Hello All,
Yesterday I rowed out to the E38 with my little crappy fiberglass tub as the Achilles is in for repair. Loaded to the gunwhales with oil, tools and a borrowed electric oil changing bucket sucker thingy. Warmed up the engine, removed all the access panels and inserted the suction tube into the dipstick hole. Attached to the house batteries and hit the switch. The pump comes on, oil starts to flow up the tube, away we go. I went and fiddled with the mooring pendants, etc. to keep myself busy. A couple of minutes later I check and no oil is being pumped. Hmmmm, everything looks okay. Fiddle with the damned thing for almost an hour to finally diagnose that the electric vane pump is shot. Not pumping. Only got out maybe two quarts. Sigh, load up the tub and row back to shore.
On way home stop at Boaters World to purchase a Topsider vacuum oil pump as I have heard they work great.
Today, load up crappy dinghy and row out to the E38 again. Warm up engine again. Assemble Topsider, insert dipstick suction tube, and the thing starts sucking out the oil. I went and fiddled with something else for a while. When I returned, no oil in the Topsider. Hmmmm, I can hear a faint hissing when the pump is pumped up. Close inspection shows the little fitting where the hose enters the Topsider has been crimped on off-center and it leaks air. Since air moves through even small holes pretty quickly the Topsider will not hold a vacuum for more than 15seconds or so and then it needs to be pumped up again. Great. Well at least its sucking oil out so now I just resign myself to working that damned hand pump continuously so the oil keeps sucking out. About 5 minutes into this ordeal the handle for the pump pops off in my hand! Great! Fantastic! Fetch vicegrips and lock on to stub sticking out of pump and keep on pumping.
About 45minutes later the suction tube starts making that "bottom of the milkshake" noise so I can collapse and stop the upper body workout of keeping that pump moving. Change oil filter, get oil EVERYWHERE, refill crankcase and test run. All is good. Load up tub and row back to shore. Dump Topsider contents in used oil barrel.
Return to Boaters World. I paid cash for the silly Topsider and after that ordeal I don't want it. Boaters World wouldn't give me cash back as they said they can't return the Topsider to the manufacturer as there is some residual oil in it. Hazardous Material that used oil is, donachaknow.... Had to take a store credit. Complete BS IMHO.
Will be making an oil change pumpout pump with a manual barrel pump and some reducer fittings so I can hook directly to the sump hose and pump it that way.
Must it always be so difficult? Kinda funny looking back at it. RT
Yesterday I rowed out to the E38 with my little crappy fiberglass tub as the Achilles is in for repair. Loaded to the gunwhales with oil, tools and a borrowed electric oil changing bucket sucker thingy. Warmed up the engine, removed all the access panels and inserted the suction tube into the dipstick hole. Attached to the house batteries and hit the switch. The pump comes on, oil starts to flow up the tube, away we go. I went and fiddled with the mooring pendants, etc. to keep myself busy. A couple of minutes later I check and no oil is being pumped. Hmmmm, everything looks okay. Fiddle with the damned thing for almost an hour to finally diagnose that the electric vane pump is shot. Not pumping. Only got out maybe two quarts. Sigh, load up the tub and row back to shore.
On way home stop at Boaters World to purchase a Topsider vacuum oil pump as I have heard they work great.
Today, load up crappy dinghy and row out to the E38 again. Warm up engine again. Assemble Topsider, insert dipstick suction tube, and the thing starts sucking out the oil. I went and fiddled with something else for a while. When I returned, no oil in the Topsider. Hmmmm, I can hear a faint hissing when the pump is pumped up. Close inspection shows the little fitting where the hose enters the Topsider has been crimped on off-center and it leaks air. Since air moves through even small holes pretty quickly the Topsider will not hold a vacuum for more than 15seconds or so and then it needs to be pumped up again. Great. Well at least its sucking oil out so now I just resign myself to working that damned hand pump continuously so the oil keeps sucking out. About 5 minutes into this ordeal the handle for the pump pops off in my hand! Great! Fantastic! Fetch vicegrips and lock on to stub sticking out of pump and keep on pumping.
About 45minutes later the suction tube starts making that "bottom of the milkshake" noise so I can collapse and stop the upper body workout of keeping that pump moving. Change oil filter, get oil EVERYWHERE, refill crankcase and test run. All is good. Load up tub and row back to shore. Dump Topsider contents in used oil barrel.
Return to Boaters World. I paid cash for the silly Topsider and after that ordeal I don't want it. Boaters World wouldn't give me cash back as they said they can't return the Topsider to the manufacturer as there is some residual oil in it. Hazardous Material that used oil is, donachaknow.... Had to take a store credit. Complete BS IMHO.
Will be making an oil change pumpout pump with a manual barrel pump and some reducer fittings so I can hook directly to the sump hose and pump it that way.
Must it always be so difficult? Kinda funny looking back at it. RT
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