Fresh Water Pump

Any suggestions for a good water pump ? I’ve got one head with a Raritan Elegance fresh water toilet, stall shower , sink and a Galley sink.
I’m considering a pump with a 1 or 2 gal.pressurized tank to keep the pump from cycling ever time a facet is opened and If a 2 gal pressured tank is good, would a 5 gal pressured tank be better. Just wondering what other folks are using and happy with.
Thanks for your thoughts
Don

We recently replaced our old Paragon Sr. fresh water pump with a Johnson Aqua Jet 5.2. We have a couple accumulator tanks, so a basic pump is what we went with. I was told that 4 to 5 gph pump would be sufficient for our boat (2 heads, 3 sinks, 2 showers, 2 vacuflush toilets). Of course, we don't ever use ALL those things at once, and so far the new pump works great. Quieter, more pressure (the Paragon was getting cranky...) and less amp draw.

Don't throw away that Paragon Sr., it's a $2,500 pump and is completely rebuild-able. I bought the rebuild kit for $257 and had it done professionally for $90. Works like new.

hmason said:

Don't throw away that Paragon Sr., it's a $2,500 pump and is completely rebuild-able. I bought the rebuild kit for $257 and had it done professionally for $90. Works like new.

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I actually have two. One (which was the backup) is rebuilt and ready to go, which I am going to sell. The other much older unit I tried to rebuild, but couldn't get the main housing apart - even with 4 people trying! I'll sell that one for parts. Gave up and went with newer, less expensive and ostensibly more efficient technology...

Moonfish said:

I actually have two. One (which was the backup) is rebuilt and ready to go, which I am going to sell. The other much older unit I tried to rebuild, but couldn't get the main housing apart - even with 4 people trying! I'll sell that one for parts. Gave up and went with newer, less expensive and ostensibly more efficient technology...

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Please excuse me for laughing right now because I couldn't get mine apart either :lol: The dockmaster tried, my neighbor tried, a local mechanic tried and nobody could open it. I took it to a pump shop with the rebuild parts in hand. They said to leave it and they would call me when it was ready. In 15 minutes they called me to pick it up. It was all done and rebuilt. I asked how they got it apart and they said "experience."

hmason said:

Please excuse me for laughing right now because I couldn't get mine apart either :lol: The dockmaster tried, my neighbor tried, a local mechanic tried and nobody could open it. I took it to a pump shop with the rebuild parts in hand. They said to leave it and they would call me when it was ready. In 15 minutes they called me to pick it up. It was all done and rebuilt. I asked how they got it apart and they said "experience."

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That made me laugh! Sounds like the order of folks I went through, too.

Tools to fix things: $THOUSANDS

The experience to get 'er done: PRICELESS!!!

$2500 for a pump?
What else does it do ?

"If a 2 gal pressured tank is good, would a 5 gal pressured tank be better"

YOU bet!!! within reason a larger tank will reduce the off on cycles for the pump.

." Gave up and went with newer, less expensive and ostensibly more efficient technology..."

It takes x amount of energy to move x amount of water and push it to X pressure.

Most of the newer "hi tech" pumps are built so the boat does not require an accumulator tank.

This is done by bypassing eater inside the pump.It saves the boat assembler purchasing and installing the accumulator .

But it costs extra power to pressurize water and let it leak by in the pump.

So you may need bigger batts to anchor out. And the ability to refill them more often.

We have a single 1 litre jabsco accumulator tank that has been glued and fiberglassed and may not even be working

That is attached to a single Vetus 13 litre pump which is identical to a seaflo pump
It was about $120 delivered via ebay



No problems supplying pressure to our top deck showers and taps.
This on a 365 day a year live aboard that anchors out for all those days.
Showers, washing machine, fresh water flush toilets, not a problem.

Simi 60 said:

$2500 for a pump?
What else does it do ?

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It pumps water and let's you tell folks that you have a $2,500 water pump. If that ain't enough what is?

For those of you that must have one: https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=11310

Paragon is a great pump. I rebuilt one, bought another second hand a rebuilt it too for spare. They are resistant to breaking, just wear over time. Good design. The jr and sr is the same pump, just a bigger motor. Absolute best feature of my water pump is a prior owner installed two separate pumps in parallel with a valve to switch from the a pump to the b pump. I’ve had one pump go down due to a bad pressure switch and swapped to the backup in an instant and fixed the primary at my leisure. A broken water pump ends a trip immediately. Having a plumbed in backup was an amazingly good idea.

ghost said:

Paragon is a great pump. I rebuilt one, bought another second hand a rebuilt it too for spare. They are resistant to breaking, just wear over time. Good design. The jr and sr is the same pump, just a bigger motor. Absolute best feature of my water pump is a prior owner installed two separate pumps in parallel with a valve to switch from the a pump to the b pump. I’ve had one pump go down due to a bad pressure switch and swapped to the backup in an instant and fixed the primary at my leisure.

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Have the pump I pictured and a same same seaflo spare in the spares cupboard along with half a dozen spare pressure switches.
Outlay $250 and I still have $2250 in my pocket

A broken water pump ends a trip immediately. Having a plumbed in backup was an amazingly good idea.

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Our Johnson died the day before Xmas and we live aboard away from shops so it was two weeks before a new one arrived via ebay
Easy enough to gravity feed a 20 litre water container from main tanks for drinking and sponge baths and bucket salt water in for toilet flush.
No one died and our trip didn't end.

I have a Paragon Senior in my shed at home. The thing weighs half a ton! The PO had left it in the lazarette, with some tape around the couplings and I assume it was busted.

