Aqua Explorer 21.5

[LocoLouie]

I have an Aqua Explorer 21.5.  I have some minor issues that w/o a manual, I don't seem to be able to asses.  

One is, one of the 2 fishholds on the deck won't drain.  Are the 2 connected to the same pump or are they individually connected to 2 separate pumps.  Or, is there a switch to change the hold's drainage.  May sound silly but I have been struggling with this issue for a while.  

Does anyone have a manual for this boat?  Share?  Sell?

The help is appreciated.  Lou

[seabob4]

Loco,
The 2 fishbox drains should be teed to a single macerator pump.  If you find that they both drain until one is empty, then the other won't drain, it's because the pump is sucking in air from the empty box.  Once the first box is empty, plug it off, allowing the second box to establish suction...

[Capt. Bill]

Loco,

Try and narrow this down a little...ie:  they won't drain at all,  drain slow, one drains but not the other...etc etc

On mine both boxes are hooked to the same pump and cannot be seperated.  The pump empty's them togather. One common problem is the box drains clog, spray a hose through with the pump running usually opens the up.   If that doesn't work remove the hose form the pump and see it they drain into the bildge. If so the pump maybe bad.

[T Race]

I have an Aqua Explorer 21.5.  I have some minor issues that w/o a manual, I don't seem to be able to asses.  

One is, one of the 2 fishholds on the deck won't drain.  Are the 2 connected to the same pump or are they individually connected to 2 separate pumps.  Or, is there a switch to change the hold's drainage.  May sound silly but I have been struggling with this issue for a while.  

Does anyone have a manual for this boat?  Share?  Sell?

The help is appreciated.  Lou

Lou,
        From what I understand, the boat came from the factory with two separate systems: one pump with a diverter valve to empty the two fishboxes; and a second pump with a diverter valve for either the raw water washdown or the livewell.

The photo below, shows one of the two diverter valves; see the grey thing where the two hoses attach? That is it. You can't see it well from this angle, but the handle is Y shaped. You just turn it clockwise or counter-clockwise depending on which fishbox you want to drain.


 

Now, to complicate things, sometimes the boat owner will remove this diverter valve and have both fishboxes drain simultaneously off of the suction of the drain pump. That is what I did because the valve in this photo is near the engine and if I was underway it was a pain to switch the valve, having to lift the engine cover, reach down there next to the turning engine, you know, all bad.

So when I changed out the pump, I upgraded to a macerator pump and eliminated the diverter valve.  This works out great, because I can easily drain both tanks while underway, without dicking around with lifting he engine cover.

Seabob is right, though; with this setup, if both fishboxes have water that needs to be drained, one box will invariably finish draining before the other and air gets sucked in.  If you have the better "run-dry protected" macerator pump, no problem, the air won't hurt anything, however the 2nd fishbox won't drain.  Easy fix, though.  I have 1 inch suction cup hanger thingies (you have seen these things, they are clear rubber suction cups with a small hook in them and you stick them to your kitchen window and hang a do-dad or whatever...) I just throw these suction cups down in the fishbox.  When the box runs dry but the other fishbox still needs draining, I just reach down there and stick the suction cup on the empty fishbox drain and plug off the air suction.  The other fishbox immediately begins to drain. Presto !

I would suggest that the first thing you need to figure out is if your boat is in the original factory configuration with the diverter valve still in place, or if a PO has modified the plumbing.  Your problem may be as simple as finding the valve and switching its position.  If the diverter valve is in place, you switch position, and it still doesn't drain, at that point try the garden hose flushing trick. If you determine that the diverter valve has been removed, you should try the trick of temporarily plugging the suction to the tank that has finished draining.

I mentioned the second diverter valve, and forgive me if you are already clued in how this functions.  On our 215 Exp that second diverter valve delivers raw water to either the raw water washdown or the livewell, depending on the position of the valve.

OK, good luck Lou, and let us know what you found out.

[LocoLouie]

Thanks to all of you that responded.  I think that I managed to get the hold to drain.
 :pirat:

[Wine Down]

Just got a 215 DC (1999)and had the same issue with the boxes not emptying.....great info, I will now tackle it!

Phil

[RickK]

Great descriptive advice TR  

[who4ever]

I bought a 2000 215 DC and of course had the same problem.  First thing is to assume the pump is working.  If you hear the pump working, my guess it is.  The macerator pump's impeller does loose its teeth and has to be replaced sometimes.  I am a boat newby and I was able to figure it out and do it, so it can't be that hard.  I'll bet you have a Johnson pump.  I bouth a new impeller at boatersland.com.  The side of the box says 09-455595   Service kit F3B/TA3P10.  Only way to do this is to unscrew the pump, remove the hoses install the impeller and reinstall the pump.  This was not physically easy due to the location of the pump and the small hatch to work through.  But if I did it, it was do able.  I also had to buy those little black rubber gasket feet that go between the pump and the boat to dampen vibration.  Called grommets.  Got them at Grainger.

I installed the impeller, and it worked like a dream.  For a while.  Then it stopped working.  I called Johnson and the guy gave me great advice.  The discharge hose from the pump to the outside hull, in the rear, on the port side, must have a constant rise to it.  If the hose is too long and it rises to a peak, then goes down a bit (usually this will happen in the battery box, where the hose passes through to the hull) it will create an air pocket, which will not allow the water to pass.  Kind of like plumbing without a stack.  You may find that all of your problems are solved by making sure the discharge hose has a constant rise to it.  Open the batter box and find the hose (one is from the macerator pump, the other from the bildge.)  If it see it is arcing up and then going down to the hole on the side of the boat, pull the hose back from the pump compartment to get rid of the arc in the battery box.  Then what I did was clamp the in the pump compartment to the side walls, at a constant rise, to make sure there were no air pockets.  This might be your only problem.  Just start by looking in the battery box and pushing the hose down somewhat.  I still have to do this every now and then.

Two other things.  The drain design of this boat is rediculous, in the fishboxes and on the deck floor.  The way they designed the boat, there is always a half an inch of water that can't drain out, because the holes where the water drains is about a half inch higher than the lowest point.  I don't understand why they did that.  The drain channels on the deck, in the rear, leading to the transom area are always filthy.

And about the two diverter pumps I read about in this chain, I only have one-for the live baitwell and washdown.  I am really not sure it evercame with two.  The picture shown in this chain is definately the baitwell/washdown diverter.

Hope I helped.