Bilge pumps information and questions

RottenRon said:

Reeks said:

Pump looks identical to the makita, as does fuel tank and cowling.
Do you know what brand the motor is?
Hope it serves you well mate.
Use quality oil in it and it should last a few hundred hours.
Reeko

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Don't know the brand, but the Makita one is just branded "Makita", not made by them I don't think.
Same as mine, branded as Selecta, which is a budget Silvan line. Probably come out of the same factory
Usually with these things, the bigger companies such as Makita, Silvan, etc etc, look around for reasonable well made budget priced items to re-brand as an economy line.
Engel fridges and a bunch of others do the same. They have the same little 10 Litre I think it is, car fridge, re-brand them, and flog em off as their own.

Cheers, Ron.

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Your sort of right, the makita runs a Robin Subaru motor which puts out slightly more power than yours and 130 l/m
It's made in Japan and was my second choice after the Honda.

Just visited the Silvan website and couldn't find any info of where your pump is manufactured. My guess is yours is a copy of the Subaru Robin motor/pump hence the good price and lower Hp and litres per min output.
Reeko

Hi Reeko.
You're right, nothing on their website, so I rang them.
Made in China, but they reckon they've been selling them for years. The guy says he hasn't heard of any issues with them, at all.
Since they're quite a bit cheaper than the Honda and Makita, I'm gunna take a punt.
You're right, the tanks etc do look the same. Makes you wonder about the Makita then aye.
Cheers, Ron.

Ok guys.
Picked up the pump and couldn't wait to try it out.
Dragged out all my gear and hooked each unit up.
Here's a bunch if pics.


I haven't been out in the field with this lot as yet, but after the quick trial run, I'm convinced the big "Boss" needs heaps of flow. Even this pump might not do the job on one of these. I think I need to change the pipe setup on this one. The instructions reckon 1 1/2 to 2" though the box at the right speed, so it's thirsty .A work in progress.

The Little "Grubsteak" seemed to work a treat with the pump just off idle, maybe 1/3 throttle. I think I need to tweak the pipe on this one as well.
I'm very pleased with the hi-banker setup, although I'm running the pump at just under full rpm.
Might throw some shovel fulls in tomorrow.
Keep you posted.

Cheers, Ron.

For those using electric, have you thought about using 'hobby' LiPo batteries? I race onroad radio control cars, and am set up with chargers and gear, and after reading this thread about people lugging around car batteries, I thought this might be something to investigate.

For eg, you can buy an 3 cell (11.1v, but 12.6v at full charge) 8000mAh LiPo for around $50 from a local warehouse shipped to your door. This would, in theory, power a pump drawing 4 Amps for two hours. A pack I'm using as an example weighs 640 grams.

There are other things you have to consider, however. They need a special charger. A 10A charger I use for racing costs about $35 (you would charge at 1C - 8A for an 8000mAh battery). The charger would run off 12v, so you need some kind of beefy power supply if charging from mains power (I use an old xbox power supply). LiPo's aren't the safest battery chemistry. You have to make sure you don't over charge them (the charger takes care of that) and have to have a low voltage cutoff so you don't over discharge them. LiFe batteries are safer, but cost a little more.

Small sluice with bilge pump powered by small 13.8 battery is quite workable solution for prospecting some distance from you vehicle. There is some confusion about capacity of different batteries. Batteries are rated by their capacity in Amp hours at specific discharge rate. Most common is 20 hour rate. Meaning that 100 Ah battery will supply 5A for 20 hours. If you discharge same battery at 10A it will not supply this current for 10 hours but only bit over 9 hours. For specific discharge times at current larger then 20 hour rate you need to get manufacturers graph. In nutshell - drawing current larger then rated discharge current decreases battery Ah capacity and drawing current smaller then rated discharge current will increase battery Ah capacity. Marine battery, car battery and SLA battery with same Ah and discharge rate specification will deliver exactly same amount of power, regardless of cost or size.
So with 1100 gph pump drawing 5A at 13.6, dropping down to 3A at 12V, new 18Ah SLA battery will last around 3 hours. That time will get progressively shorter as the battery ages. Also you have to consider that as it discharges your pump will deliver smaller volume of water. You should stick small digital Voltmeter on your battery and stop pumping when the voltage falls below 10.6V.
Things to do to make your battery last longer.
Recharge flat battery as soon as possible.
If not used for long periods, charge it every few months, even better keep it on float charge.
Do not store your battery in hot place, like garden shed.
Do not discharge below 10.6 Volts.
Karl

Hi
Was watching a tube video the other night and it looked as though a bloke was running his 12v pump direct from a battary charger????
Is this possible or is it the makings of a mini disaster that can only lead to pain?
Regards Tom.

If the charger can deliver load,that is ,voltage and the amount of current or watts required,then that is O.K.need to check what the charger rating is.

The Digger

It might have been a 12 volt power supply. A battery charger would normally not deliver enough current to drive the pump fast enough to pump the water.

Creekbed

It would have been a jump starter mate they look like chargers and you can run a bilge from them no worries.

Don't know if you're running it from a small generator or not, but if you are you can get a Fridge mains power transformer from eBay for around $60. They convert 240v to 12v DC at 30 amps x 360watt and these will run most bilge pumps quite easily.

Wal.

Thanks Guys, in retrospect it probably was one of those units, think Aldi had one for sale for a while, combo light, jump starter and such.
I'll stick to using the spare boat battery.
Cheers Tom

I bought a jump starter from Kmart around $60, has a light & 12v socket for outdoor use. It's a regular stock item at my local.

http://www.kmart.com.au/product/performer-900-amp-powerstation/119790

What bilge pump would work on a 290 wide and 1200 long Highbanker?

depends on your riffles and exchange rate mate. I would start with 3700gph

The sluice box contains a bread crate and really small expanded mesh I need a cheap pump urgently so any ideas?

Petrol pump your looking at min $200 Plus hoses amd fittings.cheaper option os under $60 ebay bilge 3700gph but youll need a battery to run it. If you cam get your hands on a cheap battery then yoir good for a few hours. I used bilge oumps for 4 months untill I got enought gold to buy my first pump

Search " ive tested this pump its a winner
,
12V HEAVY DUTY 3700GPH SUBMERSIBLE BILGE

Ok will try and get that bilge pump soon. Would it be best to get two battery's?

One good one will keep you running for a while.

Ok sweet sounds good thanks G0lddigg@

Hi, you can grab yourself a 1.5 inch petrol powered pump on ebay delivered for less than $200.