Pressure water pump

Hey everyone, we've came across a dilemma since buying N4712. The pressure water pump, it's slow as molasses, it's pumping rate is 2.7 GPM which is not enough if we want to wash dishes and take a shower at the same time. So after looking around I've came across this 110v pump by make of Head Hunter and the model is Mach V. Anyone ever used one of these, or have any experience with them?

No experience with that pump. How many outlets does the boat have?

I'd look at a pump that is 12V/24V (whatever your DC system is) so you're not tapping off the 110v system for your domestic water- unless your system is already 110v.

In addition to the rated GPM, look at the PSI. We have a 5.7 GPM/55PSI Shurflo on our boat, and we have great pressure everywhere.

Pau Hana said:

No experience with that pump. How many outlets does the boat have? I'd look at a pump that is 12V/24V (whatever your DC system is) so you're not tapping off the 110v system for your domestic water- unless your system is already 110v. In addition to the rated GPM, look at the PSI. We have a 5.7 GPM/55PSI Shurflo on our boat, and we have great pressure everywhere.

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Oh ok. Our current system is 12v, we have 8 various things on the fresh water system (plus the two heads).

http://www.shurflo.com/files/Educat...Pumps/pds-Extreme SS 5.0 24v 5901-1201 11.pdf

Have a look at this one Oliver. We had a similar issue on our tug and I'm very happy with this. I did have to upsize my shower sump to keep up with the increased flow but not a big deal.

jukesy said:

http://www.shurflo.com/files/Education-Center/Product%20Data%20Sheets/Fresh%20Water%20Pumps/pds-Extreme%20SS%205.0%2024v%205901-1201%2011.pdf Have a look at this one Oliver. We had a similar issue on our tug and I'm very happy with this. I did have to upsize my shower sump to keep up with the increased flow but not a big deal.

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Thanks I'll take a look!

jukesy said:

http://www.shurflo.com/files/Educat...Pumps/pds-Extreme SS 5.0 24v 5901-1201 11.pdf

Have a look at this one Oliver. We had a similar issue on our tug and I'm very happy with this. I did have to upsize my shower sump to keep up with the increased flow but not a big deal.

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The ShurFlo 5.7 5901-1201/1211 was discontinued several years ago due to repeated failures, including ours. The replacement is 5900-0201/0211....

Thanks for pointing that out. It appears I somehow attached the wrong link??? The one I installed was 12v and not 24. My bad

On my boat I have 2 x 2.7 gal/min pumps hooked up in series, the idea being if 1 fails I just power up the other and we're back in business. I sometimes turn both on and have a good hard shower.

N4712 said:

Anyone ever used one of these, or have any experience with them?

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We have a pair of them on a 100 footer the chief mate manages. They are excellent pumps, very quiet and supply all the water anyone would desire at great pressure, it is as if the fixtures were connected to city water.

There is a pair of them for redundancy, only one is online at a time.

DCBD said:

On my boat I have 2 x 2.7 gal/min pumps hooked up in series, the idea being if 1 fails I just power up the other and we're back in business. I sometimes turn both on and have a good hard shower.

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So there is no issue with free flowing water through the unpowered pump? i had considered a similar set up. I never actually did it so i didn't read up to see if that was a problem.

The one that was using had a pressure adjusting screw on the pump head. I cranked it up and got acceptable results. I don't remember the model or even the brand.

eseyoung said:

So there is no issue with free flowing water through the unpowered pump? i had considered a similar set up. I never actually did it so i didn't read up to see if that was a problem.

The one that was using had a pressure adjusting screw on the pump head. I cranked it up and got acceptable results. I don't remember the model or even the brand.

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I would think connecting them in parallel would be a better solution if one wanted a "backup". Install valves and a swith to use either.

Unless one has 120 volts AC at all times on the boat, a 12 volt pump (assuming a 12 volt DC system) would be a better plan. You don't want to have to fire up a genset just to wash your hands.

WesK said:

I would think connecting them in parallel would be a better solution if one wanted a "backup". Install valves and a swith to use either. Unless one has 120 volts AC at all times on the boat, a 12 volt pump (assuming a 12 volt DC system) would be a better plan. You don't want to have to fire up a genset just to wash your hands.

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Well have 120v all the time. I'm going price around. After further reading it's a quiet and reliable pump so I think we may have found our solution.

