Jabsco water puppy

[Clyde_Wanderer]

What is the general opinion or experience of the Jabsco water puppy 2000, 440gal ph, which I am considering using as a bilge pump?
What size and type of strainer should I use on the end of suction hose? and as they are 15amp should I be wiring it through a relay, and any ideas of a wiring diagram to do so including a float switch?
Thanks.

 

[Bodach na mara]

No experience of that pump, but I have a Jabsco pressure pump for the fresh water system and am happy with it. I imagine that the strainer size will depend on the hose. I used a standard Whale unit on my last boat. It had several spigots and you cut off the small ones until you got one to fit the hose.

If you are using a float switch, a relay will be essential. I read somewhere of a way to build in a delay or overlap in the sensing system to prevent excessive cycling, but forget where. You could also use a washing machine pressure switch as a sensor. These are mounted above the water level and sense the pressure of trapped air in a tube going into the water. By putting a wider section in the tube, a sort of delay is built in. They also need a relay.

 

[jimbaerselman]

A thought . . .

Most yacht size bilge pumps are centrifugal pumps, which are much more tolerant of dirt, grit, small particles etc (inevitable in bilge water) and generally have a better throughput for the money than displacement pumps such as the Puppy.

They're also quieter - good news at night!

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
Comn, someone out there must know something about them.
78 views and not one reply?

[/ QUOTE ] OK then the Westerly I sail has one as bilge/ shower tray pump. In 25+ years seldom known it to work properly and as reported eslewhere is a bit noisy when it does

Ours may be a smaller version as I think it is rated at 13 amps but that's the problem the wiring isn't. We can get it running on the workshop bench but put it back on the boat and it does not what to know.

Therefore if you do fit one make sure the wiring is good and heavy (there are several on line guides to cable sizes based on current and total length of run that you can be pointed in the direction of if necessary).

A relay would be a good idea and may be essential with a float swicth unless you use a really heavily rated one. It will also enable you to keep the main power cable runs as short as possible thereby reducing volts drop. You could then run the main, heavy, power cable via a fuse directly from the battery bus bars to it via the relay conveniently sited somewhere and connect the float switch and manual overide swich using lighter cable that can be routed more easily. A two way switch with centre off position would enable you to wire it up with "auto", "off" and "manual on" switching. Maybe you will want to put a switch in the main cable as well but a sensible option there would be a switch/ circuit breaker instead of the fuse.

If it is going to be an automatic pump that you leave on auto all the time then the power supply will have to come directly from the battery before your normal battery isolator/change over switch, assuming you won't want to leave the isolator on all the time.

I can't advise on the filter size but I am sure they must be rated in the catalogues. A good sized strum box might be sensible if you have shallow bilges, if not then you will need something suitable for a deep bilge. It would also be a good idea to keep the suction pipe as short as possible. There is a limit for the height the pump will lift and self prime which is in the spec but it would be sensible to bear in mind that it could reduce considerably once the impellor is past its initial youthfulness. I would consider a little bit of a loop in the pipe work as well so that the pump never drains completely. That will aid priming but there may be objections to it so is something to look into.

Food for thought I hope, and I have done my bit to offset the lack of replies. It's always quiet from Friday mid day through 'til mid morning on Monday.


Extra thought:

To prevent the excessive cycling mentioned by Ken Johnson fit two float switches. A high level one to switch the pump on and a low level one to switch it off. Then wire them up utilising a second set of contacts on the relay to hold it on while the water level falls from the upper one to the lower one. You never know you may be able to get a posh ready made control system in exchange for a large bag of gold bars