Running Jabsco ballast puppy without water

[loudsubz]

I havn't put back the bags from winter yet, and I guess someone didn't know they were missing, so after wakeboarding today when I went to turn off the boat I noticed all the ballast switches set to drain even though nothing is connected right now. I don't even have the impellers installed, just the shaft spinning free.

Why I am asking this question is right after I noticed someone had turned them down to empty, I flicked the switches off and back to fill to see if they would kick on (the timer had shut them off in empty mode already) and noticed that the front sac pump was not working. I flipped it back to empty and same thing, no sound at all.

Do the pumps burn out of run dry or is it only to protect the impeller from running dry? If its not working do you think its a motor issue or something needs to be reset on the module?

[mmandley]

Running dry is only a concern for the impellers. Running the pump while dry wont hurt it due to no load. You might have poped a fuse, or just need to reset the timmers. I dont have timmers so cant help you there.

[loudsubz]

Ok I did some testing today and it was definitely the pump that was not working.

Took it out, opened it up and this is what I find

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/loudsubz/2b368878.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/loudsubz/9fb4de6c.jpg

No wonder it wasn't working, it was full of rust and corrosion. Do you think this is a flaw in the design or an issue with manufacturer not sealing the pump properly?

[MLA]

Looks like the shaft seal leaked water into the motor. Was the pump mounted horizontally or vertically with motor down and the pump head up?

[jmvotto]

It certainly should not look like that. Not sure what the warranty on those are but you are gonna need a new one.. Ouch.

[loudsubz]

It was mounted horizontally. If your looking at the pump layout on the back, it was the top left pump. Motor on the left side, impeller on the right.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/loudsubz/72026181.jpg

I was able to clean it up with a dremel and its running but barely. It is noisy and will definitely need replacing.

[loudsubz]

Does jabsco have a website or email address for customer support? I did a quick search online but found a UK website, not sure if thats them or not.

[MLA]

Does jabsco have a website or email address for customer support? I did a quick search online but found a UK website, not sure if thats them or not.

They are under the Xylem name http://www.xylemflowcontrol.com/ They have an east coast and west coast office

[DOCDRS]

That is some serious corrosion. How do you winterize your pumps?

[loudsubz]

That is some serious corrosion. How do you winterize your pumps?

Dealer does winterizing and storage, I just pull the bags, remove the impeller and cover so no water is in the units. By the looks of the corrosion it looks like a seal failed and water entered from the pump housing.

[DOCDRS]

Dealer does winterizing and storage, I just pull the bags, remove the impeller and cover so no water is in the units. By the looks of the corrosion it looks like a seal failed and water entered from the pump housing.

very interesting< looks very strange for your type of application, i have similar, hope its not a common occurence

[loudsubz]

very interesting< looks very strange for your type of application, i have similar, hope its not a common occurence

Me neither!

I also have an odd feeling it may have been caused by the dealer. From day one we had issues with the centre pump putting a lot of air into the bag, so in 2011 we had the dealer look at it while it was being stored and in the spring the issue was still there and noticed they had used a piece of copper pipe to join the 2 pieces of pipe where they had worked on the ballast piping, and not even used a hose barb, so that's why I have an inkling to believe they may have messed with the pump as well in an attempt to fix the issue and may have not put it back together properly.