poor man's impeller puller

[seattleboatguy]

I came across this today and thought it was pretty cool.

Which impeller puller - TeamTalk

 

[clynn]

Cool idea...thanks for sharing!

 

[dannc]

Paint can openers?

Excellent idea.

Later,
Dan

 

[Xsbank]

Mine -

 

[ancora]

Mine is even cheaper....

 

[TDunn]

A couple of screw drivers work too.

 

[Steve]

Mine is even cheaper....

You keep your impeller (faucet) puller in the brass box??

 

[Nomad Willy]

Like TDunn I just use two screwdrivers .. one on each side. The angle of the screw drivers is rather critical but easily found. Hasn't failed.

 

[ghost]

That's pretty ingenious. I used to use screwdrivers, but occasionally you put a little telltale in the sealing face. Usually not enough to make it leak. Usually.

 

[ranger58sb]

I appreciate our threaded filter barrels; I can simply insert a long bolt down the barrel, screw it in, out comes the filter.


-Chris

 

[ancora]

I was in the middle of reloadin' some .44 Mags when I took the picture.

 

[GoneFarrell]

Well...when they look like this...

...they come out with just two fingers!

Seattle, curious why you want to pull a "good" impeller? Maybe to rebuild the bearings and seals, to inspect it? Or is this one with a light press fit on the shaft?

I am Grasshopper, still learning. But I got the raw water pump thing down for sure now, carry two spare impellers and a rebuilt pump assembly/belts/bolts, moniter the raw water screen, yada yada...

 

[seattleboatguy]

Seattle, curious why you want to pull a "good" impeller?

It's a new boat for me, so I am inspecting and learning. Frankly, I have a harder time getting the impeller back in; getting it out is relatively easy. But, I still think the no-frills impeller puller is a cool idea.

 

[GoneFarrell]

Same here, makes sense. I lube 'em with white grease and twist 'em in with vise grips or Channel Locks. The important part is to remember which way the shaft turns so that it gets bent over and twisted in the correct direction.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

The important part is to remember which way the shaft turns so that it gets bent over and twisted in the correct direction.

Urban myth. With in a quarter turn or so the blades flop over to the correct orientation. No harm, no foul.

 

[seattleboatguy]

Urban myth. With in a quarter turn or so the blades flop over to the correct orientation. No harm, no foul.

Oh, happy days! I had no idea how to put mine back in. I love things that are idiot-proofed.

 

[GoneFarrell]

Thanks, good to know. I guess that would be a "maritime myth!"

 

[kapnd]

GoneFarrel, you ask why do you want to pull a good impeller?
How do you know that its good? Do you have a way to check it in place?
I pull them on an annual basis, chuck them in the trash and refit with NEW.
That way I know it's good, no question, and also there are no "good used" impellers in my box of spares, only new.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

Thanks, good to know. I guess that would be a "maritime myth!"

Maybe. But s good maritime myth always seems to involve a kraken and/or gold.

Although a kraken would be handy for pulling impellers.

 

[GoneFarrell]

kap, I've just begun learning & servicing the systems on a decent used boat new to me. Raw water cooling flow is one of the first of them. Understanding the service life of various components is part of that.

I now know the characteristics of normal and abnormal raw water flow by sight at the raw water screen window and can quickly & safely verify normal/abnormal cooling system temps across both engine and raw water cooling systems by IR temperature gun. So I know the impeller is good if I see normal flow and normal temps at cruising speeds.

For this boat at 1800 RPM, that translates to about 12 million revolutions at the raw water pump for every 100 hours of engine time. That's 12M x 10 blades = 120M blade flexures over 100 hours of run time. Kinda amazing they last as long as they do.

At $20 a pop vs. servicing one of these out in the channel, I agree that annual R & R makes sense too.

 

[kapnd]

GoneFarrell,
It's cheap insurance, I'd pay a lot to stay out of the engine room on a rough passage!
I am trying to stay one step ahead with preventative maintenance rather than waiting until the motor starts overheating.
I have also added a flow sensor connected to a loud alarm on the dash, just in case.