Better deckhose
Does anyone have a deckhose that lasts longer than a season or two? I have those electric ones and they don't seem to last too long before burning out. I had been thinking that a belt driven pump might work better but somebody told me that those don't last that long either. What's the best deckhose solution?
I've had good luck with my Jabsco electric clutch pump. I think it's as old as the boat 1983. Iwaki pumps last a long time but they are 110 volt.
JYDPDX
2014-05-01 15:44:15
I have a Jabsco belt driven pump and am hating, absolutely hating the pathetic water pressure. It's almost serviceable at charging rpm but really weak pressure while trolling. It's the 1 1/4 or 1 1/2. Have others had good luck with these? Maybe I have a blockage restricting the flow. I've heard the impellers fail once a year so I just carry a spare and it was not hard at all to change out.
I went through what seemed like every electric pump on my last boat until I settled on the rule general purpose pump which produced awesome pressure. They only last a couple years but I figured that was good compared to the many others before that produce a small fraction of the pressure and only last a couple months.
If I can't find some kind of blockage in my thru hull or piping, I will be changing back over to the rule pump. But I will still carry a spare on board!
By the way drew. Nice driving of your boat at edgecumbe. You're in good company on my list.
By the way drew. Nice driving of your boat at edgecumbe. You're in good company on my list.
I'm guessing that's sarcasm. I don't remember turning in front of you bad any times, but over a month at the cape seems like enough time for everyone to piss off everyone else.
Salty
2014-05-02 02:19:06
I agree with JYDPDX. I use the rule, mount it below the water line and clean the intake and hose couplings of marine growth every season. I keep two spares on board. The best washdown pump for me is a pacer hydraulic 2" which I use to wash down and pump my slush tanks. I have it set up to swap out in less than an hour. But, it has been years since I have had to replace one. I also have an engine mounted pump which I use when two or more of us are cleaning fish. But, it provides too much pressure at running speed and for one hose at 2.5 knots. So, I have y ed it off to two hoses on deck and adjust the pressure as needed.
I'll give the rule a try. It seems like there should be some kind of bomb proof belt driven option, but I've heard nothing but complaints from that route.
Fishnpohl
2014-05-02 03:19:57
Jabsco have a cam plate in the top of the housing they never get changed and need to! With that replaced, new impler and new cover or just flip it around you should have no problem lots of GPH and plenty of psi. I have a 1 1/2 on a electric clutch and I have more water then I know what to do with.
JYDPDX
2014-05-03 19:29:47
The trick with the rule general purpose pumps, to get ample pressure, from what I was told and what worked for me, is to run inch and a half hose from the thru-hull to the pump and also from the pump up to the deck BEFORE you reduce it down to a garden hose or whatever your working deck hose is. I did this and had enough pressure to run two cleaning hoses and a hose to circulate water in the rinse tub simultaneously. Switch the other valves off to run it through just one garden hose and I could spray the back of the house from the pit. I also plumbed in an inch and a half deckhose with a spray adapter and it produced excellent volume and pressure for scrubbing down or shooting out the deck. PVC piping with the cement glue worked really good for pluming valves and reducing down to garden hose. Cheap, strong, fast and drip free.
Salty
2014-05-04 02:07:08
I agree with Jydpdx. I have a similar rule set up.
Crawfish
2014-05-07 21:28:36
Based on the good reviews I just ordered the Rule 3800 General Washdown. My understanding is 1.5" suction to pump 1.5" discharge to deck level to ? What size hose are you guy's using above deck? Any other caveats I should watch out for?
Salty
2014-05-09 16:17:04
I am using 3/4 inch garden hose fittings on deck. The reducing down is dicey as it really reduces your pressure. I go from 1.5 inches into a y on one side and through a large reducer to one hose on the other. I also clean out all the mussels and barnacles every year at the junctions.
Yesterday I installed a Rule General-Purpose pump on my troller for deck washdown at the dressing station(s) at either side of the troll cockpit. I replaced a Jabsco-style pump that ran off the auxiliary drive on the front of my John Deere. Unfortunately the previous set-up meant that the direct-drive washdown pump was always running - at ALL rpms (whether fishing or traveling). I considered installing a Pitts electric clutch on the aux drive so I could shut that pump off when it was not needed, but I decided to go with the Rule pump and use the aux drive for a different application.
The previous owner had installed a PVC Tee where the water supply came out at the back of the cabin. He had connected a 3/4" garden-hose Y-valve on the middle port of the Tee which gave him the option of putting all of his water either to the cockpit area for washing and bleeding fish, or diverting the flow to a 10-foot piece of garden hose to hose off the deck. If he didn't need any water on deck he had a by-pass plumbed-in that allowed him to run all of the water directly over the side. I have made a few changes, but basically I am replicating his original distribution system.
Kelper
2014-05-09 17:30:42
Great thread guys. I just pulled my jabsco engine driven pump off that boat. The seacock was under the engine, and stuck in the open position. Just couldn't feel good about it. I got rid of that, and had the hole glassed over. I'll have to give the Rule pump a try when my flo jet pump craps out on me.
JYDPDX
2014-05-09 23:33:04
One obvious thing to keep in mind is that you can NOT run this rule pump with the outlet valves shut off. It will ruin the plastic impeller fast. I ruined one myself and have quite a bit of paranoia whenever my new crewmen are messing with the valves, especially at the end of the day. Nor can you replace the impeller, you have to replace the whole pump (not if but when they fail) and they aren't cheap at ~$250.
