Manual Bilge Pump Recommendation

[openseas]

Hi all,
I like to add a manual bilge pump to my sailboat.
I like to know, if any of you can recommend a heavy duty one, that can last me a long time, and can pump large volume of water.
And my second question is, where should I put the handle.

Thanks,
Andrew

[skipmac]

Whale. Far as I know they are the standard of the industry for manual pumps. Come in various sizes. You can get one that mounts through a bulkhead or floor so, for example, mount in the cockpit floor next to the helm. Has a cover over the hole for the handle. Flip up the cover, insert handle and you can pump the bilge sitting at the wheel (or tiller).

I have an aluminum body Whale Gusher 10 in my 30 year old boat. A little cleaning and painting and it's good as new. You can buy complete rebuild kits with all the diaphragms and flapper valves and easily do a full overhaul.

If you want a larger capacity get the Whale Gusher 30.

[openseas]

I just checked the defender.com website, and looked under manual pumps, I noticed that most pumps come in two different designs based on how you want to mount it.
It is still confusing to me which design I should go for. I know that you mentioned the Whale brand, which also comes in two different designs.
I read something on line that says: A manual bilge pump should be mounted where it can be between your legs, with your feet braced again a solid surface for less fatigue.
Andy

[Nicholson58]

Check Wolf's Marine in Benton Harbor after you do research. Have them ship a pump. Prices are insane - low.

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[skipmac]

The Whale Gusher comes as a bulkhead mount, that is you bolt it to the wall OR Thru- mount, that is you mount it behind the wall or under the floor.

The bulkhead mount you have to be in front of the pump to pump it. You might mount one in the engine room.

The Thru-Deck mount you bolt under the floor of the cockpit hidden inside the boat. The handle sticks through a hole up into the cockpit where you would sit and steer. You pump the handle while you are sitting in the cockpit, like when you are steering the boat.

Yes you should mount it in a position where it is easy to reach the handle and brace yourself to pump.

[Scott Berg]

Whale good, Edson Great... For a 'lifetime' install a bronze Edson ....

[HopCar]

Edson makes the biggest. If you don't have room for an Edson, Whale are very well made. Like Skipmac, I've got a Whale Gusher 10 that is more than twenty years old and still works.

I think I've got a Whale 30 in my store that's out of the box and I've been looking at for too long. If you're interested I'll give you a real good price.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Scott Berg

Whale good, Edson Great... For a 'lifetime' install a bronze Edson ....

Oh yes. The Edson bronze pumps. Forget Cadillac, it's the Rolls Royce of manual pumps. But priced like one as well.

Edson 30 gpm about $1,000.

[roverhi]

The typical through the deck bilge pumps are just toys. They don't move enough water to put a dent in even a small leak. Really only useful to pump the bilge from nuisance deck leaks.

Whale makes a great pump that is easy to clean, trash is the cause of most pump failures, and moves a lot of water. Negative is it is expensive and fairly tall so hard to find an unobtrusive place to mount it. Can be mounted on a board and deployed when needed, but once again, takes up a bit of space in a locker.

I have the Edson pump mounted on a board. The low profile makes it relatively easy to to store in a locker. It will move a lot of water quickly. Filled my relatively deep bilge to the floor boards when a torrential down pour caught us in the boatyard with all the hardware, ports and hatches removed. Only took a few minutes to empty and wasn't tiring. New, they are very expensive. Got mine at Blue Pelican 2nd hand store for a third of new cost. They were common on commercial boats and turned up regularly. There is also a guy who is selling the aluminum variety at a good price. He's posted notices on this site. A search of the archives should lead you to him.