Re: [Paddlewise] Bilge pumps

From: Michael Daly <mikedaly_at_magma.ca>
Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 15:02:01 -0500
Don Lowther wrote:

> However, I found during a 6 week paddle this past summer that the "air button"
> is very susceptible to jamming when sand grains make their way between the
> button and it's housing. 

I haven't found that problem and am not sure if it's a result of my having found 
a button with a tight fit or the fact that sandy beaches are rare in the Great 
Lakes areas where I paddle.


> I also found that if the outlet hose was full of water (between the check
> valve and through hull fitting) prior to activating the pump, it could not
> push past that column of water. But if the outlet hose was clear - no trouble
> at all, it pumped out water like a fire hose.

I've had problems with intermittent pump priming even when there was enough 
water in the bilge to saturate the pump.  I never noticed if the outlet hose had 
water in it at the time - I'll have to look into that and see if I have such a 
correlation.  I did notice that the problem would go away if I removed the pump 
and reseated it in its mount (the base allows the pump body to twist off).  I 
finally took everything non-electric apart, cleaned it up, reassembled it and 
the problem went away - I thought it might be the impeller scroll case not being 
sealed quite right and therefore not generating enough pressure to push the 
water out.

If you are having a problem with water on the outlet side of the check valve, 
try relocating it as close to the outlet fitting as possible to reduce the 
amount of water that can be held there.  Good thing the hose is the cheapest 
part of the assembly.

I also had occasional check valve leaks - there was sand/gravel/twig/something 
in the duck bill part of the valve lodging it open.

I never go out without my manual pump as a backup.

Mike
***************************************************************************
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 Fri Dec 29 2006 - 12:02:52 PST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:22 PDT