Robust fresh water pumps

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T

TJM

Senior Member
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
445
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Harmony
Vessel Make
1982 41' President
We are liveaboards and I have yet to find a robust fresh water pump to circulate our water for faucets and showers. This last one failed after 8 months.
The type of pump I use senses a pressure drop when you open a faucet and turns on accordingly.

What do you all use that lasts ?
 
TJM said:
We are liveaboards and I have yet to find a robust fresh water pump to circulate our water for faucets and showers. This last one failed after 8 months.
The type of pump I use senses a pressure drop when you open a faucet and turns on accordingly.

What do you all use that lasts ?
Click to expand...

What pump are you using?

Installing a pressure tank and appropriate pump should help a lot. Our vessel successfully uses a Groco pressure tank and ParMax pump. The first pump lasted about 12 years in non live aboard but still heavy use.
 
Look at Headhunter Pumps. Kind of pricey but do a really good job on a three stateroom two head boat with a washing machine.
 
GalleyMaid for 32v and 24v and headhunter for 110v.
 
I have been using Jabsco 12 VDC models
 
TJM said:
We are liveaboards and I have yet to find a robust fresh water pump to circulate our water for faucets and showers. This last one failed after 8 months.
The type of pump I use senses a pressure drop when you open a faucet and turns on accordingly.

What do you all use that lasts ?
Click to expand...

I have had the same problem with two prior boats. Both had Shurflo pumps with pressure sensitive switching. One boat (Hylas) came with paralleled pumps so it wasn't a hassle to switch a couple of valves and employ the second pump when the first one failed. Interestingly, the failed pump would often resurrect itself and work after a month or two. One my next boat (Bayliner) with a single pump I added a paralleled second pump for the same reason and with the same necessity. I carried a third spare pump and remember having to use it after two pumps failed one summer! You might consider a paralleled arrangement so I have included a couple of pics, one before and one after installing the second pump (but before tidying the wires).
~A
 

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The most commonly used water pump is the variable speed pump. They all advertise that no accumulator tank is needed. They all bury in the fine print that an accumulator tank will increase the life of the pump. Regardless, eight months is way to short.

I am suspecting that you have a different problem. Undersized wires could result in voltage drop. This could definitely shorten the life of your pump. Where is your pump located? Is it properly mounted in clean environment or is rattling around in the bilge. Environment can certainly shorten a pumps life. How did it fail? Is the motor spinning but low flow or does the motor not spin at all?

I certainly can recommend a better pump but a better pump might not be the correct answer.
 
I installed a Grundfos 110VAC booster pump, Model MQ3-35. Delivers steady pressure and more volume than can possible be used on a boat. This from the Grundfos qebsite:

"Complete system The MQ is a complete, all-in-one unit, incorporating pump, motor, diaphragm tank, pressure and flow sensor, controller and non-return valve. The controller ensures that the pump starts automaticly when water is consumed and stops automaticly when consumption ceases. In addition, the controller protects the pump in case of faults."
 
If you have an inverter for 120V , the usual house pump will have a long service life.


For inexpensive 12V, a large accumulator tank , using a bait tank pump set up with house pressure regulator will usually last the longest .
 
Bertram Guy said:
Look at Headhunter Pumps. Kind of pricey but do a really good job on a three stateroom two head boat with a washing machine.
Click to expand...

Woodland Hills said:
GalleyMaid for 32v and 24v and headhunter for 110v.
Click to expand...

Another vote for the Headhunter Mach V pump- excellent pressure and silent. It is 110v, so that is something to consider...
 
Marco. Built from metal rather than plastic, and a continuous pressure gear pump rather than a multi chamber pulsating pump.
 
I just installed a Jabsco 5gmp pump and two accumulator tanks ( I wanted a 2 or 5 gallon tank but did not have the room). We had a promax 15gpm bait tank style with no tank before. It worked ok, but was crazy loud and would surge. I can't run two showers at the same time with the smaller pump. But I cant say its ever going to be a problem.
 
I set up a shore / dock water system. The pressure is strong enough that the pump doesn't come on at all if you don't open up the faucets all the way. Just make sure you have several failsafe ways to stop incoming water. I have used both a gallon meter type (didn't like it as much) and a 13 or 21 gallon cutoff valve and both have worked well.

And add to that a robust dewatering system and a nice and easy ball valve at the end of your finger pier so you can flip it on and off on your way to and from your boat.
 
Large accumulator tank and a 12V Jabsco washdown pump - I think they call it a "Hotshot". (Biggest capacity they have is what I bought.) No problem getting all the pressure we ever need for anything, and it's lasted 2+ years so far, with no signs of slowing down. The large accumulator is the real key, I believe.
 
TJM said:
We are liveaboards and I have yet to find a robust fresh water pump to circulate our water for faucets and showers. This last one failed after 8 months.
The type of pump I use senses a pressure drop when you open a faucet and turns on accordingly.

What do you all use that lasts ?
Click to expand...
I would suggest plumbing in a hose adapter to your fresh water system so you can have the dock hose hooked to your boat. I do this at my marina and other marinas where I transient. I also have a filter I put in line. In most cases the pressure from the direct dock water source is more than adequate and I leave my pimp off. Only use my pump while underway and on the hook. Works great.
 
Full time cruisers for 5 years - zero marina time

Our pump is a 20 litre/m 24v Vetus WP2420B "supposedly" made in the Netherlands , so says the box and with a 3 year warranty.
About $130 and has gone past the 3 year mark
Cheap enough that we carry a spare.
 
