Manual Sink Pumps

[clearsea]

We now own an older sailboat with defunct sink hand lever pumps. Moved from larger boat with electric freshwater system, so not used to this style of FW pump. Trying to decide whether to replace with a foot pump (more expensive and bigger) or a new hand lever pump at the sink. How well do they prime and how long do they tend to last?

[svquest2]

They prime very well and last a long time. On one boat I had it had a hand pump exclusively and it worked well. On another it was a backup to an electric pump and it also worked well. Now I have a foot-pump as a backup to my electric pump. All manual pumps were on the cold water side only.
Pics show my 2nd example

Have fun

Joe S

[MarkJ]

We like our salt water foot pump as I can just pump away whilst engaging my hands in the washing up, kettle filling etc whilst holding on.

I am thinking of changing it to an electric pump, though.



Mark

[Minggat]

After having foot pumps, I can't imagine how people get along with hand pumps. How does one wash two hands if one hand is busy pumping? I like, no wet hands slinging water around. Just stop pumping with your foot.

Aside from that, manual pumps save not only power but also water. And foot pumps IMO do that better than hand pumps.

[Wotname]

I with Minggat on this one.

[GordMay]

For all the reasons stated, get a foot pump.
I like trhe Whale "Gusher" series.

[Wotname]

Again, I with Gord here, have tried a couple but keep returning to the Whale Gusher.

[nautical62]

After having had both hand and foot pumps installed, I much prefer the foot pump. Since they are usually installed below the water level in the water tank, they never loose a prime. I also like that it leaves both hands free to do dishes, wash your hands, etc.
In addition to convenience, I find this saves water.

Defender sells a foot pump that mounts through a floor board that I was very happy with. It's less expensive than the one mentioned above and moves less water which may be considered good or bad depending on your desires.

[Christian Van H]

I third Gord's motion...

[roverhi]

We've used the Whale through the sole foot pump and a whale look alike lever action foot pump. The lever action foot pump pumps on both the up and down stroke so pushes more water, more quickly but takes up quite a bit more space. We used the ersatz lever pump because it could be mounted to the vertical face of the bulkhead. From what I saw of the Whale pump, it had to be mounted on a horizontal platform, something that's either not been possible or would require a bunch of work to create the platform. I can't remember the manufacture of the ersatz pump. Found it on Ebay at quite a bit less than the Whale pump. I didn't see that there was a rebuild kit for the pump, which there is for the Whale so how it lasts only time will tell. So far it's doing a great job.

The through the sole pumps worked just fine for us in 4 years of live aboard and cruising. They utilize space that is otherwise wasted and don't requre as much care in using. Of course, you have to check and see that you have enough depth under the sole for the install. You can stomp on these pumps to your hearts content and probably couldn't hurt them. The lever action pump seems a bit fragile as you can depress the pump lever beyond it's stop torquing the mount and/or possibly damaging the pump and lever. Think I'm going to mount a block of wood under the lever so it can't be depressed beyond it's designed range.

Aloha
Peter O.

As others have stated, the advantage of a foot pump is they leave both hands free for more important things like hanging on when it's really rough or just washing the dishes. The REALLY REALLY BIG ADVANTAGE of foot pumps is conservation of water. Pressure water systems are huge wasters of water. No matter how careful you are, most of the water that comes out of the spigot just goes down the drain without doing anything useful. With a foot pump, most of the water gets used for what's intended. In our case, we could go a month or more on a tank using only the foot pumps. When we used the pressure system, that same tank would run dry in a week. I'd seriously consider not having a pressure water system for potable water on the next boat. Money would be way better spent on a salt water pump for the anchor chain and deck wash down.

Aloha
Peter O.
Pearson 35

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by nautical62

... Defender sells a foot pump that mounts through a floor board that I was very happy with. It's less expensive than the one mentioned above and moves less water which may be considered good or bad depending on your desires.

The Whale “Tiptoe Pump” is a Self Priming Single Action Foot Pump designed for Thru-Floor mounting.

Originally Posted by roverhi

We've used the Whale through the sole foot pump and a whale look alike lever action foot pump...
... We used the ersatz lever pump because it could be mounted to the vertical face of the bulkhead. From what I saw of the Whale pump, it had to be mounted on a horizontal platform ...

The Whale “Gusher” is a Self Priming Double-Acting Foot Pump, available with 3 mounting options (including thru bulkhead).

Whale have a number of manual pumps:
➥ Marine : Whale Pumps 12V Henderson Plumbing Bilge Diaphragm Submersible Pressure Water Systems Marine Caravan RV Shower Drain Portable Sanitation Purging Groundwater Solutions Voltage Electric

The Flipper Pump Mk4 is a Self Priming Lever Operated Hand Pump, and the V Pump is a Vertical Self Priming Hand Pump.
I used & don’t recommend hand pumps. (had both hand & foot, and electric pumps on same boat)