Problem Whale Gulper 220 on Lagoon380

[rickwest]

I am currently in Thailand and have a shower pump problem.
I just got back after 5 months away, the boat has been hauled out.
My Head shower drain and and toilet floor drain was no longer working.
It is two drains attached to a Whale Gulper 220
I snaked the lines they seemed clear.
I took the pump apart no blockage seems good.
I ran a garden hose in the drains to prime it and got the pump working but it always stops before draining completely.
I cannot figure the problem, where I am is very limited in any help.
Lagoon 380 S2

Not a clue in Krabi Thailand aboard SeaKey
Rick

[captainjay]

It is likely that the joker/duck bill valve has gone bad and or the diaphragm in the pump. It won't pull full suction that way. They sell a rebuild or service kit for it.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/whale...-320--12026993

[rickwest]

Captain Jay
Thanks for that info, the problem I am 10,000 miles from West marine..should of had that spare on the boat. It sound logical I looked at the valves but not easy to see if they are functioning 100% ..I have four of those pumps on the boat I guess I will swap one out and see if it works they are my 2 bilge pumps also.
Rick

[captainjay]

Originally Posted by rickwest

Captain Jay
Thanks for that info, the problem I am 10,000 miles from West marine..should of had that spare on the boat. It sound logical I looked at the valves but not easy to see if they are functioning 100% ..I have four of those pumps on the boat I guess I will swap one out and see if it works they are my 2 bilge pumps also.
Rick

Quick google found East Marine Parts in Thialand

https://eastmarineasia.com/products/...ment-pump-head

[s/v Jedi]

Just to make sure: is there a float switch? What makes the pump switch on & off?

[woc]

Originally Posted by captainjay

It is likely that the joker/duck bill valve has gone bad and or the diaphragm in the pump. It won't pull full suction that way. They sell a rebuild or service kit for it.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/whale...-320--12026993

You are on the right track to swap with a pump you know is working well to determine if it is the pump itself. From your description it sounds like the pump stops before fully draining. If it is the same as on my Lagoon, the pump is started by a push button in the shower with a timer to cut out before you have to push the button again. if the pump runs and drains when fully flooded but does not completely drain when it starts to pick up some air, the diaphragm may be on its way out. Swapping the pump will tell the tale. In three years I had to replace one of this pumps for the same reason. Good luck

[jstevens]

I had a poor experience with these pumps on my shower drain. Every time it failed the repair kit did not include the necessary part, and a pump replacement was necessary. After the 2nd pump failed (each failure within 1 year) I gave up and went with a non-maceration pump with a filter. I'ts an annoyance to have to clear that filter once a month, but that replacement shower drain pump has not caused me a problem for 10 years.
Not saying these pumps are no good, they just didn't work for me, and the non-maceration pump as done the job. It's just if you have to replace the pump and can't get the same pump in your area there are other (and cheaper) ways to handle the job.

John

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by jstevens

I had a poor experience with these pumps on my shower drain. Every time it failed the repair kit did not include the necessary part, and a pump replacement was necessary. After the 2nd pump failed (each failure within 1 year) I gave up and went with a non-maceration pump with a filter. I'ts an annoyance to have to clear that filter once a month, but that replacement shower drain pump has not caused me a problem for 10 years.
Not saying these pumps are no good, they just didn't work for me, and the non-maceration pump as done the job. It's just if you have to replace the pump and can't get the same pump in your area there are other (and cheaper) ways to handle the job.

John

FYI, the Whale Gulper is not a maceration pump.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by jstevens

I had a poor experience with these pumps on my shower drain. Every time it failed the repair kit did not include the necessary part, and a pump replacement was necessary. After the 2nd pump failed (each failure within 1 year) I gave up and went with a non-maceration pump with a filter. I'ts an annoyance to have to clear that filter once a month, but that replacement shower drain pump has not caused me a problem for 10 years.
Not saying these pumps are no good, they just didn't work for me, and the non-maceration pump as done the job. It's just if you have to replace the pump and can't get the same pump in your area there are other (and cheaper) ways to handle the job.

