Wash Down System

[GLF]

I am tired of hanging over the side, or back of the boat with a bucket to get some water to wash down the deck. I am going to add a wash down system to the boat over the winter.

Rather than drilling another hole in the back of the boat, I am wondering if I can remove the drain plug and use the drain hole as the water pick up hole.

Anyone ever tried this?

[1mainiac]

Mike I have a spare pump I need to test but if it still works you can have it. The drain would probably work but I would not do it. Years ago on our 25ft Carver we just tossed the suction line over the side with a weight on it it was crude but it worked. And no chance of a leak the last thing I want is another spot for a leak my boat has wash down built in but the valve is always closed unless I use it. If I was going to mount it permantly I would go out high above the water line and run a pipe down to the water for a pick up might not look as nice but it can't sink your boat if it fails. If done neatly hardly anyone would ever know it was there.

Tight Lines

Jim

[boomerang]

MIKE, do you have a live well with freshwater pick-up?? if yes T off of that. i took off my aerator pump and installed my washdown pump using the existing water pick-up from that!!

[anthonyyost]

How about tying in to the water pickup for the toilet, is that possible? I think that mine pulls water from the lake when you pump it.

[1mainiac]

The only problem with tieing it to another system is making sure you put in chk valves so the pump can't suck air from the other unit and vise versa. Once properly done it would work but keep in mind the chk valves will reduce flow. Also you need a suction strainer somewhere in the setup to avoid plugging the pump. My wash down system has a strainer screen at the pump which needs to be cleaned all the time or it will barely pee a small stream. Since I trailer all the time all I use the wash down for is to get the blood off the deck while fishing mine has a thru hull in front of the engine with a valve on it so to use it I use a boat hook to reach in and open the valve. Since that is a PITA I often just rinse it off with a bucket but I don't ever leave the valve open. If I were to design a boat it would have no thru hull fittings below the waterline I would mold in a water pick up in the transom that entered the boat above the water line and use one large pump with valves to send the water where you wanted it some what like a sprinkler system. Then the wash down switch would turn on the pump and open the valve to it, the same would apply to the toilet and live wells and bait tanks. My wash down pump is 2.0 gpm at about 40 psi rated but it takes close to 4 min to fill a 5 gallon pail so it actually puts out about 1.25 gpm and I don't know how much psi it builds never tested that but most of the time give me a 6 pack and I can put out more of a stream. Maybe I need a new pump but I work with these pumps all the time and not many of them have very much output. The high end systems in 500k and up coachs use 5 to 7 gpm pumps rated at 65 psi but now you are going from a 80 dollar pump to a 300 dollar pump. Call me if you need any help Mike.

Tight Lines

Jim

[GLF]

I do not have a live well. My head is operated by a tank on the back of the toilet and is independant from the fresh water system. Thanks for the idea about tying into the fresh water system. I think I would rather do that than have a line going out the drain plug hole. I think my tank holds 15 gallons. I will have to check and see.

[1mainiac]

Mike if your boat is like mine and has a pump for the FW sys you could just tap into it after the pump with a Tee and run a line back for the hookup. My head is the same setup pump out only and a resevoir on the toilet. I have 3 small bait tanks and a large fish box all with drains but no actual livewell so they are all used for tackle storage. We had a portable presure washer on display all summer that used a rechargable battery and had a suction hose for a pickup here is a link to it if you are interested I will get you one at my cost.

http://www.nomad2go.com/pressure-washer-washing/nomad-18-volt-cordless.aspx

They are pretty cool and can run off your boat batttery if you want to hook it up. Not a full power pressure washer but will do a great job of clean up.

Tight Lines

Jim

[GLF]

Thanks for the offer on the pump. I need to do some further checking to see what kind of water pressure I could achieve if I tapped into my fresh water system.

[1mainiac]

Well based on the age of your boat unless someone has replaced the pump I would say about 40 psi at 1.5 gpm that is what the FW pump in my 89 Quest has. Other than Ag and special applications nobody built much in 12 hi vol or hi psi pumps untill the last 10 years or so when the RV's really picked up with the baby boomer crowd who demanded them to be more like home. Even so the average RV still has a 45psi max 2.5 gpm shurflo pump high end pumps run between 4.5 and 7 gpm with up to 65 psi max. Here is a link to one of the better pumps.

http://www.shurflo.com/pages/RV/rv_product_sum/rv_sum_docs/potable/5900-0201.html

And this is probably the most common rv pump

http://www.shurflo.com/pages/RV/rv_product_sum/rv_sum_docs/potable/standard_water_pump.html

This is one of my favorite pumps they run forever and give a good balance of psi and volume

http://www.rvupgradestore.com/browseproducts/Aquajet-RV-Variable-Speed-Water-Pump.HTML

Like I said earlier if you need help or want to buy one let me know will get you one at my cost. (cheap)

Tight Lines

Jim