Washdown Pump Install and Fire (In that order)

[Bergertime]

Greeting all:

My stock live well and raw water wash-down pump finally bit the dust last weekend when I was out fishing with my son.  Due to a planned offshore trip with a group of friends traveling down to Tampa this weekend I quickly ordered a Shurflo Baitmaster Pro II off a guy on ebay (storefront) Saturday night with a note attached asking for speedy delivery.  He was "Johnny on the spot" and shipped it Monday out of Vero and it arrived yesterday evening.  I was very impressed with that along with his price which was the cheapest I could find (PM me if you are interested in the company name). Install was easy and even came with a raw water strainer and threaded hose mounts that were the perfect size although I had to cant the pump  a little to get my host to fit on the output side as it was not long enough to reach without a lot of pressure.  I will need to order the right angle fitting which will allow me to straighten the mounting but I had to get it mounted for Saturday so tilted it is..  :sunny:

Funny thing... I almost caught myself on fire during the install..  I had put a towel down to kneel on and when I was using my small butane torch for the butt-connector heat shrinking I must have laid it down while the flame was still running out and it caught the towel on fire.. I almost chit in my pants when I looked over and saw the towel burning (slowly) an inch from my leg.  Funny now, but I was not laughing when I was trying to put it out.  Note to self - Make sure the torch is out b/f putting it down on anything flammable!!  



I will report back after this weekend and let you all know about the double duty performance of the pump and our off shore fishing trip.  Have a couple green guys in tow so wish me/them luck… Warnings issued – Seasick passengers 30 miles out are SOL…    Today’s marine 4-cast for the weekend looks promising so hopefully that will keep Mr. Yuck Face away.  haha.


-Bruce

[Capt. Bob]

I will report back after this weekend and let you all know about the double duty performance of the pump.Bruce

I have the earlier model of your pump. It works well as a wash down for my 21 WAC and as a bait well pump on my small well (17 gals.) I'm not sure of your well capacity so I'll be interested in how well it performs (I'm assuming you have a larger well). Mine is 2 years+ and it still works but surface rust is occurring. It's not in a wet (think bilge) environment but of course, what isn't damp on these boats.



Good luck.

[Bergertime]

Thanks Bob.. the rating for this pump is 4 GPM without restricted flow.  Based on the materials that came with the pump and if they are correct I should be fine on the renewal rate in the well.  I am thinking I will spray some corrosion block on a rag and wipe it down covering the metal components to see if that may help.

This is what came with the pump and is posted online:

BAIT TANK CRITERIA
There are many factors that must be considered to assure the correct operation of a bait or live well system.
The pump is one part of the selection. Keeping the bait healthy is dependent upon; the amount of water in
relation to the quantity of bait, flow pattern, water renewal/changes, and water temperature. SHURflo
Baitmaster pumps are generally suited for livewells that have a water capacity of 20 to 35 gallons [75-132
L].Ideally, the tank should be oblong in shape. Currents within the tank should be kept in a slow, smooth,
C.C.W. circulating pattern. The bait should swim freely, and not become overworked or exhausted in swift
currents or turbulence. The bait will become stressed, or not receive enough oxygen if water flow/currents
are incorrect. Bait is generally kept very active and healthy within cooler water temperatures (up to the
mid-60's°F[15°C]). As the temperature approaches 70°F[21°C] the water must be renewed (water changes)
more often to keep the bait active and healthy. The pump should be selected based on its open flow
specification. Allowing the pump to run at open flow will permit continuous low amp draw operation. A pump
is correct for a particular live well if its open flow G.P.M. fills or renews within a six to ten-minute period.
(Actual live well gallons divided by open flow specification) If the water temperatures are normally in the low
to mid 60°F [15°C] range, water should be renewed closer to the ten-minute time span. Although, if used
primarily in warm water, a pump capable of renewing the tank more often (6 min.), should be selected.[/i]

I'll let you know how our livies do...planning on a stop at the bell buoy to pick up some on the way out.

B

[Capt. Bob]

I'm not a big live bait guy but up here in the armpit, pin fish are a big choice. That's good because one can keep a bucket full alive all day by just changing out the water a couple of times. This of course equates to a "high performance" well with this pump and it works great for my use. Seems anything from a trout to a grouper will eat a pin fish.

Good luck with the pump. It has worked well for me (knock on teak).

[seabob4]

CB, are you spraying down the pump body with corrosion-X or T-9 or something like that?  That's the biggest problem I see with these pumps is the pump bodies rusting badly.  And it doesn't matter whose pump it is, Shur-flo, Jabsco, Flo-Jet, they all rust...

Oh, and Bruce, might want to run down to HF and get a heat gun.  A little safer...

[slvrlng]

I bet this stuff would really help to keep them from corroding.

http://dominionsureseal.com/index.php/c ... corrosion-

[seabob4]

I bet it would too, Lewis!  Wouldn't happen to be one of your product lines, would it?  

[Blue Agave]

Fire!

Shurflow makes a pump with a plastic housing for this application.

[wingtime]

Fire while sitting near a 141 gallon gas tank!  UMMM  NOT GOOD!  At least you didn't make the news like the shrimp boat that burned at the dock in Tarpon Springs last night!  I feel sorry for that guy since he didn't have any coverage on the boat itself.  

For your land lubber friends I highly recommend Bonine http://www.bonine.com/  Take it at least an hour before you leave FOR the boat.  It works FAR better than any other motion sickness pill that I have seen.

[seabob4]

Fire while sitting near a 141 gallon gas tank!  UMMM  NOT GOOD!  At least you didn't make the news like the shrimp boat that burned at the dock in Tarpon Springs last night!  I feel sorry for that guy since he didn't have any coverage on the boat itself.  

For your land lubber friends I highly recommend Bonine http://www.bonine.com/  Take it at least an hour before you leave FOR the boat.  It works FAR better than any other motion sickness pill that I have seen.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/ba ... rst_l.html  Hell of a fire!

[Bergertime]

Thanks for the info on the Bonine I will make sure I have some on hand and encourage the use.  

Yea - the fire was not large or out of control just scared the chit out of me when I noticed it.  It was just about a baseball size portion of the top of the towel I was sitting on.  Funny thing - I just got done heat shrinking one of the connectors and I smelled something odd..  I thought to myself... heat shrink ends are not supposed to smell like that.  Looked over and felt the heat on my leg at the same time.. Trust me when I tell you that I let out a long line of 4 letter words!!  Once again, good fodder for a funny video if captured.  Well, certainly a lesson learned there for sure.

B

[seabob4]

Bruce, this is the HF one I use...http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-watt- ... 96289.html  Beat the crap out of it, use the piss out of it, generally treat it like chit, works like a charm.  Wait and it will go on sale for $9 or $10...

[Capt. Bob]

Thanks for the info on the Bonine I will make sure I have some on hand and encourage the use.  B

You may also want to try ginger. My wife gets queasy launching the boat. She's been using ginger tablets for some time now and is much better, even in chops and rolls that would have needed a return home. It seems to work well and I now use it on occasion when it's rough out (on someone else boat).

Good luck.

[Capt. Bob]

CB, are you spraying down the pump body with corrosion-X or T-9 or something like that?

Just WD-40.
I was thinking (that's an oxymoron)I might dab a little grease on the case since it rarely gets touched.
Then again I might not.

I'll look at it tonight, now that it came up again.

[seabob4]

Bob, get some rust converter at Autozone and apply it to the surface rust, then spray it down with an anti-corrosion.  WD-40 is good, but Corrosion-X or T-9 create a "hardened" film over the pump body, basically a coating...