Marine Pumps

[Nowhere-Man]

No joy. With the impeller refitted and plastic hose in a bucket, motor wouldn't budge. Leads started to rapidly heat. Could feel the heat under the insulation. My best bet would be to print out the manual although the Shurflo spare would be a better project. The winding connections on the Jabsco are a bit recessed but there's an endplate that could give access.
It's unlike most pumps I encountered. The impellers cost a bomb too.

[Crackle]

What size cable are you using and what length is it.
Did you fit the impeller back with grease to lubricate it in the pump housing.
Is there a gasket under the pump cover? If there was none present, loosen the screws securing the impeller cover by 1 turn and see if that makes any difference. It may be that there has to be a gasket under the cover.
Full service kits should be available for these pumps.

Mike

[Nowhere-Man]

I think you refer to the DC motor voltage drop that can indeed create heat or even fire. As you mentioned before, if voltage drop in cables is just to a bow light, all you get is faded light. Yet with motors, actual fires have resulted. In my case I extended the pump wires a little but only a few inches. There is a gasket but here I had issues. I went to get my gasket sealant and this had hardened off. No use any more. I was forced to use the old gasket till I get another tube. No I didn't grease the impeller although I will next time.
The Shurflo I also tested. This ran fine and no heated leads - all very safe. However beware. These pumps develop leaks. The gaskets tend to wear and are built into the diaphragm as pathways. Boaters either buy the kit (20 odd quid) or more often scrap the pump. Some had success adding a gasket sealant. Indeed my discarded pump still had sealant at the mating but it had failed.

[Nowhere-Man]

I quite like vintage boat electrics (mainly eighties periodd). A decent boat would have a 300 amp hour battery bank and two alternators at most. After that the basics, bilge pump, water supply pump, navigation lights, cabin lights and radio. Very common was an ammeter with a voltmeter.
I like retro so much I collected throway cabin lights from old boats and tested them. They all work. I may use them to preserve the oldness of my boat. I also have some large and very dated DC junction boxes I can use. Snag is it only has 2 stroke outboard drive so no alternator.

[Crackle]

I think 2 stroke engines are illegal on a lot of rivers and canals now, due to the oil pollution in the exhaust.

Mike

[Murphyv310]

Hi.
There is a lot on the net about 2 stroke engines used on river boats. Some say they are banned but there is no one to enforce the rules. Some new technology 2 strokes though are legal (E-Tec) but lots of money comes to hand.
Solar panels have come way down in price as has efficiency, my two on the shed gives me 12 amps in bright sunlight and these via a controller keep my 350Ah batteries fully charged all year long even with the poor winter light, has to be a good idea on a boat.

[Nowhere-Man]

I found out the licence fees drop if you fit electric outboard which I may do. I am looking to make this affordable again. As it is I see boaters pour money into a black hole. The biggest issue that arises is diesel engines because the boaters can't find genuine mechanics. The licence rates have sky-rocketed too. This year I'm puttinh my steel boat up for sale and am sworn over to fibreglass. Given the GRP boat is old and smaller, insurance costs are low and no ongoing struggle against rust. I agree with John Payne the electrical system works best simple. Nowadays over-reliance on inverters seems silly when you can get 12 volt appliances. I believe conversion rates are now more efficient but I think my inveryter draws 5 amps on idle. Anyway the bottom line is I want my boating lifestyle to be affordable again and simple. The only main gripe is the GRP boat is a bit small.

[Nowhere-Man]

I love those air cooled Listers. I have one on my steel boat. However outboards are simpler to service as they can be lifted off. Last year I put a Lucas alternator on my Lister and access was far from easy. It's not all switch wired yet so I just hot wire the starter and run a lamp from the alternator. Very annoying I had to dismantle all the electrics. This was purely to acceess a blown inverter fuse that had been tightly cabled in to the rotary switch through a cupboard and out to the bilge. I couldn't pull the inverter out so had to cut cable to free it. Then I replaced the fuse at the back. I redid the AC shoreline but direct to the CU. The guy who did that wiring was a qualified AC electrician but it was all done in house cable, not marine. And fuse access was cut off.

[Mark Hennessy]

I've changed the title of this thread to make it relevant to the topic being discussed.

[Nowhere-Man]

I tend to ramble off topic. I have the Shurflo here. This pump is known to leak at the pump body joint. Nobody has ever managed to stop the leak, including myself last year. The gasket is built into the diaphragm edge as a groove. This time I'm putting it in hot soak and trying to decide what sealant to use. Silicon normally fails - some try petroleum jelly.
One very obvious (painfully obvious) thing is the shaft on the Shurflo is easily turned by hand and the motor spins with no heated leads.However the Jabsco really is stiff - I assumed the magnet was powerful. I'd be wise to start again and test the windings as well as bearings or possible friction.
For now my safest bet is the Shurflo. Apart from the leak it's in good condition. It would be useful on the fibreglass boat as a spare.