poorman's pontoon washdown pump idea

[rentprop1]

I searched an read a bunch of threads, this one had a lot of good advice, but it was 2 years old and I did not wanna bump it

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=166777&highlight=washdown+pump

but I got the thinking about how big of a bilge pump would you need to raise the water on the back of the log ( under the water ) to a fitting on the floor of the pontoon deck and then have enough pressure for a coiled hose , just to wash down fish blood and maybe cool off if you can jump into gator infested waters...lol

I have a changing room on the back that's not used, I thought of storing the hose there and the fitting coming up in the back corner and dropping straight down so the pump could be mounted behind the log.

what about the pressure if I stopped spraying for a few seconds, would the pressure build up and burst anything or would there just not be that much to cause any damage

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: poorman's pontoon washdown pump idea

For the price of a bilge pump to do the job .... you can buy a regular pump (when they are on sale). I like wash down pumps.

 

[dingbat]

Re: poorman's pontoon washdown pump idea

Bilge pumps are displacement pumps. They provide very little, if any, pressure to begin with. Add a length of 3/8" coiled hose that requires X PSI per foot of hose just to get the water to the end of the hose and you?ll have to run in a circle to get wet??..if you get any water at all at the nozzle.

I use a 5 GPM, 60 psi pump on my washdown system. Even then the pressure drop when using the 3/8" coiled hose is very noticeable. I changed out the coiled hose for 15' length of regular 3/4" garden hose the difference is like day and night.

If cheap is the criteria try a bucket. Otherwise, spend the money and get a good quality washdown pump. You will not be sorry

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: poorman's pontoon washdown pump idea

Bilge pumps are displacement pumps. They provide very little, if any, pressure to begin with. Add a length of 3/8" coiled hose that requires X PSI per foot of hose just to the water to the end of the hose and you?ll have to run in a circle to get wet??..if you get any water at all at the nozzle.

I use a 5 GPM, 60 psi pump on my washdown system. Even then the pressure drop when using the 3/8" coiled hose is very noticeable. I changed out the coiled hose for 15' length of regular 3/4" garden hose the difference is like day and night.

If cheap is the criteria try a bucket. Otherwise, spend the money and get a good quality washdown pump. You will not be sorry

Wow.... flashback to college level hydraulics.... 3/4 is flowing 4 times the volume of 3/8! (I know people are not going to agree but it is based on square inches )

 

[dingbat]

Re: poorman's pontoon washdown pump idea

I still use it

With a 15? length of 3/8? hose your looking at a pressure drop of 17.5 psi at 5gpm. You're wasting 17.5 psi of your pumps output just pushing the water through the hose.

When using a 15? length of ?? hose your looking at a pressure drop of 0.62 PSI at 5 gpm. Only 0.62 psi of your pumps output getting the water to the nozzle.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: poorman's pontoon washdown pump idea

I purchased a small 12V pump last year with garden hose connectors that would be perfect for this application. I found the bilge pump couldn't draw the water. You probably would find the same pump at Tractor Supply, Northern Tool or Walmart

 

[scoutabout]

Re: poorman's pontoon washdown pump idea

Yup -- got a practical lesson in pump dynamics last summer hooking up a coiled hose to the output of my aerator pump. I don't fish (gasp!) so the livewell and associated hardware on the Scout is wasted. I do, however, spend a lot of time flushing sand and chip crumbs out of the scuppers after a day with kiddies at the beach.

I was all excited as I had noticed the aerator head had threads that matched up to the hose. I thought Great! I'll store the hose in the livewell nice and neat out of sight and have it all ready to whip out and spray her down at a moment's notice. And what could be more convenient than just flipping the existing livewell switch on the panel?

The result was exactly as described by dingbat. Dribble, dribble...