Washdown Pump

[rickdb1boat]

I would like to add a pump to use for washing down my pontoon boat. What would I need to do this? How big of a pump and what kind? How and where would I mount it for convenience sake? I see they make coiled hose for this purpose. Are those just regular threads like a garden hose? Thanks,,,

[tashasdaddy]

rick, are you wanting to use lake or river water or fresh clean water. i've seen several sites that have washdown pumps, it think even attwood has one now. if using the lake or river why not use a thru hull fitting and a 500-750 bilge pump. and run your plumbing to wher you wanted to connect the hose. it wouldn't be a lot of pressure but it would rinse the fish guts.

[rickdb1boat]

I want to use Lake Water to wash it down. I guess the 2 main things are:
Where to mount it(In a compartment or under the back hatch for access to the hose) and how big of a pump? Do they just have a hose that drops into the water or does the pump itself have to be in the water? How high above the water can it be mounted and still pump effectively? I would like to put a hose nozzel on it and spray the deck down and such.

[tashasdaddy]

i've got a bilge pump in the shed , i'm going out and play. will get back to you.

[tashasdaddy]

here's the results of a highly technical experiment. wired a attwood v500 (little thing). put a hose on it. drop[ed it into 5gallons of water. it would only raise the water 1 1/2 to 2 feet. i googled attwood the they have a washdown pump , the i google marine pump never new there were so many different psi, and a whole rang of prices. didn't check iboats, guess you should.

ok i looked at iboats. they have a big choice. there are some self priming ones. i guess it all depends on how high you have to lift the water to the pump.

[rickdb1boat]

I just got done doing the same thing. I bought a bilge pump(700 GPH) awhile back and I was just outside putting it in a bucket and hooking a garden hose to it. Didn't really put out much as far as pressure. There are some pumps out there that claim 45 PSI for about 150.00-200.00. Something like this one:

http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cgi...=&view_id=2571


Or maybe even better:

http://www.iboats.com/bbboard/bbBoar...ew%5Fid%3D2571

[tashasdaddy]

yeah, i saw that also. just a thought, you could mount a battery box on the stearn. put the pump in it, use a hole saw cut a couple of hole and just trail a pickup tube. hang you wash down hose on the rail, or store in a compartment.

[rickdb1boat]

That's what I'm thinking about doing. I have a large compartment under the lounge deck(2' X 2' X 2'+ deep) and I was thinking of mounting it inside there and dropping a hose down to the water. Plenty of room to hang a hose. That's no problem. The problem now is what pump to get that will put out more than a pee stream with what will be probably a 2' lift....

[whblaylock]

I did the exact same thing on a crest that I kept in dry storage. Kept the rain and sun off but not the dust and such. I found a place out of the way to mount the pump and used a piece of garden hose through a hole in the floor. A 45 to 50 Psi on demand pump diaphram washdown pump will give you plenty of pressure and will lift about 8 or so feet. I even would take my gas pressure washer and hook to it when things were extra dirty. I don't remember the name of the pump but it is a common brand and was about $90. That was in 1996. I use it today to provide water to a swimming pool slide mounted on my dock. It is a great pump but be careful of the bottom as sand will cause it to loose pressure. You can take them apart and clean them but it is a real pain. wh

[rickdb1boat]

Thanks whblaylock
That pretty much is what I wanted to know. Looks like there are alot of them with 40-50 PSI. I think I'm gonna order this one. It claims 70 PSI and is a kit. Not familiar with the Johnson brand pump, though.


http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cgi...ime=1151618519

Whadda ya think, TD??

[tashasdaddy]

nice kit.

[HOTMIXX]

I had a Shurflo diaphragm 3.8gpm 12v 45 psi under my Aquasport for 10 years. Salt and fresh water. Bought a new kit, 4.0 gpm, 45psi, the hose will shoot a 30' stream. Spent $30 on new diaphragm kit, old pump works great. West Marine or Boat US has everything you would need at reasonable prices. Gonna try the old pump on a 28' toon myself. Good luck

[dingbat]

I've had both Shurflo and ParMax washdown pumps in saltwater applications and the Par Max is by far my preference. The flow and pressure are good on both but the Par Max seems to hold up better over time.

Both my live well and washdown pumps are mounted under the rear seats and the in take is plumbed to scoop type thru hull pick ups on the bottom of the hull. Both pumps are self priming to 5’ but the induction type input provided by the scoop intakes eliminates any priming problems whatsoever. Just make sure you put a good seacock on the input to close off the intake when not in use.

The one thing that I can certainly recommend is that you select a pump that can be run dry without damage. Even with lights, switch, etc, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten home at the end of the day and have forgotten to turn the pump off. Do it once with a pump not suited to run dry and your done.

If you can live with a regular garden type hose I’d use one. The coil hoses (garden hose threads) while nice are not typical not sized properly for the higher flow, higher pressure pump applications and will actually hurt pump performance. I use a 25’ RV water hose and cut it down to the length I needed on the boat. Remember you loose water pressure for every foot of hose so doesn’t leave your hose overly long unnecessarily.

[mattttt25]

on every offshore boat, the pump is mounted in or near the bilge. You need a thru-hull connected to a valve, which then connects to the pump. the outlet side of the pump runs deckside, usually another fitting through the deck where you connect a hose.

you want to use a washdown pump and buy the largest capacity you can afford, trust me on that. the washdown pumps run when head pressure is lost (can't remember technical term, positive displacement pump?), so it runs when you spray, but turns off when you are not. I don't think a bilge pump works this way. I think the pump needs to be within 4 feet of the inlet to work properly, but closer the better.

I replaced the pump on my Grady 2 years ago. Can't remember the ratings, but Boat U.S. had 3 versions. I picked the middle one... bad move, big letdown compared to the original pump that Grady had installed. I'm waiting for this one to die so I can buy the biggest one I can find.