Oliver, a good friend of mine has a Mach V on his 72 foot sport fish boat. When it works it's a heck of a pump. The problem is that he had problems with the pump and wasn't happy with the help he received from Head Hunter.

On the plus side, Head Hunter is close to you. If you have a problem you can just take it right to the factory for repair.

Take a look at the Groco pumps. I really like the type of pump head they use. It's a positive displacement pump that is very reliable and easy to repair if you ever need to. I have the JR version on my boat. It's over twenty years old and still going strong.

Pumps - PJRW - PSRW

HopCar said:

Oliver, a good friend of mine has a Mach V on his 72 foot sport fish boat. When it works it's a heck of a pump. The problem is that he had problems with the pump and wasn't happy with the help he received from Head Hunter.

On the plus side, Head Hunter is close to you. If you have a problem you can just take it right to the factory for repair.

Take a look at the Groco pumps. I really like the type of pump head they use. It's a positive displacement pump that is very reliable and easy to repair if you ever need to. I have the JR version on my boat. It's over twenty years old and still going strong.

Pumps - PJRW - PSRW

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Parks, thank you for the reply. I'll take a look at the link. The main reason i'm looking at this specific pump is because its 115v which i already ran down an over sized wire for the UV Filter which i could tap into. Also we have a lot of amperage pull on the 12v side even with LED's the electronics still draw a butt load, and the main feed wire for the panel is a little small in my opinion. So im trying to push away the 12v and goto the 120 which normally has a very small load on it.

N4712 said:

Parks, thank you for the reply. I'll take a look at the link. The main reason i'm looking at this specific pump is because its 115v which i already ran down an over sized wire for the UV Filter which i could tap into. Also we have a lot of amperage pull on the 12v side even with LED's the electronics still draw a butt load, and the main feed wire for the panel is a little small in my opinion. So im trying to push away the 12v and goto the 120 which normally has a very small load on it.

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We have a 24 volt shurflo and an a/c headhunter Mach 5 running in parallel (throw a breaker and switch 2 valves and you are in business). Just make sure all the specs regarding pressure etc are fine for everything downstream. You may need to add a pressure regulator and perhaps an accumulator to get the results you need. Both of our pumps draw 10 amps and top out at around 65psi with max flow around 20 gpm. You need a pretty big sterilizer to keep up with these pumps and some water makers don't like flushing with 65psi so plan accordingly.

Via iPad using Trawler

make sure your water lines and connections can take the higher pressure.

I use a small 240v domestic pressure pump powered off the inverter as our standard pump (240v is the usual supply here in Oz, like 110v is States-side). The original 12v pump, while well-sized, is noisy so I keep it in reserve, plumbed in parallel and ready to go anytime. The AC unit is not only quieter, but much cheaper to buy and IMHO better built. I like having two pumps, one on AC and the other on DC, as double redundancy. As you have a working DC pump, albeit a bit under-sized, I'd leave it in place and go for your 110v AC pump as your main.

cafesport said:

We have a 24 volt shurflo and an a/c headhunter Mach 5 running in parallel (throw a breaker and switch 2 valves and you are in business). Just make sure all the specs regarding pressure etc are fine for everything downstream. You may need to add a pressure regulator and perhaps an accumulator to get the results you need. Both of our pumps draw 10 amps and top out at around 65psi with max flow around 20 gpm. You need a pretty big sterilizer to keep up with these pumps and some water makers don't like flushing with 65psi so plan accordingly. Via iPad using Trawler

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Thanks for the input. Our whale fittings should be just fine with the pressure. We don't have a water-maker so I don't have to worry. the problem is that our UV filter is rated for 8 GPM, so we'll have figure something out there.

Aquabelle said:

I use a small 240v domestic pressure pump powered off the inverter as our standard pump (240v is the usual supply here in Oz, like 110v is States-side). The original 12v pump, while well-sized, is noisy so I keep it in reserve, plumbed in parallel and ready to go anytime. The AC unit is not only quieter, but much cheaper to buy and IMHO better built. I like having two pumps, one on AC and the other on DC, as double redundancy. As you have a working DC pump, albeit a bit under-sized, I'd leave it in place and go for your 110v AC pump as your main.

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Thats what we were going do so we have double redundancy. thanks for the input.

boatpoker said:

make sure your water lines and connections can take the higher pressure.

