Gulper 220 pump blowing fuses.

[L124C]

I installed a Whale/Gulper 220 diaphragm pump as a maintenance bilge pump about 2 years ago. Worked great, but it blew a fuse the other day. I took the head off and found a lot of white grease on the main gear and some brown powder (pictures below). Any ideas what the powder might be? Reassembled it and it ran for about a minute before blowing another fuse. I wonder if two years is about the most I can expect from a diaphragm pump? it probably runs a minute a day.

[WhalePumps]

Hi,

My names Sheila and I work at Whale. I've double checked with the customer service team and unfortunatly it looks like water has ingressed into the back of your pump causing the pump to rust - hence the brown powder. With the fuse blowing, it sounds like the motor itself is rusting and will be causing the fuse to blow - as instead of overloading the system it is blowing the fuse instead.

The Gulper 220 pump usually last longer than two years but as it is a diaphrgm pump we recommend you annually check the rubber parts to ensure no wear or tear. Unfortunatly it looks as if the diaghragm has worn or endured a tear which has resulted in this water ingress.

I'm sorry for the inconvienience caused by this but if you would like any more information please do not hesitate to contact us on +44 (0) 2891 270531 or leave your details at info@whalepumps. com and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Thanks

Sheila

[L124C]

Originally Posted by WhalePumps

The Gulper 220 pump usually last longer than two years but as it is a diaphragm pump we recommend you annually check the rubber parts to ensure no wear or tear. Unfortunately it looks as it the diaphragm has worn or endured a tear which has resulted in this water ingress.

Actually, the pump's directions mention inspection, but don't specify "annually". If I had to disassemble every mechanical device on my boat annually to check for "wear and tear" it would be a full time job! In any case, the diaphragm looks fine to me. No tears or obvious wear. Seeing the rust on the diaphragm bolt makes me think that that is were the leak was. Seems like the pump simply wasn't up to the job. Won't buy another. If anyone can recommend a replacement, let me know.

[L124C]

Replaced the Whale with a Flojet 2100-12 I purchased from Grainger for a about $100. Works great, and hopefully it will last longer. If not, it's half the price! It's easy to set up a Grainger account and order on line. They offer some other marine products (i.e., 3M caulking), however the retail prices seemed about the same as West Marine.

[mitiempo]

As a bilge pump? the Flojet 2100-12 is designed as a water pressure pump and comes with the pressure sensor according to what I can find. It is an automatic demand pump, not a bilge pump.
Flojet 2100-12, 02100-12 Pump

[L124C]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

As a bilge pump? the Flojet 2100-12 is designed as a water pressure pump and comes with the pressure sensor according to what I can find. It is an automatic demand pump, not a bilge pump.
Flojet 2100-12, 02100-12 Pump

Well...when there is little resistance on the outflow side (it's open), the sensor doesn't activate. Therefore, the pump is controlled by the auto or manual switch, just like the Whale pump. Flojet does make one without the pressure switch, but Grainger doesn't carry it. On the other hand, if the outflow did clog (unlikely), the pressure switch would shut the pump down. Ran it past the Flojet tech support. They said no problem. Works great!