John

I don't understand your reference to a non-maceration pump in this context because the Gulpers aren't macerating pumps either?
.
I have lots of these pumps aboard and love them because the pumping mechanism is so simple and reliable. Usually, if there's a problem it's due to something getting stuck in the duckbills or in the one way valve that's attached to the housing and it can easily be cleaned out. I don't know when Whale made the switch-over, but that one way valve on my original pumps was made of rubber and after some time it starts sagging open and loses effectiveness, but the same part that comes with the rebuild kit is made of a stiffer material that more reliably stays in place and is a big improvement over the original rubber flapper. If you can get the rebuild kit, buy two so you'll always have a spare, and I think you'll be impressed by the improvement in performance that the stiffer flapper valve yields.

I also replaced my macerator pump used to empty the holding tank with a variant of the Gulper that is made to empty live wells. This pump is a bit larger than the 220 and lacks that secondary flapper valve so it relies entirely on the 2 duckbills. Because of this, they don't advertise it as having the ability to be mounted above the level of the liquid it's to pump. Since my holding tank is in the bilge I was hesitant to use one of these pumps but I was so fed up with problematic macerator pumps that I thought I'd give it a try and use the pump somewhere else if it didn't work out on the holding tank. But I was very pleased when it worked flawlessly as a macerator pump replacement. As it turns out, the gulper bait well pumps DO have the ability to pump effectively even when mounted at least a foot or so above the liquid, and by the time waste and toilet paper passes through a marine head it's pretty well "macerated" already, and then after being pumped through a Gulper, there aren't any recognizable chunks being pumped overboard. They're also much quieter and use much less power than a macerator pump does. As you may have noticed, I'm a big fan.

[jstevens]

May be due to my old age and failing memory, but I was sure the ones I purchased in 2005-2007 were touted as macerating. I checked and they do no use that term in the current advertising so it probably was my memory that failed not a macerator. In any case they are sold as being able to handle waste water from a shower sump without a filter, which they did not do well for me.
Sorry about the confusion.

John

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by rickwest

I am currently in Thailand and have a shower pump problem.
I just got back after 5 months away, the boat has been hauled out.
My Head shower drain and and toilet floor drain was no longer working.
It is two drains attached to a Whale Gulper 220
I snaked the lines they seemed clear.
I took the pump apart no blockage seems good.
I ran a garden hose in the drains to prime it and got the pump working but it always stops before draining completely.
I cannot figure the problem, where I am is very limited in any help.
Lagoon 380 S2

Not a clue in Krabi Thailand aboard SeaKey
Rick

Problems of this sort can drive one bhaty.

[sailalibi]

Originally Posted by jstevens

I had a poor experience with these pumps on my shower drain. Every time it failed the repair kit did not include the necessary part, and a pump replacement was necessary. After the 2nd pump failed (each failure within 1 year) I gave up and went with a non-maceration pump with a filter. I'ts an annoyance to have to clear that filter once a month, but that replacement shower drain pump has not caused me a problem for 10 years.
Not saying these pumps are no good, they just didn't work for me, and the non-maceration pump as done the job. It's just if you have to replace the pump and can't get the same pump in your area there are other (and cheaper) ways to handle the job.

John

What were the missing parts in the kit?

[dlymn]

After repair/replacement, filtration is the key. I have a small inline filter between the shower sump and the pump and have to clean it once a week. Hair, bits of plastic, paper will fill the filter in that time. These have a bad habit of not going through pumps or valves very well.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by jstevens

May be due to my old age and failing memory, but I was sure the ones I purchased in 2005-2007 were touted as macerating. I checked and they do no use that term in the current advertising so it probably was my memory that failed not a macerator. In any case they are sold as being able to handle waste water from a shower sump without a filter, which they did not do well for me.
Sorry about the confusion.

John

They don't macerate, but they are fairly resistant to clogging. They are made for gray and black water and do a good job with it. I have two on my boat as well and they're very good.


Always carry spares kits for all pumps on board!! With 4 of these in service, you might consider an entire spare pump as well.

[s/v Jedi]

I think there is confusion about which pump. A Whale Gulper 220 doesn't need a strainer: anything that goes in, comes out. :-)