Globe run dry impellers

[Lou_tribal]

Hello fellows!
I am sure to have seen some threads about this but cannot find it back so bare with me.
I was looking to get some spare impellers for my raw water pump and went over Globe run dry impellers.
Looks interesting to have impeller being able to run dry for a while especially when there is need to haul out and winterize every year.
However impeller is like 5x the price of a regular one so wondering is that worth it.
Any feedback?

L

 

[OldDan1943]

Hello fellows!
I am sure to have seen some threads about this but cannot find it back so bare with me.
I was looking to get some spare impellers for my raw water pump and went over Globe run dry impellers.
Looks interesting to have impeller being able to run dry for a while especially when there is need to haul out and winterize every year.
However impeller is like 5x the price of a regular one so wondering is that worth it.
Any feedback?

L

Lou, first, I will admit I know very little about them and dont have them but, 5X seems a bit steep. Plus,
I dont know anyone who is using them.

One must consider how much is your time and safety worth to change the impeller while underway.... rocking and rolling or as you in the middle an inlet?
Should these high priced impellers be replaced yearly? I dont know. If they must be replace annually, all bets are off, in my mind.
We all carry 2 or more replacement impellers ..... maybe 'run' with a 'run dry' and carry standard impellers as spares? I dont know.
For how long can a 'run dry' impeller run w/o water? I dont know...
One can consider installing an overboard exhaust high temp alarm (this I did)
Should we consider installing low flow alarm? I dont know.
For me, I have decided to rely on standard impellers, replacing them every 12-18 months and an exhaust high temp overboard alarm. Has this high temp alarm saved me, not yet and I dont know because, I do the standard preventative maintenance.
I think it all boils down to personal choice.

 

[Bacchus]

Lou,
I looked at/into them a few yrs back and my memory is that reviews were not all that great. Reported unexplained early failures seemed too common.
My thinking has been if they were in fact all they were cracked up to be you would hear a lot more about them and they would be a lot more common???

 

[GregBrannon]

Worth 5 times the cost!!?! Absolutely not to me.


Greg.

 

[jleonard]

This goes back about 10 years.
A boater at our marina put one of these in his Lehman 225. Boat was in the water and the impeller self destructed before it ever pumped.
He then put a standard impeller in and all was good.
2 days after he told me the story I was in Defender (I'm local to Defender) there was a guy in front of me at the register about to buy one of those impellers. I told him what happened and he took it back and put it on the shelf and bought a standard impeller.
This is the only experience I have with them but it was enough.

 

[smitty477]

Hello fellows!
I am sure to have seen some threads about this but cannot find it back so bare with me.
I was looking to get some spare impellers for my raw water pump and went over Globe run dry impellers.
Looks interesting to have impeller being able to run dry for a while especially when there is need to haul out and winterize every year.
However impeller is like 5x the price of a regular one so wondering is that worth it.
Any feedback?

L

We had early hour failures om two of these about 10 years back.
Less than 40 hours on each within one season (initial install) and catastrophic failures on each.
No water flow at all due to higher durometer of materials on vanes along with less mating area within the limited core drive.
Documented these items with Globe and returned one for their inspection - they offered us a $$ return for the other impeller.
We wanted them to put out a notice and a recall for other boaters.
We did not take any $$ and still have the other impeller - I am not aware of them ever contacting folks to warn of failures.
YMMV

 

[CaptTom]

I am sure to have seen some threads about this but cannot find it back so bare with me.

Sorry, I'd really rather not bare with you

Seriously though, I know there were old threads on this, and the conclusion was that these things are a very bad investment. Too many horror stories like the above, including my own experience with one which self-destructed in my genset.

 

[Redhook98]

I have had mixed success with these. Been trying them off and on for about 15 years. They usually cost about 50% more than a normal impellor. (shop around) When they work, they are the best out there and can run dry for about 15 minutes.. I have had a few spin out of their plastic hub upon initial startup though. And that was with lube. I no longer use them and will not until the hub assembly gets better. Great concept and works great, when they work.

 

[Stabi]

I also had Globe impellers fail after 1 hour about 12 years ago, they may have cleaned up their act, but never again for me!

 

[sunchaser]

Lou, do you have impeller failures? If not, why the interest in G?

My Jabsco impellers get changed out at 250 -300 hours or every 18 months. They look very good when removed. Now at 3,100 hours per engine with not one vane lost or cracked. The gear drive pumps do reside below the water line so always primed with sea cock open.

 

[twistedtree]

I know a number of people who use them and get longer life. That’s the good part. And they do better tolerate running dry, until they don’t. That’s the down side. If you run them too long they melt down leaving a fused blue glob that’s very difficult to clean out.

 

[Lou_tribal]

Thank you all, base on your input I will stick with standard impellers. I do not really have issue just that winterizing/de winterizing can give some hard time to the impeller so I was thinking that one that tolerated more dry run would be nice.
However considering the price tag and how often I change it (last many years) this does not worth it.
Thank you again.

