilst writing a new blog post on seacocks i came across an article by another blogger on a failed marelon seacock and wondered if any of you had any concerns about the suitability of such items and how they compare to dzr ball valves. Pull the hose again, open the seacock and poke down in with the screwdriver. A flanged seacock ball or cone like apollo, buckalgonquin, groco, perko, spartan. Groco 112 ball valveseacock raw water strainer combo bvs. Ball valve assembly throughhull fitting with ball valve and hose tail fitting. It contains specially arranged internal threads, top and bottom which is why an ordinary ball valve or gate valve should not be used in a hole in the bottom of your boat. Special report special report what every sailor needs to know.
For the ball valve variety, little is required in order to keep them operational, although they are liable to become fouled with growth. They used to be quite widely used, but are a decadesold bronze blakes seacock. Cone and plugtype seacocks need to be disassembled to be properly serviced, but ball valve seacocks are easily maintained by spreading a dollop of manufacturerapproved waterproof lubricant on both sides of the closed ball. In order to gain the highly desirable ul and abyc approvals, a seacock must possess a lever that arcs through 90 degrees of travelno more and no lessto open and close the valve. Apr 17, 2012 and a ball valve has no serviceable parts anyway does it.