With freezing temps upon us, just a reminder for people to make sure the pumps and hoses in their boat are clear of water.
This time of year, the launches aren't busy so I'll let my boat sit on the ramp for a minute or so in order to get as much water out as possible. I'm not ready top put my boat away yet, so I'll run a bit of non-toxic antifreeze through the lines after a trip. It takes a couple of minutes and gives me peace of mind.
Earlier this year I put up a thread about dual bilge pumps and had some good discussion. What prompted my question was this livewell pump housing that we removed from my cousin's boat. There's a large break on the top plus two other breaks indicated by the lines. The break on the threaded intake might have happened when removing the housing as there was a lot of silicone used.
I could be wrong, but we assume that water didn't drain out of the pump, froze and broke the housing. The motor cartridge popped out this summer in really rough conditions and water was quickly coming into the boat. There was a lot of water in the boat and the situation was looking quite serious. Between the bilge pump, a bucket and a sock to plug the pump's intake we got things under control and made it back safely. An auto bilge pump would have made a big difference. We did the install on his boat and it works like a charm. It should be a lot safer.
These pumps have a cartridge motor that you can easily replace when the motor dies. I'll say that in this case, removing the housing, the silicone on the inside of the transom and flipping a couple of screw clamps around was not an easy task. A round 10 inch access into the bilge makes it tough to see and tougher to work.
Anyway, make sure to drain your lines!!
Broken livewell pump - freezing temps
Linear Mode
