Deck Washdown pump....

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superdiver

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2013
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120
Location
Ketchikan
Vessel Name
Nimbus
Vessel Make
Californian
On my boat, i cant get a deck washdown pump to last more then a couple seasons. The pressure switch ALWAYS overheats and fails. the pump pumps for a while them shuts off for no reason or the pump just totally doesnt pump.

I use it a lot fishing and all, but I would think they would last longer then that. I have used the standard Jabsco and also ShurFlo (sp??)

What brands have you guys used and which seems to last? Or is a couple of seasons normal with heavy use...
 
try upgrading the size of wiring and improving the waterproofing of connections.

other than that...most people I know have pretty good luck with the shurflow blasters. I have a pro blaster (I got it used) and have it running my system that also includes saltwater flushing toilets that get flushed 10 times a day...granted for only for 5 seconds or so..but lot's of cycling for the pump.
 
When you say upgrading size of wire, what would you recommend? It is mounted about 4 feet from the main panel. I believe i have 12 or possibly 14 going to it. And would too small of wiring cause the switch to over heat?
 
need to use wire sizing chart and measure exact for the max amps your pump draws.
 
Many years of good and regular use from a ShurFlo ProBlaster Extreme as a raw water wash down. Anchor, chain and decks. Is this pumping from a water tank or raw water? If raw, where do you have it relative to the waterline? Sounds like a plumbing issue.
 
There are pumps and there are pumps. I've actually had pretty good luck with the under $200 consumer pumps and keep one in my lazaretto for my stern wash down.,I think my last one is on year 6 now but it only gets used very intermittently. Jabsco/Shurflo, you can get a lot of pump for not much money, but they are price point pumps.

If you fish a lot and use this thing religiously, then I'd recommend actually buying a pump that will make you blush a bit more. Personally, I like groco pumps. It's a hard thing, because for the price difference you might not really be saving much, if anything. Check out what you can spend for a Paragon pump (I run two Jr's for my house system, main and a backup). You can replace a lot of those price point pumps for one Paragon. You might not dislike those consumer grade pumps so much after all. Groco has their own consumer grade-ish pump. Have not tried it, but it looks to have a bit more brass in it than the plastic pumps.

At some point, you have to decide what you will pay for quality. The materials/workmanship don't come cheap, and marine being marine environment the only assurance you get in the end is that the good pumps are a bit more "infinitely" rebuildable, if you define infinite as being a $200 rebuild kit which will cost more than a cheap pump all by itself and not include electronics such as the pressure switch.

See what I mean?

Personally, I like having the quality. My backup pump I paid $150 bucks for in a marine second hand store and then put a full rebuild kit into it, plus my labor and expertise. My used pump is worth two of the consumer grade pumps after buying and rebuilding and its still an old pump.

Decisions. Decisions.

Oh...and pumps can pull some amperage. 14 gauge wiring would not be what i would reach for.
 
Thing is good plumbing will let a a really good pump show its superiority. Bad plumbing will reduce it to mediocrity.
 
There are plenty of systems out there that cost 2-10X more and aren't worth a penny more than the other.

If you think you spent more for quality without a thorough investigation of both items...you are kidding yourself.

Even rebuild kits for many items contain 10 parts are 1/3 the price of new and all you needed was an "o" ring or bearing that from a hydraulic shop or elsewhere might have cost $5 or less.

Gross generalizations are just that. Few of the common names in boatin supplies are that much better than the next.

As far as wiring goes...use the charts realistically and oversize where appropriate and make dang sure the connections are good and stay reasonably free of corrosion.

Sure there are quantum leaps in systems..but it's usually obvious from the tech..not the name.
 
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I agree, I've always been about opening up all these things and seeing for myself. Heck, every now and then my attention span holds out long enough to put them back together too.

I'm a bit at a loss as to why we seem to have such different conclusions. From my perspective, there is no comparison whatsoever.
 
ghost said:
I agree, I've always been about opening up all these things and seeing for myself. Heck, every now and then my attention span holds out long enough to put them back together too.

I'm a bit at a loss as to why we seem to have such different conclusions. From my perspective, there is no comparison whatsoever.
Click to expand...

I can only go by my experience with hundreds of boaters I come in contact with every year and seriously challenge what they have and how it works.

Then I add in my own experience from living aboard and using equipment usually in a different way than most "part time" boaters.

I have no idea what your experience is..but I have seen more "junk" with big names and prices in the marine industry than I care to.....

