Re: [Paddlewise] electric pumps

From: Brian Curtiss <bc_at_asdi.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 14:58:01 -0600
>If I go the electric route I was thinking of installing a 500 GPH 
>Rule pump powered by a 1.9 gel battery.   Can someone make an 
>informed guess at how long it would take to pump out a small cockpit 
>(114cmX48cm) after a capsize re-entry and roll?

It is not the size of the cockpit but the volume of the hull's 
midsection that (in part) determines the pumping time.  The volume 
can be estimated using the following equation:

   Volume = 3.14 * width * height * length / 4

You'll then need to convert the units into gallons to order to 
compute the pumping time:

1 U.S. gallon = 231 cu. inches = 3785 cu. centimeters

For many production kayaks you can find the data here (this data is 
in liters: just divide by 3.785 to convert to gallons):
<http://www.havkajakroerne.dk/links/survey.html>

 From that page, it looks like something around 150 liters (about 40 
gallons) is typical.  Using this value, pumping time will be around 5 
minutes.  These calculations neglect several other factors: 1) the 
kayak's midsection won't be 100% full of water; 2) the kayaker 
displaces some of the volume; 3) the pump's GPH rate is probably 
overstated.

Brian





***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
Received on Wed Sep 24 2003 - 13:57:42 PDT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:10 PDT