He installed a Headhunter X-Caliber, which I now have running OK. The PO had wiring to it that was too small, and it kept tripping with low voltage error. It is still inclined to trip occasionally at random times. So I installed a small emergency pump near it, which tees-off the suction line and just provides a short length of hose to fill a bucket or other containers. I have no intention of dying of thirst, but if the Headhunter fails the trip will be shortened.

Given the reputation of the Paragon Snr I'll put it on the list to have it rebuilt when I return from my winter cruise in a few months. I am keen to get moving north to avoid the need to wear long trousers in mornings and at night! There is a local distributor near my preferred repair marina on the Gold Coast, but their website is not working so I don't know whether they are still operating. I may need to order the rebuild kit from the USA.

Simi 60 said:

Have the pump I pictured and a same same seaflo spare in the spares cupboard along with half a dozen spare pressure switches.
Outlay $250 and I still have $2250 in my pocket
Our Johnson died the day before Xmas and we live aboard away from shops so it was two weeks before a new one arrived via ebay
Easy enough to gravity feed a 20 litre water container from main tanks for drinking and sponge baths and bucket salt water in for toilet flush.
No one died and our trip didn't end.

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Yeah, have fun with those sponge baths. Good grief.

ghost said:

Yeah, have fun with those sponge baths. Good grief.

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Nothing wrong with a sponge bath or weed sprayer shower, its how many cruising yachties get by on a more permanent basis but seeing as I now have a spare pump its not likely to happen again is it.

And...... I still have $2250 in my pocket.

RT you are are definitely off your meds.

FF said:

"If a 2 gal pressured tank is good, would a 5 gal pressured tank be better"

YOU bet!!! within reason a larger tank will reduce the off on cycles for the pump.

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I agree Propnut. But before you spend your money at Westmarine or Defender, just drive down the street to Home Depot or Lowe’s and buy a residential unit. Make sure it has an air bladder and then you can adjust the precharge air pressure for maximum performance.

You won’t regret getting the largest that will fit in your space. 15 gallons - 25 gallons... they’re available all the way up to about 125 gallons.

Regarding the comment about a broken water pump ending your trip... it’s good practice for all boats to install a manual water pump, hand or foot driven, at the galley sink. Unfortunately I know first-hand the “horror” of being at sea with 440 gallons of unreachable water below your feet [emoji30]

I have an X-Calibur water pump. I'm quite impressed with it. It is very quiet, powerful and shuts down if run dry. Water pressure is adjustable in 3 increments. I run 60lbs. Price on their website was around $1,500. I have three Vacuflush heads, four showers, five sinks, etc. It seems to do very well.

We have Paragon Snr on our new to us boat plus a 10 gallon pressure tank. The pump rarely comes on, but when it finally does, what a racket! Like a small caliber machine gun. Is this a sign that it needs a rebuild or are these noisy from the factory?

We use a vetus 13lpm pump
3 year warranty and about $150.
Been going strong for near 3 years of daily use but we do carry a spare.

https://www.vetus.com/en/fresh-wate...-water-systems/drinking-water-pump-10727.html

18litre accumulator tank from irrigation shop for about $30.

We have a Headhunter Mach V pump- love it! It keeps 55psi, and is whisper silent.

One advantage of better quality FW pumps is they frequently use home well pump pressure switches.

These are reliable , but switching DC is always hard on the points.

A spare pressure switch is usually under $20 US .

I have a Paragon Sr. Not the quietest but a reliable beast that runs for a few seconds at a time. Mine was leaking at the shaft seal & looked like a bucket of rust. Called Depco. Tech said the electric motors are bullet proof but can be rebuilt anywhere, just send me the bronze wet end. I bought a new wet end for $700, a little Ospho & rustoleum, like new. The 15 y.o. original had significant pump body wear but was pumping great. With new shaft seals for $50, is an easy swap back-up. $700 seems pricey until one reads all the water pump threads on multiple forums. Pease of mind for me was the Paragon Sr.

FF said:

One advantage of better quality FW pumps is they frequently use home well pump pressure switches.

These are reliable , but switching DC is always hard on the points.

A spare pressure switch is usually under $20 US .

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Pressure switches to suit Johnson and many others are about $3 USD


https://www.rpc.com.au/catalog/electus-micro-pressure-switch-p-2672.html

SPX Aqua Jet Pressure Switch

I know this is an old thread but, I have had two SPX Aqua Jet 5.0 pumps fail in the last year. I still have the old pumps and wonder if it's possible to cheaply repair them. Mine fail by starting to have the pump cycle randomly more and more frequently until it gets stuck on. Has anyone tried fixing these as it sounds like the pressure switch maybe failed after 1 too many cycles.

Thoughts?

Get a new pressure switch and replace the old one. This is most likely the problem.
They do fail over time.

I do not use the pump mounted pressure switches. I use an industrial pump switch that is either on or off. No variable speed. i also install a diode to quash the usual spark from opening a DC circuit but the switch does not absolutely need it.

Pressure Switch

It was pretty easy to open up the pressure control on the Johnson pump and find the part number for the actual two pole switch ($4).

Curious what you used for external control as that would work with these pumps as well?

It would be easy to bypass the cheap pressure switch for an external. I would just need to find the pressure point when the pump controller gets energized.

Cheers

Ordered up replacement pressure switch. I took apart two of the old pumps that had failed and at least one of the pressure switches were suspect. Ordered part V7-6C17D8-000-2 from newark.com and going to swap each pump back into rotation for a few weeks and confirm if that fixed each pump. In the future if anyone else has similar incident with these pumps you will notice the pump gets stuck in an on position.