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Heres the specs, they should be just fine.
Fittings are made from Glass-filled Polypropylene
WhaleX Piping is made from Polyethylene
15 mm, Whalex Red Tubing:
Designed for Hot water lines
Maximum hot water pressure is 90 psi
Maximum hot water temp is 150 degrees F / 65 C
15 mm, Whalex Blue Tubing:
Designed for Cold water lines
Maximum cold water pressure is 180 psi
Maximum cold water temp is 68 degrees F / 20 C
Minimum bend radius is 2.95 inches
Standard Whale 15mm Tubing is made from medium density polyethylene, and the WhaleX is made from high-density polyethylene. They both have the same temperature and pressure rating for sustained use, but we test the Whalex tubing to withstand 3x its rated pressure (2x for the standard tubing).

eseyoung said:

So there is no issue with free flowing water through the unpowered pump? i had considered a similar set up. I never actually did it so i didn't read up to see if that was a problem.

The one that was using had a pressure adjusting screw on the pump head. I cranked it up and got acceptable results. I don't remember the model or even the brand.

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No, I have no problem with flow.

If you ever use a Delavan Fatboy you will pitch all of those "marine" pumps overboard. 12 volt, 7gpm, pressure adjustable. Roof cleaners have been using them for years. I have one that is 5 years old with heavy usage, works like new. The shower is like shore based.

The Headhunter Mach V is standard issue on the larger Nordhavns. I've heard nothing but good reports on them.

As a point of interest I recently changed my 12 Volt fresh water supply pump over to a Jabsco Sensor max VSD 17.
17 lts per minute (approx. 4 gals) variable speed so doesn't need an accumulator.
I have 2 showers and 2 sinks and this supplies all the water I require , quiet and constant pressure.
Over the last 20 years I have had numerous pumps and pump combinations on Tidahapah and I have been happiest with this little beauty.

Cheers
Benn

I have a Head Hunter, 12 v XCaliber. It was tripping a lot when I bought the boat and the yard said they were problematic. But the error lights indicated low voltage. So first-up I said I wanted to try heavier wire to reduce voltage drop. Hardly an trip-outs now. The only issue I have with it is when changing tanks - it needs a few cycles to prime. But once primed it is fine. I do have an accumulator, but basically have mains-type pressure throughout the boat.

On DC pumps many times the size of the motor is the problem.

The units that are built to run as wash down pumps usyally have the same water moving parts but a 2x or 3x sized motor.

For folks that run the dishwasher , washing machine and take a shower at the same time , it might be enough IF the delivery system is a generous size.

5/8 flair copper tubing , kills bugs , available worldwide.

We have had years of very good service (full time live aboard and cruising) and great capacity/pressure from a FloJet shallow well pump (ours relabeled Sears Craftsman) which can be wired for 115 or 230. Perhaps not as quiet as a Headhunter, but less costly. Very easy to self-service and parts (and service if needed) available everywhere, a big advantage for cruisers. We had it in parallel with a GalleyMaid DC pump, another great piece of gear. A lot of other Hatt owners have a similar rig. You can set up parallel pumps to kick in at different pressure, so one adds boost if for some reason the other bogs down to extraordinary demand; but we never found occasion to need that with the FloJet online, a boat full of people taking showers, doing laundry, running a dishwasher, etc.

George that's a nice set up. Very clean and easy to service. The only very small problems with using 110 V shallow well pumps is that they are not self priming and you need to run the generator to have water. You've addressed both problems with your Galley Maid. It will run on the DC system and it should prime the big pump if you ever need to.

HopCar said:

George that's a nice set up. Very clean and easy to service. The only very small problems with using 110 V shallow well pumps is that they are not self priming and you need to run the generator to have water. You've addressed both problems with your Galley Maid. It will run on the DC system and it should prime the big pump if you ever need to.

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Thanks for the complement. Given our use of the boat, the water system is very important! The shallow well pump can run off the inverter if you wish. Priming is a total piece of cake; the GalleyMaid needs priming as well. Now if they were crammed away in some cranny of some puny engine room, it might be another consideration.

George I bet I've sold several hundred of the stators for those Galley Maid pumps, even a few of the complete pumps, but I've always thought they were self priming.

When you said it wasn't I had to go check. I couldn't find anything about it on the Galley Maid site but I did find a picture. Sure enough there was a pipe plug on top clearly marked "Priming Plug".

I learn something every time I'm on this website