using a water pump as a shower bilge?

[Bubbs]

hello

 

does anyone have any experience with this?

 

we have a spare water pump on board, but our shower bilge has just packed it in.

 

thanks!

[dmr]

Whale Gulper has such an (deserved) excellent reputation as a shower drain why use anything else? I think its ability to cope with hair and other stuff is what its all about.

Fresh water pumps like clean water. Keep your fresh water pump as a spare, you will need it before too long.

..............Dave

[Richard10002]

I'd say they are interchangeable... how does the pump know whether the water is from the shower, or from the freshwater tank??

having said that, I also agree with Dave, that some shower pumps are designed to pass some of the gunk that might go down the shower drain, like soap, hair, etc.. 

In the short term, or in the absence of an alternative, I'd fit it and be careful what goes down the drain

Edited September 27, 2017 by Richard10002

[Tony Brooks]

But if you do please fit a strainer on the inlet. You will probably have to keep cleaning the strainer and even so it may be a fairly short time before  hair etc jambs the pump valves open as DMR hinted.

Personally I would forgo showers until I could get  hold of a Whale or if already fitted a new impeller for a Water Puppy (Jabsco).

[chubby]

Opinion only : 

Buy a Whale  gulper pump &  accept the cost because its the best . It will not let you down and is largely a fit & forget item . 

As already memtioned - this means you have a spare water pump . If you fit it i expect the opposite will happen and as a shower bilge it will let you down sooner rather than later as it will almost certainly block up .

Also Sods law dictates that as soon as fit your handy spare water pump your current water pump will fail & you 'll still end up spending money . 

Fit a whale pump , bite the cost , job done  & move on to next problem !

cheers 

ETA : I also have a spare water pump - and old one " just in case " . I do not have a spare whale gulpee pulp because i just simply do not expect it to let me down 

Edited September 28, 2017 by chubby

[rusty69]

There was one fitted to our shower  with a filter  It required cleaning weekly. Replaced it with a Whale Gulper, that was nearly 19 years ago. Same Gulper still in daily use 

[Bubbs]

Thanks guys.  our water pump is brand new anyway, we are on a three week cruise with a time schedule as my mum is on board from australia, after that we are cruising with no time.

 

we will install this water pump, and look to getting another shower bilge replaced ASAP.

 

[Phil Ambrose]

Don't forget that fitting a water supply pump to do the bulge function will involve a degree of modification/rewiring.

Phil 

[Murflynn]

4 minutes ago, Phil Ambrose said:

Don't forget that fitting a water supply pump to do the bulge function will involve a degree of modification/rewiring.

Phil 

won't the pump connection spigots have to be made to bulge to fit the existing shower discharge hoses?

29 minutes ago, Bubbs said:

we will install this water pump, and look to getting another shower bilge replaced ASAP.

 

3 ladies using a shower to wash their hair?  I'll give it a week before it's clogged.

[chubby]

2 hours ago, Bubbs said:

Thanks guys.  our water pump is brand new anyway, we are on a three week cruise with a time schedule as my mum is on board from australia, after that we are cruising with no time.

 

we will install this water pump, and look to getting another shower bilge replaced ASAP.

 

A wise decision i think . There will of course , be absolutely NOWHERE on the entire canal system to buy a Whale Gulper what with it being the overwhelming favourite of narrowboat owners because of thier exceptional levels of reliability  . Theyre like hens teeth . Forget it .

Much better to use a pump designed for entirely different purposes than one made for the purpose you require . 

Sarcasm aside . Do u have one those appalling box types with a bilge pump inside it ? These are notorious for blocking up so you may be able to just clear the blockage temporarily ( it ll block up again soon enough though  ) . If it is one of these type has the actual pump failed ? 

Edited September 28, 2017 by chubby

[Richard10002]

Presumably your shower waste system already has a strainer fitted, and this will still function as it's only the pump that has failed?

When I used a shower regularly on a boat I recall a weekly clearing of the strainer. 

[Arthur Marshall]

I've used an old water pump as my shower pump for the last twenty odd years, mainly because that's what I had and for the last n years I've been essentially broke.  I've got a bit of aluminium mesh over the shower tray outlet that catches all the crud, and every few years I have to take the pump out and clean the impeller. Never had any problems with it so see no reason to change.

[adrianh]

This works but you need a good large volume strainer on the suction. I had this system for many years. Hairs are your worst enemy as they make the valves leak, fixable by stripping and cleaning the pump

[matty40s]

36 minutes ago, adrianh said:

This works but you need a good large volume strainer on the suction. I had this system for many years. Hairs are your worst enemy as they make the valves leak, fixable by...

 

....the Yul Brunner look.

( unless you shave in the shower)

[Tony Brooks]

On 28/09/2017 at 17:13, Arthur Marshall said:

I've used an old water pump as my shower pump for the last twenty odd years, mainly because that's what I had and for the last n years I've been essentially broke.  I've got a bit of aluminium mesh over the shower tray outlet that catches all the crud, and every few years I have to take the pump out and clean the impeller. Never had any problems with it so see no reason to change.

The important word here is impeller.

Nowadays few domestic water pumps use impellers that do not require valves in the pump. I think they all use a number of small diaphragm pumping chambers and even smaller valves. These block readily when use don shower duty.

I  have flexible impeller shower pump without strainer but such things are not suited to modern tastes because they need push button operation that seem too hard for many who just want a switch. That leads to the horrible bilge pump and float switch in a box design that are prone to leaking.

Best buy a Whale gulper.