Anyone ever service a diaphram fresh water pump

[crazy charlie]

My Shurflow pump is prob originalWorks ok when tank is filled.Loses its prime when water tank level get low and is a pain to get reprimed.I was going to change it out and came across a service kit.Looks easier/cheaper.Anyone have experience with this?? Charlie

 

[harringtondav]

Is your pump located as low as possible, center of hull? The few I have worked on have the pump inlet level with or slightly lower than the water tank's outlet. The tank water level would have to be low enough to uncover the outlet to allow loss of gravity head prime. I'm not trying to be cute, but simply keeping your water tank full enough may be the easiest fix.

 

[ahicks]

They're brain dead easy to work on. Often if you take them apart it's just a piece of crud holding a check valve open, or the screws hold the works in place on the inside have worked loose. For that reason, I'd pull it down prior to buying the kit. You may not need one! Worst case, you do need one, and you already have the pump pulled so you can install the kit quickly!

 

[crazy charlie]

thanks ahicks,sounds like a good plan

 

[Blind Date]

"Often if you take them apart it's just a piece of crud holding a check valve open, or the screws hold the works in place on the inside have worked loose. For that reason, I'd pull it down prior to buying the kit."

Good advice! The pump in my 250 Sundancer gave me problems a couple of years ago and wouldn't pump. I figured being it was almost 20 years old it had finally given up the ghost. Nothing but a bunch of granular stuff that had clogged the inlet screen. I had already bought a new rebuild kit unfortunately.

 

[crazy charlie]

Wow BD thats tight in there.Mine is way easier to access.

 

[Blind Date]

Not quite as bad as it looks but I'm definitely not as flexible as I was 15 years ago when I got the boat!......LOL

There is a pretty nice space to sit down in front of the motor and work on things down below..