Today I built up my plumbing box and finalized all the fittings.

Basically the pump is going to mount where you see it above, just under the sink and to the right of the drain, which arrives tomorrow. Only that metal shelf will be gone and the pump will mount atop the water tank.

Here’s a close-up of the box I built. First I turned the drop elbows to face each other and made an 8-inch tee connection. I had to heat the ends of the 1/2″ braided nylon hose to force them over the brass barbs, and I used worm-screw hose clamps just for good measure.

The box is 3/4″ marine plywood left over from the floors. The depth has to be just right, and I also had to avoid some rivets at the bottom. So there is a spacer at the bottom. The large piece is fastened on three sides with 14 Kreg pocket screws. And then the whole box is screwed into the vertical frame ribs with four 2-inch sheet metal screws and washers, to keep it from flopping.

It ain’t goin’ nowhere. This will make the heavy chrome wall faucet feel as sturdy as possible.

I’m keeping the brass nipples and bushings you see here. They’ll protrude through the wall holes by just the right amount: 1/2 inch. To achieve that, there is a 1/4-inch gap in the back.

It turns out I probably won’t use the two 1-inch holes in the horizontal rib, since the water supply hose can route into the galley cabinet above that rib. But it’s nice to have those holes available if I ever changes things around, like to add a separate hot water line or move the pump. The 3/4-inch hole in the left corner is for the pump’s 12V cable, which I’ll branch in tomorrow.

As soon as I hear back from Plastic Mart about my custom fresh water tank, I can cut the holes in the back of the galley cabinet, button up the wall panel and move everything back into place. Then when the water tank arrives in a couple weeks, I can make the final connections from inside the galley cabinet.

Meanwhile, I should be able to fit the drain and the fresh water inlet by Friday. I need to make everything presentable for my kids’ Thanksgiving visit. 🙂