Last edited:
Groco Paragon senior or junior depending on how much water you need.
I had a junior on Possum for twenty eight years. Replaced the pressure switch once.
This is not a variable speed pump and should have an accumulator tank in the system.
 
smith6 said:
I would suggest plumbing in a hose adapter to your fresh water system so you can have the dock hose hooked to your boat. I do this at my marina and other marinas where I transient. I also have a filter I put in line. In most cases the pressure from the direct dock water source is more than adequate and I leave my pimp off. Only use my pump while underway and on the hook. Works great.
Click to expand...

I recommend against this. I've seen it sink one boat and nearly sink a 2nd.

If any of the hoses or hose clamps fail, one has a garden hose filling up one's boat. A source of way more water than the boat has volume.

Sure, the bilge pumps should keep up. But, the water will keep going even when the electricity goes out, or debris clogs the pump, or a fuse blows, or....

Also shore pressure is higher than boat pressure by ~50-100%. If the regulatory in the shore water inlet fails, the chances of a hose or clamp failure go up.

It is just an opinion, but I'd rather fill my tanks than introduce an unattended source of water.

One boat that nearly sunk overnight was a 50+ft liveaboard. Don't know how much of an unnoticed head start it had, but by the time the owner got up in the morning, the engine room was flooded and he almost lost the boat. He was there, but didn't notice anything while sleeping. The next morning his first sign was a different view from the galley window!
 
smith6 said:
I would suggest plumbing in a hose adapter to your fresh water system so you can have the dock hose hooked to your boat. I do this at my marina and other marinas where I transient. I also have a filter I put in line. In most cases the pressure from the direct dock water source is more than adequate and I leave my pimp off. Only use my pump while underway and on the hook. Works great.
Click to expand...

Gkesden is correct.

RVs use shore pressure routinely, but there, if you have a failure, the excess water goes onto the pavement and runs away into the storm drains - not into the boat.

In addition, most boats are not set up with a sealed water system, that having shoreside pressure would require. Most will fill the tanks, then start pouring water out the vents, or if you want to isolate the tanks from the pressure water you will need to modify the whole system.
 
koliver said:
Gkesden is correct.

RVs use shore pressure routinely, but there, if you have a failure, the excess water goes onto the pavement and runs away into the storm drains - not into the boat.

In addition, most boats are not set up with a sealed water system, that having shoreside pressure would require. Most will fill the tanks, then start pouring water out the vents, or if you want to isolate the tanks from the pressure water you will need to modify the whole system.
Click to expand...
I concur, this happened to me once and I was fortunate to be aboard. Still I needed some minutes to realize that water was flowing in the bilge by the noise of it. A simple fitting that pop out can be damaging.
Now I only use the tanks so no risk and it cycles the water more often so tanks stay clean.

L
 
Most, if not all, of the boats I've worked on have had backflow preventers to keep shore water from pushing its way back through the pump or into the tank(s). I don't know how universal this is, but it has always been my mental model as to how the setup generally works.

(But, I am still not a fan of shore water, except very briefly in special cases, e.g. while servicing a tank or pump, or if a lot of guests want to use a lot of water for a couple hours while I'm staying aware of the boat, etc).
 
How did it fail?
I also used the Jabsco 12V models and found that the pressure switch was completely unreliable, which caused it to stop pumping. I found that the pump portion is actually very dependable. I ended up bypassing their pressure switch and using a 'Square D' pressure switch, which has been far more dependable. They make it easy to bypass because the wires that run to the pressure switch are external to the pump housing. You just cut them and connect them to the Square D switch.
 
Westiculo said:
How did it fail?
I also used the Jabsco 12V models and found that the pressure switch was completely unreliable, which caused it to stop pumping. I found that the pump portion is actually very dependable. I ended up bypassing their pressure switch and using a 'Square D' pressure switch, which has been far more dependable. They make it easy to bypass because the wires that run to the pressure switch are external to the pump housing. You just cut them and connect them to the Square D switch.
Click to expand...

I think this is a great idea and will use it if/when my pump switch fails. Those Square D pressure switches are very heavy duty and sold almost everywhere.

Ken
 
While I’m not a fan of connecting your boat water system to shore pressure water, there is a way to make it safer. There are volumetric water shutoff devices.

If you install one outside the boat you can limit the amount of water that would enter the boat in case you had a failure.

Just set it to what you believe to be a safe number of gallons to enter your boat, say 200 gallons, and it will shut the water off at that amount. You’d need to reset it every few days but that’s no big deal.

https://www.hogslat.com/volumetric-shut-off-valves-250-500-2500-gallons
 

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I am a great believer in PE, Preventive Engineering where a system works well and can seldom fail.

The simplest water setup gangs the tanks together so a single FW hose stuck in the water fill will top all the tanks , and then any excess will simply run down the deck , reminding you to stop filling.
 
FF said:
I am a great believer in PE, Preventive Engineering where a system works well and can seldom fail.

The simplest water setup gangs the tanks together so a single FW hose stuck in the water fill will top all the tanks , and then any excess will simply run down the deck , reminding you to stop filling.
Click to expand...

This is my philosophy as well. I have installed a restriction in my fill line. This prevents the water from flowing at a rate greater than my vents can discharge. I then have a valve that is connected to my ‘Gobius which auto fills my tank when ever it gets to 1/2. Should the system fail in the on mode the excess water will just flow out the vent tube.
 
My system can get pressurized from dock hose or the pump. I do understand the risk in pressurized water filling the boat. I have redundant pressure reduction fittings and a ball valve shut off in the boat easily accessible. We close the water supply every night and when we leave the boat for work. Not to mention a few very loud high water alarms throughout the boat. I do like the volume limiter concept by hogstat. We need a 12 VDC unit.
 
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