Excellent - thank you so much. You may have just saved me a few bucks and a few hours of messing around throwing away perfectly good parts!
I love this forum. :D
Excellent - thank you so much. You may have just saved me a few bucks and a few hours of messing around throwing away perfectly good parts!
I love this forum. :D
Glad I could help. Of course, if you are intent on throwing away that old, good for nothing Rule, I'd be happy to take it off your hands :)Quote:
Originally Posted by bergermaister
Okay, not to beat this to death but here's something to seriously consider if you are on the fence between doing a hose clamp setup like I did or going with all plumbed fittings screwed together.
My port side fill pump started giving me problems - running really loud and only filling at maybe 30% rate or so. Figured there must be something stuck in the line or the pump that is blocking the flow and making the pump work extra hard.
Now anyone who's poked there head in there knows the bilge area is tight even before you start adding plumbing and pumps. Mine was no exception. One fill pump is up snug against an engine mount, the other end of the T manifold the pump is right up against the back of my gas tank. If this had been all hard lined together it would have meant taking everything off, breaking the seals, some wrenching, busted knuckles and cursing.
Instead, with this setup it was one hose clamp, a little wiggling and a push and I had the fill pump laying in my hand.
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...V/pumpfix1.jpg
A quick twist and the pump housing was out and I found a bunch of fir needles and a thick grass reed that had somehow lodged itself in there.
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...V/pumpfix2.jpg
Brushed it off, stuck it back together, tightened up the hose clamp, and tested. Perfect again and under 5 minutes total. No disconnecting wires, other hoses, etc. No sealing it with teflon tape and wrenching it back together. Easily something you could do on the water if needed.
Food for thought for anyone out there contemplating how they want to do their setup... :D
I'm doing a very similar install this winter. Berg has done his homework and been a great help to me. I'll be doing 750s in the rear, 400 ski locker, possibly an IBS filling off the ski locker pump. Stock Rule 1100 filling the front, eliminate sprinkler valve setup. I'll be adding 2 additional 3/4" thru-hulls and a Rule 1100 for each rear bag. Upgrading the 500 gph empty pumps to 800 gph and retain the 3/4" drain lines. Stock Hippo ballast has 3 individual fill and drain switches so I'll be able to use my stock plate with a little rewiring. My drain/vent routing will be identical.
Sorry I'm a little late to the party, but nice install Berg!
Did you ever get your drain pump issues resolved? If not, I can see why you're having problems from your pics, so let me know and I can outline the fix for you, or anyone else that is interested.
Jason, please share here so that we can all benefit. Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonwm
Thanks and thanks for all your help along the way.
If you've got suggestions for improved drain pump setup I'm all ears. I believe a small part of it was bag bunching but it is still a little hit and miss with getting the drain pumps running right away. They act like they are air locked too much/often for my liking. I eventually get them to go but seems like it should be easier.
OK, there are just a couple of issues with the drain pump configuration that are going to lead to inconsistent functionality. Reference this picture for the discussion, as it gives a clear view of the drain setup.
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k...V/P1070275.jpg
First, aerator pumps, like the Attwood Tsunami pumps you used, are not self-priming, which means they can push water, but they can't pull. Because of that it's crucial that the pump be located as close to the water source as possible; in the case of fill pumps that right on the intake (which is great in your install, and why you don't have any issues), and for drain pumps, that means right at the bag. Most people are familiar with that, but even the 8-10" that you've seperated the pump from the bag will impact its ability to prime correctly, you're relying on gravity to get water from the bag to where the pump is.
Second, because aerator pumps aren't self-priming they need to be installed in a configuration that allows any air in the system to be bled out. If you look at your drain pump, the discharge fitting is on the bottom, so any air that gets into the pump housing will be stock in there. If that happens, the pump will be air locked until you clear it, or until the attitude of the boat is changed enough (either by ballast, wakes, or motion).
Ideally I would say shorten the hose between the W746 and the pump to be as short as physically possible AND turn the pump over, but you could probably get away with just turning rotating the pump 180 degrees and see most, if not all, of your problems go away.
Hopefully that helps.
Thanks Jason! The push/pull explanation makes perfect sense. I'll spin those pumps around before my next outing and see how it does. Then shorten up the lines and move the pumps if needed.
Cool, let me know how it work out for you.