I need some advice! Pumps, again!

[stuhaynes]

Some of you will remember my rant about water pumps on boats. Our 'new' Johnson pump has packed in again. It has been on board about 2 years (with several replacements) , with a 3 year guarantee. The latest one has been on board for less than 6 months, the one before, one week. This will be five times I've had to change the fekking thing, and I'm getting thoroughly sick of it. There is still a year left on the warranty, but it is getting way beyond a joke. It's a b*stard to remove.

I intend to use the warranty until it expires, but that is no answer. I want a pump that will do what it says on the tin.

I have to say, what follows, not because I'm a tw*t, but based on what's available now. 20 or 30 years ago we could buy things that actually worked. Nowadays it's all been exported to countries that couldn't give a sh*t.

I will have to change the pump for another. Johnson have exported jobs to the far East. Cheap for them, but expensive too. I will not buy another.

C'mon guys, I have to buy a new pump. I want 10 years out of it, not 7 days or a month or two. Any recommendations that do not include either Johnson or Shurflo (cos they're just as bad IMHO).

 

[prv]

Day tank on deck, gravity feed, big pipes to keep the volume up with the short head. And a decent new manual diaphragm pump to top it up from the main tanks.

Well, it's an option

Pete

 

[Stu Jackson]

Have you considered moving the pump location? You might try actual industrial pumps, the idea for a diaphragm pump is a good one.

 

[vyv_cox]

The Jabsco Par Max 1 that drives my refrigerator coolant has been running whenever the fridge is operating for about half the year of the past three years. Has been perfectly reliable. The Jabsco pump on my domestic water system was bought and fitted in Corsica, which makes it nearly six years old. We turn it on in April and off in October. No problems at all.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I can't help thinking that there must be something peculiar in Stu's installation as most water pumps are pretty reliable. What's it pumping - presumably it's a domestic pressurised water supply, where's it located, where's it drawing from, is there a pulsation damper, how often does it run? All relevant questions to aid in a diagnosis. When it fails, is it the pump itself or the pressure switch?

 

[Jean]

Does it fail altogether, or run and just not pump the water. Does it have an integral pressure switch, and is it adjustable?

 

[sailorman]

Some of you will remember my rant about water pumps on boats. Our 'new' Johnson pump has packed in again. It has been on board about 2 years (with several replacements) , with a 3 year guarantee. The latest one has been on board for less than 6 months, the one before, one week. This will be five times I've had to change the fekking thing, and I'm getting thoroughly sick of it. There is still a year left on the warranty, but it is getting way beyond a joke. It's a b*stard to remove.

I intend to use the warranty until it expires, but that is no answer. I want a pump that will do what it says on the tin.

I have to say, what follows, not because I'm a tw*t, but based on what's available now. 20 or 30 years ago we could buy things that actually worked. Nowadays it's all been exported to countries that couldn't give a sh*t.

I will have to change the pump for another. Johnson have exported jobs to the far East. Cheap for them, but expensive too. I will not buy another.

C'mon guys, I have to buy a new pump. I want 10 years out of it, not 7 days or a month or two. Any recommendations that do not include either Johnson or Shurflo (cos they're just as bad IMHO).

we have a PAR diaphragm pump mounted in the lazerette this was installed 14 yrs ago it now has a Salty John solid-state switch & has never missed a beat. expensive to buy but works.
most impeller pumps that sit in the bilge are rubbish

 

[stuhaynes]

I can't help thinking that there must be something peculiar in Stu's installation as most water pumps are pretty reliable. What's it pumping - presumably it's a domestic pressurised water supply, where's it located, where's it drawing from, is there a pulsation damper, how often does it run? All relevant questions to aid in a diagnosis. When it fails, is it the pump itself or the pressure switch?

It's a Johnson 42PSI 5.1GPM fresh water pump. The pump is about 10 feet from the tank and a couple of inches below the bottom of the tank, so basically gravity fed. On each occasion that it's failed it has been the pressure switch that has been responsible. It is 24volt and when working it's ideal for us. Plenty of water etc. We have a 5 litre expansion tank on the heated side, but only a 0.7 litre accumulator on the cold side, I'm sure that a larger one on the cold side would help.

I've been looking for a stand alone in line switch, but so far the nearest I've found is the Whale, but only rated to 30 PSI. I'm going to fit it today just to keep us going until the pump is returned. I do have a spare pump, also with a knackered switch, but I need a more permanent solution.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[Bilgediver]

I've been looking for a stand alone in line switch, but so far the nearest I've found is the Whale, but only rated to 30 PSI. I'm going to fit it today just to keep us going until the pump is returned. I do have a spare pump, also with a knackered switch, but I need a more permanent solution.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Why do you need 40 psi???? I had a friend who had one of these pumps and it was fitted with a separate pressure switch which was tweeked down to about 20 psi. This gives more than adequate water and reduces the load on the pump.The built in pressure switch is I believe non adjustable????

 

[jon711]

The psi of a pressure switch, does not affect flow, it just means, that a high pressure switch (And I class over 20psi as high), means the pump has to work harder, to achieve that pressure, when the faucets are closed. If you want to run a pump with a 40psi switch, I hope you have shares in a carbon bushes company!

I do have a little knowledge in this area, having worked for one of the top pump manufacturers.

Jon

 

[Chris_Robb]

The psi of a pressure switch, does not affect flow, it just means, that a high pressure switch (And I class over 20psi as high), means the pump has to work harder, to achieve that pressure, when the faucets are closed. If you want to run a pump with a 40psi switch, I hope you have shares in a carbon bushes company!

I do have a little knowledge in this area, having worked for one of the top pump manufacturers.

Jon

Jon, I have this type of Whale pump fitted.
http://www.whalepumps.com/marine/product_list/2/18/

Last year I had 3 new pumps. The previous pump lasted 7 years. The boat was fitted initially with a 3bar pressure switch.

The first pump this year had the same3 bar (45PSI). It packed up, pumping less and less water and taking progressively longer to get up pressure top switch off.

The second pump - I downgraded to 2 bar (25PSI). This was very weak and although the same flow rate, delivered only a fraction of the water. This packed up after 2 weeks. It appeared that the bearings in the pump section had disintegrated.

Third Pump 3 bar again. In place now - and running OK. Can the pressure valve be reduced to 2 bar?

All replaced with no fuss on warranty, but it means I now carry 2 spare pumps!

Not good enough Whale!