Washdown Pump Replacement

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Sababa

Guru
Joined
May 23, 2022
Messages
531
Vessel Name
Sababa
Vessel Make
Maritimo 52
My Jabsco wash down pump just bit the dust, and good riddance to it. It was a 3 gpm model that produced inadequate flow to blast mud off the chain and anchor really effectively. I had thought about replacing it with a 6 gpm Jabsco water pump that I have lying around after upgrading my fresh water pump to a Marco. But then I noticed that Jabsco has dedicated models for wash down and fresh water uses. The Internet says that wash down pumps are designed to handle salt water, but I have my wash down pump plumbed into my fresh water tank, since I have a high capacity water maker and it's easier on the chain. Is there some other difference that would make the fresh water pump I have on hand unsuitable to use as a wash down pump using fresh water?

If I do need to get a new wash down pump, is there any case to be made to spend the extra money (~2x) to get a Groco vane pump? The non-reversing SPO60 24v model puts through 6.5 gpm and looks to be built to survive the end times. Overkill?

This is the spare I have on hand:


These are the potential replacements:

This is the one that died:
 
It's all about pressure, with flow in second place.

The trick is to adjust the output flow late so that the pump is running near maximum pressure when trying to blow the mud off an anchor chain. I accomplished this by making an orifice out of a brass pipe plug.

My choice was the Jabsco 6 GPM at 70 PSI. Below are my pics of my awesome anchor cleaning wand stream:

20230317_084116.jpg

20230317_084053.jpg


Ted
 
I use a Delavan FB2 as a washdown pump. 7 gpm open flow and the pump is capable of pushing 100 PSI if the pressure switch is turned up to that point. At 80 PSI it'll still push 4.5 gpm and it does a great job of blasting mud off the anchor as a result. As expected for a pump with such a potent motor, it draws a lot of power. At 80 PSI it pulls about 25 amps at 12V. Mine is running raw water so I don't worry about how much water I use though.

As far as Jabsco, you want the Hotshot (washdown) pump for washdown use. The Parmax (fresh water) pump has a built in bypass to avoid cycling, so flow drops off faster as you approach shut-off pressure. The Hotshot doesn't have this.
 
I use a Delavan FB2 as a washdown pump. 7 gpm open flow and the pump is capable of pushing 100 PSI if the pressure switch is turned up to that point. At 80 PSI it'll still push 4.5 gpm and it does a great job of blasting mud off the anchor as a result. As expected for a pump with such a potent motor, it draws a lot of power. At 80 PSI it pulls about 25 amps at 12V. Mine is running raw water so I don't worry about how much water I use though.

As far as Jabsco, you want the Hotshot (washdown) pump for washdown use. The Parmax (fresh water) pump has a built in bypass to avoid cycling, so flow drops off faster as you approach shut-off pressure. The Hotshot doesn't have this.
I missed this post and installed the extra house water pump. Big mistake. It expects to have an accumulator to smooth out the pressure and surges and cycles. I’ll be off to Fisheries to pick up the proper article. Live and learn.
 
My Jabsco wash down pump just bit the dust, and good riddance to it. It was a 3 gpm model that produced inadequate flow to blast mud off the chain and anchor really effectively. I had thought about replacing it with a 6 gpm Jabsco water pump that I have lying around after upgrading my fresh water pump to a Marco. But then I noticed that Jabsco has dedicated models for wash down and fresh water uses. The Internet says that wash down pumps are designed to handle salt water, but I have my wash down pump plumbed into my fresh water tank, since I have a high capacity water maker and it's easier on the chain. Is there some other difference that would make the fresh water pump I have on hand unsuitable to use as a wash down pump using fresh water?

If I do need to get a new wash down pump, is there any case to be made to spend the extra money (~2x) to get a Groco vane pump? The non-reversing SPO60 24v model puts through 6.5 gpm and looks to be built to survive the end times. Overkill?

This is the spare I have on hand:


These are the potential replacements:

This is the one that died:
I put in the Groco washdown pump which I plumbed to salt water for my teak decks. It is awesome and powerful. I plumbed to salt water via the bait tank thruhull, because I wanted to keep my decks "salted/pickled". They build them up on a StarBoard mount, with one-way valves, which do not lose prime for weeks, if not months. It's a powerful pump, more than adequate. If plumbed to freshwater, you might need to consider the capacity of your fresh water tanks.
 
If you really want to move some water, and you don't mind the price tag, use what many custom builders use - the Headhunter Stingray saltwater pump, 20 gpm and 67 psi, dry run protection, with or without a pressure accumulator tank.
 
If you really want to move some water, and you don't mind the price tag, use what many custom builders use - the Headhunter Stingray saltwater pump, 20 gpm and 67 psi, dry run protection, with or without a pressure accumulator tank.
What a beast!
 
If you really want to move some water, and you don't mind the price tag, use what many custom builders use - the Headhunter Stingray saltwater pump, 20 gpm and 67 psi, dry run protection, with or without a pressure accumulator tank.
If you want to put in a fixed chain sprayer that flows a lot of water, something like that would be a great pump. But unless you use a large diameter hose with a very high flowing firehose type nozzle, most handheld hose nozzles won't flow anywhere near 20 gpm. So you're better off with a setup that can drive the nozzle at higher pressure both to squeeze more flow out of it and for more cleaning power.
 
If you want to put in a fixed chain sprayer that flows a lot of water, something like that would be a great pump. But unless you use a large diameter hose with a very high flowing firehose type nozzle, most handheld hose nozzles won't flow anywhere near 20 gpm. So you're better off with a setup that can drive the nozzle at higher pressure both to squeeze more flow out of it and for more cleaning power.
I’ve been wanting to do just that-fixed chain sprayer. Wonder if anyone has done that. Maybe I should start a seperate chat?
 
I’ve been wanting to do just that-fixed chain sprayer. Wonder if anyone has done that. Maybe I should start a seperate chat?
I'd be interested in that thread as I've considered it as well, but haven't put much effort into figuring out a design for it.
 
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