Sure is nice to have washdown water though without cranking up the engine.
I think I did something similar to salty using a 1.5" T made from PVC and then reducing on the two ends to garden hose (Y'd on one end) But I went the extra mile and ran 1.5" hose all the way to the pit before reducing. I don't know if that helped but I was not unsatisfied with the results. Black Rubber garden hose is the absolute ticket too BTW.
Trnaround
2014-05-10 14:24:15
I have a Jabsco 1.5 inch electric clutch and have been intimately familiar with the entire parts list. What I have learned:
1. Don't wait to change the impeller until you see little black thinks coming out of the hose (or you will have to remove all the hose and clean the fragments out of the blockage)
2. Inspect the bearing where the pump seal keeps the saltwater from dripping on to the fan belt and electric clutch ( or you will be spraying saltwater all over your engine room which leads to rusty belt eating pulleys and destroying your alternator in time.)
3. Don't lose the bronze screws that hold the faceplate on because those screws are hard to find.
4. Get a warning (idiot) light on your dash so you don't run full out with your pump on.
5. They aren't hard to rebuild and the parts are not that expensive. No special tools necessary unless you replace the main bearing in which case you need a bearing press.
6. They are amazingly simple and last a long time.
JDPX if you have poor pressure you may have old impeller blocking the flow. You could do a test with a spare piece of hose, pull your existing hose off the pump and hook up the spare. If it is a lot better with the spare hose then you have a blockage, look where the hoses neck down first or any hose menders in the system. Oh and make sure the seal is not dripping and losing pressure.Good luck.
JYDPDX
2014-05-10 15:07:37
Ok thanks for that advice. I had been assuming my blockage was probably at the through-hull side but remember that the failed impeller came out in pieces to an extent. I'll check the other end where it necks down first.
Now, is this pump not meant to be run at high RPMs?
Trnaround
2014-05-10 15:40:09
JYDPDX, if you saw impeller parts coming out the hose, most likely there are bigger pieces caught and restricting the flow, yes if it is easier to check the neck down connection do that first, you will see the pieces if they are there.The pumps will wear out much sooner if you don't shut them off when you are running. Same thing with your hydraulic pump, it is hard on the pumps at high rpms. Especially when you are necking them down there is a lot of back pressure at high rpms. Should be an easy fix.
Salty
2014-05-11 05:43:51
Great tips turnaround.
Kelper
2014-05-11 17:22:27
I've been studying up on my fluid dynamics. It'd be nice to toss a funnel over the side with a hose attached and have it create enough pressure at trolling speed to put water through the hose and not have to deal with wearing out our pumps on our lowliner days.
I installed a rule as well. I used #8 wire to connect mine because I had heard that using too small of wire is one of the things that strains the motor and causes it to burn out.
I saw that they have the pumps for $189 on amazon, but they are back ordered for a few months. I might order a few spares.
joeman79
2014-05-12 14:23:33
Have any of you guys ever tried the Johnson washdown pump? I am having one installed in my boat this week on the recommendation of Brad the guy that ran the boat last year.
joeman79 - Exactly which Johnson pump are you referring to? Johnson manufactures a variety of pump models. The 1.5" engine-driven flexible impeller pump I removed from my washdown system was a Johnson [very similar to a Jabsco], but they make "washdown" and "live-tank" models also: http://www.spx.com/en/johnson-pump-marine/products-services/ . In the past whenever I picked a washdown pump for handling dressed fish on trollers I have operated, I always tended to go for a lot of water volume and low pressure. As far as brands go, I would say that Johnson is a reputable manufacturer.
joeman79
2014-05-12 20:23:36
it is not belt driven I see that they make one. it is electric 5.2 gm.
Trnaround
2014-05-15 13:46:42
JYDPDX, curious, what did you find regarding your pump pressure, any blockage?
JYDPDX
2014-05-19 05:28:34
Here's what I found. I replaced the belt and fixed the coolant leak above it. Checked the flow of water from the thru hull at various points and found ample flow, no blockage to the pump. Finally I did what I should have done first and checked the impeller (one month old) and it was toast. There were pieces of it blocking flow out of the pump. Replaced it and I believe I have optimal flow which is still insufficient at idle.
It's a 1 1/4" pump. I think I am going back to the rule pump and will have this as a backup. Don't like the idea of burning out the impeller just by using it while charging. We are always using the washdown while running in and out.
There was a conspicuously sharp edge in the inside of the impeller housing I noticed when I was installing it. May be why it's eating them.
Trnaround
2014-05-19 17:45:44
JYDPDX, You could still have pieces downstream from the pump, you won't know for sure until you do the test hose or take all of your hoses apart downstream and see if it makes a difference. Those pumps won't take running at high rpm that's why they developed the electric clutch. If you neck down to 3/4 you are increasing the pressure, which is good to a point but if you charge without allowing somewhere for the water to go (like a y) to increase the diameter to 1 1/4 you will stress the pump. That sharp thing could be the cam that has two little fingers on it, make sure the screw that holds the cam in isn't loose. Oh ya lubricate(grease or vasaline) the housing before you put in the new impeller.Good luck man.