Anyone Using Whale Gulper Pumps Onboard?

[Christian Van H]

Hi all! Thinking of using Gulpers for emptying grey and waste water tanks... anyone have any experience with these diaphragm pumps? Thanks, Chris

[Chuck Baier]

Been using one for years with no problems.

[Ram]

I forgot to open the valve after being gone for 6 months and started the pump, it broke a rod, so they are a little fragle

[Christian Van H]

Thank you both for your replies. These pumps look good, and very hard to clog. I'll probably use them. Thanks again, Chris

[gbanker]

and so the other day I was looking to see if there was an inline pre-filter. Could not find one so guess the pump is dealing with whatever is in the shower sump OK. Boat is five years old.

[Christian Van H]

Why, whats in your shower sump anyway?

[H/V Vega]

I have used several Gulpers over the years and the small bore models are pretty good. When the nylon gear wears out you just take it to a machine shop and have a new one made from bronze and the things then work nicely for years. The high capacity ones are trash. Forget them its just a marketing gemmic to charge more for nothing at all. Oh and try finding spares for them! So small ones are good kit once you change the nylon gears and the large capacity ones stay away from them. "We do not provide replacement joker valves for those pumps because they have no valves", quote Whale!

[Christian Van H]

Thanks Vega! Oh, and the rebuild kit for the toilet Gulper is Service Kit#AK1557 and comes complete with the diaphragm and FOUR VALVES! You were right, and who ever you spoke with is wrong. Look here: Exploded thanks again, Chris

[H/V Vega]

That's the small version. Those are not bad just have the funkie nylon gears. Try finding the two joker type valves for the high flow models! Honest Whale told me, "Those pumps do not have valves". They are joker valves in any case and fail really fast. Forget them and the expensive kit.... put a non return valve in front and aft of the pump and they go forever.

[davidschiff]

came orignally on my SHANNON, WORKED well for years, replaced the flapper valves and lanolined the nylon gears.
re: the sound , but you know when they are working. one was in shower sump, the other was the ist stage bilge pump via a brass strainer. lived on her for 5 yrs. good pump.
my .02
david

[s/v Jedi]

We have 5 Whale Gulper 220 pumps: gray water tank (installed and no need for service for 4 years now, pumps all our gray water overboard, full time 24x7x365) and one for each section of the boat (two watertight bulk heads) as 2nd bilge pump (installed and no need for service for 4 years now). The 5th one is to make sure the other 4 don't break down (new in box, some call it a spare).

I also have a rebuild kit. I never had trouble with gears. I like it that there's no exterior metal parts.

cheers,
Nick.

[Bash]

...the Whale 220 graywater system is by far the best upgrade we've made so far to our boat. Wish I'd discovered this system eleven years ago when I started living aboard.

[Uisce]

I have a 24V Whale Gulper High Flow pump that I use to drain the shower.

1) A tip if you have one of these pumps: install a diverter valve and a reasonable length of suction hose on the inlet side. This allows you to use these pumps to drain anywhere on board. For example: blocked sink? No problem.

2) My 2nd gulper has just failed - a horrible grinding noise. On inspection, the gears are grinding themselves to bits. This is the same failure mode as the last unit. The unit I have already has brass or bronze gears - no nylon in sight.

I'm not aware of any reason why this should have happened. They were installed correctly. They were dry. There are no valves on the outlet that would stress the unit if accidentally closed. There were no obstructions or blockages. There are only two people on board and, from memory, both units failed after not much more than a year of use.

To their credit, Whale replaced the first one. I'll be calling them tomorrow to see if they'll replace the replacement. Fingers crossed!

[Uisce]

Update: The High Flow pump has been discontinued. I've replaced it with a 220. I thought it wasn't working to start with because it's so much quieter than the High Flow pump. Half the price too.

I originally bought the High Flow because I thought the larger bore might mean it was more reliable. It remains to be seen how long the 220 will last with its presumably nylon gears... I'll try to remember to post back here if/when I have further problems.

[hanschristian38]

Be Careful!

These pumps have a diaphragm that expands and contracts to provide the suction to empty the holding tank. This part can crack after only a few years of use. The crack can be large and if your through hull is below the water line and open, the water can come in very rapidly when the diaphragm breaks.

I had this happen. Make sure you have spare parts on board. (valves and diaphragm)

Always make sure you close the seacock after pumping.