Raw water washdown question

[greghost25@msn.com]

Hi Guys,I am putting in a raw water washdown system and have a couple questions.First let me explain what I'm dealing with.I have an 1 1/4 raw water intake that I'm reducucing down to 3/4 at the pump it is a shur flo blaster,not an extreme but I think it will do the job.How far can the pump be from raw water inlet?Is it better to have it at or close to the same level as the inlet(in bilge) or can I raise it to the deck?Next:should I use a strainer and if so, will this restrct flow and pressure?Can I use the same pump for my live well?Sorry about all the questions but I'm new to this stuff Thanks for any help.Great site!

[tashasdaddy]

strainer yes, deck level it may be very hard to prime. i would put a fitting on the thru hull, and use a separate live well pump. i believe the washdown would overrun you live well with too much flow and pressure.

[Mischief Managed]

I agree with tashasdaddy about the deck being a bit to high to prime, it's a rubber diaprgam pump and may not be able to deal with much suction head. I also agree about the strainer. If it does restrict flow, you'll be glad it was there since it'll be clogged....

I have to disagree about the livewell though. My livewell runs off the washdown pump and it works fine. When there's no restriction to the flow (like a hose nozzle), the pressure goes way down and the turbulence in the livewell is pretty mild. One pump for each function would be ideal though.

[dingbat]

I have the Blaster Pro. My intake (scoop type) is in the bottom of the bilge and the pump is mounted on the wall of the transom in the battery compartment. It's a good 36" above the intake so you'll have no problem putting it on deck level.

The pump should come with a strainer. The mesh is large enough that it doesn't bother the pumps performance unless its full of stuff. I clean my out everyone and a while and find everything from grass to jellyfish in it.

One word of advice, install a seacock on your intake. And don't use one of those 3/8" dia. coiled hoses. There is way too much back pressure in a 3/8" hose when pushing that much water. I run a 3/4" garden hose on mine and the difference is like night and day.

I don't run my WD as a bait pump. I have a dedicated bait well pump for that purpose. I tried using the WD as the bait pump but wasn't happy blasting the bait around the tank.