Replacing Bilge Pump

[tcroz]

The bilge went out on my 1800 Lund Fisherman Tiller. What should I buy to replace it? I believe they rate it by GPH (gallons per hour). Is replacing it simple or does it need to be professionaly done. What is involved in replacing it?

Any help would be appreciated.

Croz

[PerchJerker]

There are some posts about this in the Boats and Motors forum, but you should be able to pop the pump out of its mounting bracket or mounting carriage and replace it with the same pump. After that it's a simple matter of making the power connections and connecting the drain hose. Usually the only hard part in the whole process is getting access to the pump and having enough room to work on it and see what you're doing, etc.

[marine_man]

Perchjereker is right on - I'd try and get the same size and brand - that way you don't have to replace the mounting bracket buried in the bottom of the boat.

Good luck!

marine_man

[Tom7227]

Little trick to the process - A lot of time the problems with electrical things in a boat are either loose connections or corresion. My advice is to try and solder the connections if at all possible, and then use some shrink tubing to seal them up. It's not hard and it will pay off in the long run. There's also a product called Star Bite Liquid Electrical Tape that works reasonably well. You paint it on and it seals things up - I usually go with a couple of coats.

If you can't find the exact pump to replace it with you probably can use just about any make, it's just going to be a bit more work to make the connections.

[Optimax Man]

Some of the pumps come apart easily. I recently replaced mine by simply loosening a set screw and removing the motor and impeller from the housing. Simply bought a new motor /impeller from Gander and spliced the wires. I didn't have to unhook any hoses and deal with possible water leaks.

[muddpuppy]

If replacing I would go with the auto bilge. Thats what I did and love it! they are easy to replace and I am just an average DIYer.. Good luck

[Genofish]

Sometimes a rock or debri gets in the pump and is stopping the impeller from working right

[Surface Tension]

All good replies there.

Check the connections.

The bilge snaps on to a mount. Take it out and look for derbies stuck in the impeller. In the end if you have to replace the pump chances are that you find the exact same make model to replace it with and you won't need to fasten the new mount, just snap it back in the old one and wire it.

[overdalimit]

Unless they are discontinued like the ones in my 2000 tyee were! I chose to replace all the pumps since it was such a pain to get to them. I hope I don't have to do that again for another 7 years.