Late night fun with bilge pumps - trying to diagnose problem

[Prairie Schooner]

Brian, we're having a similar problem. Last fall I put a new Whale Gusher pump in the cockpit bulkhead where the old one had been. (On the old one the bracket securing the bellows was broken and the replacement part was almost as much as a new pump.) Before installing the new pump, I checked it with a bucket of water and confirmed that it worked. Our manual pump hose is dedicated with no connections or T's. Before I put the new pump in I blew in the hose to be sure I had a clear path. Yes. Then I plugged one end and blew in it to check for leaks. No. But once installed, when there was water in the bilge it would not pull. I haven't had time to troubleshoot further. Sorry, no help, but some commiseration.

Follow up: I removed the pump. It's working fine but, I'm embarrassed to say, I had hooked the in and out hoses to the wrong ports of the pump. My attempts to use it just blew bubbles in the bilge. (Bubbles In The Bilge would be a good name for an amateur maritime folk-rock band, btw.) Rerouting the hoses would have been a royal pain and introduced problematic loops, but I discovered that the bellows assembly can be rotated. That section is beautifully symmetrical so the mounting nuts will still line up with the holes in the cockpit side. Even though the old original hose seemed airtight, I decided to replace it as long as I still have the sole out.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[bsangs]

Follow up: I removed the pump. It's working fine but, I'm embarrassed to say, I had hooked the in and out hoses to the wrong ports of the pump. My attempts to use it just blew bubbles in the bilge. (Bubbles In The Bilge would be a good name for an amateur maritime folk-rock band, btw.) Rerouting the hoses would have been a royal pain and introduced problematic loops, but I discovered that the bellows assembly can be rotated. That section is beautifully symmetrical so the mounting nuts will still line up with the holes in the cockpit side. Even though the old original hose seemed airtight, I decided to replace it as long as I still have the sole out.
View attachment 49829
Cheers,
Jeff

Well done. You're a better man than I am Jeff. I gave up and purchased a gigantic manual bilge pump from Beckon Marine that I hope to never use.

 

[Nick J]

Awesome work Jeff! Can you take some pics of the pump and hose install? I wanted to use the pump you chose because it isn't susceptible to the aluminum corrosion that plagues the original units, but I didn't think the mounting bolts matched up. Sounds like you solved that problem and ended up with the best solution. This thread also reminds me that I never finished my install and I left the pickup hose coiled under the cabin sole not attached to a strum box!

 

[southofvictor]

Pretty nice to be able to rotate it and swap the in and out if you want to. Can you still take that pump apart and rebuild it / replace the flapper valves like you can with the aluminum ones? Or is it all sealed inside the bellows?

 

[Prairie Schooner]

@bsangs - If me making a stupid mistake and finally figuring it out a year later qualifies me, you might be selling yourself short. But thanks.

@Nick J - I will, Nick. Fortunately, the bolt pattern matches what was in there before.

@southofvictor - I think it is rebuildable. I was thinking about rebuilding the old one but the kit was about 75% (IIRC) of what a whole new pump cost so we just went with new. I loathe the concept of disposable parts, but it just didn't make sense to repair it. Naturally, I haven't been able to bring myself to throw the old one out yet.