Shower pump

[sinking city]

I am about to fit a shower in my sailaway has anybody got an opinion as to which is the best shower pump to buy and where from?

[Nine of Hearts]

I am about to fit a shower in my sailaway has anybody got an opinion as to which is the best shower pump to buy and where from?

 

I am sure someone will correct me on this, but I believe general consensus is that whale's gulper is a reliable chap for this, and runs dry/without priming. Got mine from a chandlers, but you can probably get one cheaper online?

[mrsmelly]

I am about to fit a shower in my sailaway has anybody got an opinion as to which is the best shower pump to buy and where from?

 

Most makes work well but so long as its the heavy brass type with a good impeller, they tend to last years ya just turn em on/off to suit yourself.

DO NOT buy the crappy little box afairs with the auto switch and bilge pump combination they ALL need cleaning quite frequently get smelly and hair trapped inside, much lousier job than even doing a pumpout tank ...........

[nb Innisfree]

I am about to fit a shower in my sailaway has anybody got an opinion as to which is the best shower pump to buy and where from?

 

Whale gulper, noisy (means it won't be left on) but absolutely trouble free, can be mounted above floor level, no impellers just a simple bellows. Fit and forget

Edited July 6, 2009 by nb Innisfree

[churchward]

I'll go with the flow here and say Whale Gulper too (or same type of pump) as these are pretty much fit and forget as they don't get clogged like other pumps with hair etc.

[sinking city]

Whale gulper, noisy (means it won't be left on) but absolutely trouble free, can be mounted above floor level, no impellers just a simple bellows. Fit and forget

 

Ok thanks, I thought a whale gulper had to be fitted below floor level.

[BeckyJC]

Whale gulper, noisy (means it won't be left on) but absolutely trouble free, can be mounted above floor level, no impellers just a simple bellows. Fit and forget

 

Seconded!

 

When I replaced mine, I was told to go for either a Whale Gulper or the Jabsco equivalent as I have long hair that was causing havoc with the impeller in the old pump. I ended up with the Jabsco one, and it works fine (if a bit on the noisy side). 2 years on, and it still pumps like the day I got it - just be sure that you make decent connections with the water pipes - do those jubilee clips up well

[BlueStringPudding]

We replaced our old Jabsco diapragm pump with a Whale Gulper and it is a great improvement. The old one was slow, inefficient and blocked easily with hair.

 

The Gulper is super fast.

[Soulgirl]

I see these are 12 or 24 v.. how does that work if the boat's hooked up to normal mains sometimes instead of batteries?

[WotEver]

I see these are 12 or 24 v.. how does that work if the boat's hooked up to normal mains sometimes instead of batteries?

 

Hiya,

 

Water pumps are always fed by the batteries so's you can always get water. When you're hooked up to the mains you'll be charging your batteries.

 

Make sense?

 

T

[NB Alnwick]

We have all assumed that by 'shower pump' the OP meant a pump to empty the shower tray (which is usually below water level and therefore does not drain by gravity) but there are other shower pumps used to provide a more powerful shower - some of these are incorporated with electric heating and/or thermostatic controls and are generically known as electric showers or power showers - they use an enormous amount of electricity and would be totally unpractical on a boat without a permanent mains hook-up

[alan_fincher]

....................................they use an enormous amount of electricity and would be totally unpractical on a boat without a permanent mains hook-up

I think it has been previously decided that they would be fairly impractical even for most boats with shore power, unless at least 32 amp supply is available.

 

The typical power requirements seem to be of the order of double what a 16 amp supply is capable of.

[FadeToScarlet]

I think it has been previously decided that they would be fairly impractical even for most boats with shore power, unless at least 32 amp supply is available.

 

The typical power requirements seem to be of the order of double what a 16 amp supply is capable of.

 

Two shoreline leads, and stealthily unplug a neighbour?

[Soulgirl]

Hiya,

 

Water pumps are always fed by the batteries so's you can always get water. When you're hooked up to the mains you'll be charging your batteries.

 

Make sense?

 

T

 

Perfect sense! Thank you

[Smelly]

Most makes work well but so long as its the heavy brass type with a good impeller, they tend to last years ya just turn em on/off to suit yourself.

DO NOT buy the crappy little box afairs with the auto switch and bilge pump combination they ALL need cleaning quite frequently get smelly and hair trapped inside, much lousier job than even doing a pumpout tank ...........

 

 

The Gulper is super fast.

 

If you've got loadsa money i read a year or two back that Whale had released a super big Gulper that would fire socks through it... All i need is a sock hopper

[reg]

Whale gulper

[blackrose]

I see these are 12 or 24 v.. how does that work if the boat's hooked up to normal mains sometimes instead of batteries?

Yes, just to clarify - while on mains the pump would work in the same way as any other 12v or 24v consumer (lights, fridge, extractor fan, etc). The fact that the boat is on AC (shore power) doesn't prevent the DC (battery) system working and if you have a battery charger running from the mains any power drawn from the batteries will be replaced as it is drawn (up to the maximum output of the charger). This will keep your batteries in good condition as long as they are topped up occasionally (wet lead/acid batteries only).