Par Bilge

[Tom Whitworth]

At the start of this season I purchased a 1998 Catalina 320. The only problem I have experienced to date, is the bilge pump. The pump is a PAR brand pump. When the pump is activated by the float, the motor runs but it is not drawing water from the bilge. I have checked and both the in and out lines are clear. Any suggestions? Should I replace the impeller and bushings? Is it an air lock in the pump itself? Any assisrtance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Randy]

Just a thought

My bilge pump is a Rule that moves a lot of water...but it won't suck up the last 1/4". The water needs to be deep enough to prime the pump. Is that the case with your pump?Randy

 

[Brad Elbein]

Dam Bilge Pumps

I had an old bilge pump that did the same thing. I spent a little money and a lot of sweat to replace it with a new Rule pump, which does the same thing. The pump does serve as a great dam to keep the 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water from sloshing, but that's about it. The problem is that the water has to be fairly high to activate the pump ... though hopefully not over the floorboards.

 

[Bob Camarena]

External?

Is your's an external pump located outside the bilge, or submersible, located in the bilge? I have the external type that is a diaphram pump instead of an impeller pump that is physically located outside the bilge with a hose to the bilge. I recently bought and installed a rebuild kit ordered through West Marine. It worked fine for a while but now is not pumping water. I'm going to tear into it this weekend and will let you know what I find. It may be something simple like a malfunctioning one-way valve or something. I'll let you know what I find. Before I re-built it, it worked fine for 12 years until the motor connection failed, necessitating the rebuild in the first place.

 

[Bob Camarena]

What was wrong with mine

Re: my earlier post on my external Par pump. Inside the pump are two one-way valves. At least one had become unseated. When I installed the new valves from the rebuild kit I must have done something wrong. I've re-assembled it and it seems to work OK now. If the problem re-occurs I'll probably replace the pump.