Also...higher price items, though designed to last longer actually suffer from some of the simplistic problems the cheaper ones do. Sure they can be rebuilt...but 4 screws and 2 butt splices take a couple minutes and are what many can do compared to a rebuild...in the long run...the cheaper ones cost less if you have to pay someone to do the work and some of us don't mond paying a little more in the long run for convenience.

boy it's easy to keep adding to this...plus...it's convenient to have a cheap backup sitting on the shelf that only takes minutes to swap out for an important system being used all day.

another point is buy expensive in the marine field...then have that company stop supporting that line...expensive can mean a lot of coins down the crapper instead of replacing one cheap pump with another....and possibly one with better tech and really cool new features.
 
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"another point is buy expensive in the marine field...then have that company stop supporting that line...expensive can mean a lot of coins down the crapper"

Sounds like electronics too. Raymarine. hmmm. :banghead:
 
Heat would be from the result of the wattage "consumed" or used by the pump system. Bad connections (dirty, undersized, or corroded) would increase the resistance at the unit. Since wattage is computed from the product of current and resistance you can see the correlating increase in the wattage consumed and the resulting heat. Likewise an increase in the current from overloading the pump would achieve a similar heat increase. The current increase could be from a restricted water source which requires the pump to "labor" to meet the pressure and water demands.
I have been using my pump (jabsco) for the last 9 seasons and it works well so in my mind replacing one every couple of years seems out of line.
 
hmason said:
"another point is buy expensive in the marine field...then have that company stop supporting that line...expensive can mean a lot of coins down the crapper"

Sounds like electronics too. Raymarine. hmmm. :banghead:
Click to expand...

No worse than many....

Furuno seemed to be the only one to support REALLY old stuff...even they changes some of that philosophy 12 years ago when I was in one of their training seminars.
 
Does the pump turn itself on and off quickly while the hose nozzle is open?

It's unlikely this is the problem in a wash down pump but it will burn out the switch if the pump cycles on and off too frequently. That is why freshwater pressure systems have a pressure tank in the line.

I say it's unlikely to be a problem in a wash down system because the pump should run almost continuously while the nozzle trigger is pulled. If the pump cycles on and off very quickly, that's your problem. Get a bigger hose or a smaller pump.

If it's not quick cycling, and it's probably not, then I'd start with PSneeld's suggestion to look at the wiring.
 
It's not cycling rapidly. It runs for a minute or two then stops for a couple minutes the repeats.

The water simply is right next to the pump. Same basic level. And it has worked for a coupe seasons. And is just recently acted up.

I get the wiring now since it's explained above. But I am using wiring one size larger then came on the pump.

I can jump up in size to like 8 and run it the needed 2-4 feet. But I will likely need a new pump now too, right?
 
Exactly what pump do you have? is the pressure switch built in or separate? Have you validated what is not working, that is the pressure switch (stops sending power to the pump) or the pump (getting power from the switch, but not working).

Many raw water wash down pumps are designed and specified to be installed above the water line. We can all try to help you here, but I'd also advise calling Depco Pump and getting their take on the problem; if you need new equipment or parts that would be the place to buy it anyway.
 
superdiver said:
On my boat, i cant get a deck washdown pump to last more then a couple seasons. The pressure switch ALWAYS overheats and fails. the pump pumps for a while them shuts off for no reason or the pump just totally doesnt pump.

I use it a lot fishing and all, but I would think they would last longer then that. I have used the standard Jabsco and also ShurFlo (sp??)

What brands have you guys used and which seems to last? Or is a couple of seasons normal with heavy use...
Click to expand...

You know, pumps fail. If you use it quite a bit and it lasts two seasons, so be it. Mine last about that long and I use the heck out of them.

I'd carry an exact same model spare and change it out when it goes bad. If you dont like that model try a different model, but buy two of them.

You can buy a really expensive pump if you like and it might last longer. Probably will, but is it worth it in the end?

This can be over analyzed, like anything else in a forum or you can just buy a new pump and go fishing.

The fish will not wait for you to decide. Fishing season will be over soon. Its silver Salmon season. :)
 
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I wish the pressure switch was a separate unit, but its built in. When i bought the pump it pumped as intended and turned on and off as the pressure need changed. this worked for a few seasons.

It started failing little by little on the last sockeye trip. Essentially we use the pump multiple times a day for 30 minutes to 2 hours as we clean the fish from the net, some days its used most all day. I use the washdown pump pretty much every weekend for extended periods of time (1-2 hours). I dont know if thats "heavy use" or not.

But when it DOES pump, it pumps well for a few minutes with no nozzle on the hose so it shouldnt build up any pressure, and then it shuts off for a couple minutes all of the sudden.

I tend to believe its just failed... my next one will be wired with much heavier wire just to see if that helps...
 
superdiver said:
On my boat, i cant get a deck washdown pump to last more then a couple seasons. The pressure switch ALWAYS overheats and fails. the pump pumps for a while them shuts off for no reason or the pump just totally doesnt pump.

I use it a lot fishing and all, but I would think they would last longer then that. I have used the standard Jabsco and also ShurFlo (sp??)

