Water Pump Suggestions

Philzy3985 · #1 11-26-2012

1985 Catalina 30 here. Bought a few months ago after it sat (un-used for over a year, in the water) and things are starting to break. Not a big deal, I can fix things... but it's getting annoying because I live on it.

So last week, the day that I was heading out of town for the holiday, I ran dry of fresh water from my two tanks - "nice, good timing, and I'm in a rush so I'll fill it up when I get back" I thought.

I got back over the weekend, filled each tank with water from the dock/clean hose for about 5 minutes each (Not to top-off, because I did that before, and water overflowed up from the sinks on a starboard tack). Then I went to turn on my sink faucet and knock-knock-knock-knock-knock gusssshhhhhhhhhhh while knocking-knocking-knocking-knocking. This was the first time the water pump sounded bad. I figured just because it pumped itself dry and is filling up again? It worked for a day, still making a rougher noise and vibration than usual, then this morning it stopped working completely. Both the galley and the head faucet stopped pumping water. The fuse is still okay, that was the extent of my investigation.

So, what now? I suspect it just pooped out, it could be 27 years old, which I'm finding out is the way a lot of things are, and because I'm putting everything to daily use, the wear/tear is dramatically diminishing the life-time of parts.

Anyways, I was wondering if there's some secret list of liveaboard-accommodating water pumps that have a longer-use-life, or if I should just yank out the old one and order the same or similar replacement. Catalinadirect.com sells one that's more money than some nice sounding ones off amazon, and states that they don't have records before 1988 of the pumps used in the factory, so I'll likely be drilling new mounts.

Any input and suggestions are welcome and appreciated, I'll get tired of using my 2.5 gallon jug for all my water needs very quickly..

deniseO30 · #2 11-26-2012

What kind of pump? If it's the impeller, replace that if the motor runs.

Philzy3985 · #3 11-27-2012

It isn't an impeller type. It has the 4 plungers inside of it. I ripped it out and took apart every section down to the motor and spindle. Everything seemed okay, but I don't know what the difference is between "new" and "broken". It was manufactured in 2008, but like I said, was not used for at least a year by the previous owner.

I called shurflo (It's their extreme series, most $$ 4 gpm pump) and they said that when my tanks went dry that could easily break it. Rather than rely on a specific replacement part and my amateur plumbing intuition, I bought their next cheapest 4gpm pump, which is safe to run dry on. Hopefully I can plug it right back in and be back to normal.

Anything specific I need to remember when reinstalling a new pump?

miatapaul · #4 12-03-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philzy3985

It isn't an impeller type. It has the 4 plungers inside of it. I ripped it out and took apart every section down to the motor and spindle. Everything seemed okay, but I don't know what the difference is between "new" and "broken". It was manufactured in 2008, but like I said, was not used for at least a year by the previous owner.

I called shurflo (It's their extreme series, most $$ 4 gpm pump) and they said that when my tanks went dry that could easily break it. Rather than rely on a specific replacement part and my amateur plumbing intuition, I bought their next cheapest 4gpm pump, which is safe to run dry on. Hopefully I can plug it right back in and be back to normal.

Anything specific I need to remember when reinstalling a new pump?

Some pumps are designed to have a pressure tank and others do not work well with them. They keep the pump from cycling as often.

Philzy3985 · #5 12-13-2012

Update: The new pump works fine. It's works in shorter/more frequent on/off periods than the old one did. But it gets the job done. The websites can be vague about which ones require a pressurized bladder in the in the tank or something else.. I'm certain I don't have that, but the pump doesn't turn on unless I turn the faucet on.

Thanks for the input everyone