L

 

[twistedtree]

Thank you all, base on your input I will stick with standard impellers. I do not really have issue just that winterizing/de winterizing can give some hard time to the impeller so I was thinking that one that tolerated more dry run would be nice.
However considering the price tag and how often I change it (last many years) this does not worth it.
Thank you again.

L

For just that reason, I always changed my impellers as part of spring commissioning, no matter what. I want to change impellers when it's convenient for me, not when they decide to break. So the spring commissioning routine worked well for a boat laid up over the winter. For a boat run year-round, I think stretching to a two year cycle is fine provided the impellers are always still intact when you pull them out. If they have started to go, I'd switch back to a yearly routine. But I have always found they last longer when the boat is used regularly, rather than seasonally.

 

[jleonard]

I change them every other season. Went all crazy once and kept one in for 3 seasons.
Never had a broken or cracked blade.

 

[twistedtree]

I change them every other season. Went all crazy once and kept one in for 3 seasons.
Never had a broken or cracked blade.

Do you run year-round, or do you lay up seasonally?

 

[greysailor]

Aboard Salty, I have spare RW pumps for each JD main and the generator. I rebuild the pumps (new seals and gaskets) as soon as I swap them out, and store them with a new impeller ready to install. I can swap out the entire pump as quickly as installing an impeller in situ. Also, the new seals only cost a couple bucks, and are cheap insurance against the inevitable.
We boat year round down here, so I usually swap out the pumps at 2 years.
I use plain, fresh stock impellers...never saw the need for the high$$ impellers.

 

[Lou_tribal]

For just that reason, I always changed my impellers as part of spring commissioning, no matter what. I want to change impellers when it's convenient for me, not when they decide to break. So the spring commissioning routine worked well for a boat laid up over the winter. For a boat run year-round, I think stretching to a two year cycle is fine provided the impellers are always still intact when you pull them out. If they have started to go, I'd switch back to a yearly routine. But I have always found they last longer when the boat is used regularly, rather than seasonally.

This is a fair and safe measure. I will at least check mine before spring. I changed it just before winterizing so will be fine but I will add that seasonal check on my spring todo list.

L

 

[Lou_tribal]

Aboard Salty, I have spare RW pumps for each JD main and the generator. I rebuild the pumps (new seals and gaskets) as soon as I swap them out, and store them with a new impeller ready to install. I can swap out the entire pump as quickly as installing an impeller in situ. Also, the new seals only cost a couple bucks, and are cheap insurance against the inevitable.
We boat year round down here, so I usually swap out the pumps at 2 years.
I use plain, fresh stock impellers...never saw the need for the high$$ impellers.

I like the idea of having an impeller housing ready with the impeller inside so to make a quick change. I will look and try to find a spare one.

L

 

[Lou_tribal]

I change them every other season. Went all crazy once and kept one in for 3 seasons.

Never had a broken or cracked blade.

The one I changed did 3 seasons but I damaged it while winterizing. But as I do not want to have to change it in the middle of the water I will check it every spring and change it more often. Peace of mind is priceless

L

 

[richardschmidt2759]

impeller

i also tried one , when i removed it near the season most of the blades were cracked, i think they are to hard

 

[Comodave]

I have never actually used them because a mechanic strongly recommended against them. He said he had nothing but trouble with them.

 

[FF]

"Thank you all, base on your input I will stick with "

The best thing you can do with standard impellers. is to install a Y style (sendure) strainer AFTER the pump.

This will catch the tiny bits , and the big chunks should the impeller fail.

It takes only seconds to open and inspect the strainer to be sure your sea water pump is 100%.

The effort of chasing chunks and reverse flushing on the hope of finding rubber chunks is gone forever , worth while insurance.

 

[Oldsarge]

Have you tried Defender.com as I have purchased the globe impellers from them and were only a little more costly last time I bought some.

 

[Oldsarge]

I have used Globe impellers for many hours without a problem in the pump on my Perkins diesel. One thing, this was all in fresh water, so I don't know if salt water would make a difference.

 

[Steve DAntonio]

My take on these impellers... https://www.proboat.com/2010/07/offshore-passage-prep-hydraulics/

This was a Globe impeller. Rather than simply break up, like a common rubber impeller, they melt, which makes removal very difficult.

Impellers should be changed annually regardless of use. If you do this you diminish the likelihood of a failure considerably. Annual replacement also means you have an opportunity to inspect the cam and cover plate, and replace if necessary, and it reduces the likelihood of impellers getting stuck on shafts.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. OS. The OP (Mr. L_t) is in Canada and it's probable that with the $$ exchange rate and duty, he might be able to buy 2 or 3 regular impellers.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I think anything that has a cost factor of X5 will probably sit on a shelf a long time. Perhaps past its expiration date. Anything rubber or whatever they may be made of has a limited shelf life. It may be 5 years and it might be 10 years but it will get hard.

pete

 

[Salish Nomad]

Does anyone have experience with a "Stay Cool" impeller?