What brands have you guys used and which seems to last? Or is a couple of seasons normal with heavy use...
Click to expand...

I know a number of people who have the same pump. They all carry a rebuild kit on board. Each time they use one, they buy another spare, know what I mean?
 
Stupid question, but....did you check the strainer? I had mine hooked up to a mister bar to cool me last summer in the 100+ degree heat. It intermittently failed, then finally failed and stayed dead. Eventually, I found debris in the inline strainer at the pump. Problem solved.
 
FlyWright said:
Stupid question, but....did you check the strainer? I had mine hooked up to a mister bar to cool me last summer in the 100+ degree heat. It intermittently failed, then finally failed and stayed dead. Eventually, I found debris in the inline strainer at the pump. Problem solved.
Click to expand...

I have NOT checked the inline strainer on the pump.... I did not realize they have one,, BUT now I will! that would make to much sense!

If I am not out on the boa this weekend I will pull it apart again and check it... thanks for the good simple idea to try first!

It may or may not solve the problem, but its an easy check...
 
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I checked the in line strainer. No issue there, cuz there isnt one....LOL

i took the rest of the housing apart and all looks good. The switch clicks when you push it in, not that that means anything other then that it isnt stuck i guess.

I ran it at different elevation in relation to the thru hull and that doesnt seem to make a difference. It runs for about a minute (with good normal pressure), then shuts off (pump engine shuts off) for about the same. I let it do that for like 30 minutes and felt the pump. The sensor end of the pump wasnt hardly warm, and the engine end was VERY hot. didnt burn my skin or leave a mark, but I didnt want to touch it a second time...LOL

I am leaning towards getting a new switch asymbly (found a place online for $34 plus shipping), and for sure going to get larger wire. The charts I look at seem to say it needs a size 10 or 11.. Ill probably go with 8 or 10 just to be sure...

Not sure how to calculate the wire tho... the chart seems weird. the pump draws 10 amps, is 12v and is about 3-4 feet form the electrical panel...
 
superdiver said:
I checked the in line strainer. No issue there, cuz there isnt one....LOL

i took the rest of the housing apart and all looks good. The switch clicks when you push it in, not that that means anything other then that it isnt stuck i guess.

I ran it at different elevation in relation to the thru hull and that doesnt seem to make a difference. It runs for about a minute (with good normal pressure), then shuts off (pump engine shuts off) for about the same. I let it do that for like 30 minutes and felt the pump. The sensor end of the pump wasnt hardly warm, and the engine end was VERY hot. didnt burn my skin or leave a mark, but I didnt want to touch it a second time...LOL

I am leaning towards getting a new switch asymbly (found a place online for $34 plus shipping), and for sure going to get larger wire. The charts I look at seem to say it needs a size 10 or 11.. Ill probably go with 8 or 10 just to be sure...

Not sure how to calculate the wire tho... the chart seems weird. the pump draws 10 amps, is 12v and is about 3-4 feet form the electrical panel...[/QUOTE]

14 gauge should be OK...12 would be super but overkill (which on a boat never seems to be).

Of course that's assuming the source from the panel is 12V or better even under all loads.
Click to expand...
 
Johnson macerator pumps seem to be fine...no reason why other models would be an issue.
 
superdiver said:
Not sure how to calculate the wire tho... the chart seems weird. the pump draws 10 amps, is 12v and is about 3-4 feet form the electrical panel...
Click to expand...

SD,

Here's a DC wire size calculator.

Input your numbers and get your sizing. My understanding is that the run length is supposed to be the round-trip length. Note the entry is in meters.

If price is not an issue, it never hurts to upsize it one size for good measure.
 
FlyWright said:
SD,

Here's a DC wire size calculator.

Input your numbers and get your sizing. My understanding is that the run length is supposed to be the round-trip length. Note the entry is in meters.

If price is not an issue, it never hurts to upsize it one size for good measure.
Click to expand...

Yes, DC runs are calculated round trip. And it's best if they are calculated for 3% or less voltage drop. AC runs, one way.
 
I tend to use this one that I have checked against others and it seems fine...

It comes from West Marine Advisor or even their wire page in their catalog
 

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FlyWright said:
SD,



Here's a DC wire size calculator.



Input your numbers and get your sizing. My understanding is that the run length is supposed to be the round-trip length. Note the entry is in meters.



If price is not an issue, it never hurts to upsize it one size for good measure.
Click to expand...


I put in 3% drop. Over estimated the length. And used 10 amps (that's what the motor says it is on the label)

It told me 10 gauge. So that's what I'll do. But I still think the pressure switch is fried.
 
superdiver said:
But I still think the pressure switch is fried.
Click to expand...

I bet you're right!

I bought one that only lasted a few hours in operation before the switch went bad. West Marine was great in replacing it without a hassle.
 
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