HELP! Jabsco ballast pump keeps stopping!!!

jwat142 · Wakeboarder.Commie Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Posts: 1009

I know people on here have said that some of the Jabsco reversible ballast pumps had problems with the impeller in them or something. Well mine is starting to act up on me. It will run for like 30-60 seconds and then it stops pumping. It slowly dies down at the end and then totally stops. If I let it sit for a minute or so, it will start back up and run again for a little while and then stop again. Does anyone know how I can fix this? Thanks.

anti-shoobies · Posted: Jun 15, 2003 7:04 pm Post subject:

jwat142, where are you at in Indiana? I am in Lawrenceburg on Hidden Valley Lake. Nice boat, I have the same, but it's a 190. What kind of tower is on that?

Anyways, I just got a Rule 1100 gph pump. It stops, too. I just unplug it and plug it back in and it works just fine. I think it's something about priming it. Try completely submerging it under the water.

RanMan · Outlaw Joined: 14 Apr 2003 Posts: 186 City: Pittsburgh

Dude,
The Jabscos suck. Period. The reversible impeller is a design that just doesn't work well. Some people take apart the impeller housing and trim the impeller lobes. Others remove alternating lobes. Yet others beef up the wires to the units to prevent overheating the wires. I've found that to use them as sparingly as possible is the key. I fill the tanks and leave them filled. If they don't run at first, cycle them fill and empty to free the impeller. It is rubber and tends to jam. I am constantly on the lookout for a hardwired, installable, reversible pump by anyone other than Jabsco. No luck yet. Good luck.

X-Star · Soul Rider Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 253

Well, I have had the same problem and have done some extensive research on the issue. The easiest way I can tell you to fix them is to call Jabsco. They have found some problems with the impeller and have found a solution to fix it. I can go into all the details of what the problem is but its to much to type and Jabsco can tell you. Call them and you'll be fixed up. Your fill up time will be cut by about 70 seconds too.

RanMan · Outlaw Joined: 14 Apr 2003 Posts: 186 City: Pittsburgh

What's the fix? Can I do the fix or is it a new part from Jabsco?

MrBlean · Posted: Jun 17, 2003 5:06 am Post subject:

Great to see this thread after having just installed a Jabsco pump! C'mon RanMan, what's wrong with a reversible impeller design? Your raw water pump is a rubber impeller so it can't simply be a problem with impeller pumps in general but possibly a problem with the reversible nature. If that's the case, why should reversible pumps from another source be any better? P'raps that's why you've not found one!

The Jabsco does have a thermal cut out supposedly to prevent it from running too long when dry. I don't know if it's a switrch or a thermistor (temperature sensitive resistor). If the latter, it's possible this could be too sensitive and slow the pump, but I doubt it.

And X-Star, give us a one-liner on the problem. Is it the material of the impeller or what?

Xbrdr1 · Outlaw Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 161

I've used my Water/Ballast Puppy about 100x since bought new in March....no probs. (knock on wood). Actually pretty impressed and happy. Heard about the Simers after I paid too much for mine...don't know what the word is on the Simers.

MrBlean · Posted: Jun 17, 2003 6:47 am Post subject:

Xbrdr1 - Glad to hear of at least one satisfied customer. Don't worry about the price. Whatever you buy, somebody's always bought cheaper. So even if you'd bought a Simer, someone would say they paid less! Thing is, you've already had the benefit of using your Jabsco 100 times. You could have spent hours on the internet looking for a cheaper pump when you were boardin' instead. Enjoy!

Sportster4Tec · Posted: Jun 17, 2003 10:40 am Post subject:

Good point MrBlean

RanMan · Outlaw Joined: 14 Apr 2003 Posts: 186 City: Pittsburgh

Wow! 100 times?! My jabscos haven't filled my tanks five times and are constantly failing. Sorry, they suck. The reversible idea isn't the problem. It's the execution by Jabsco. And it doesn't help that in my boat they are located on the inside of the transom, hidden by the motor. Can hardly get to them to yank 'em out for repair. Oh, well. Tanks are full so I'm done using them this season. Hope they work to empty the tanks in October.

MrBlean · Posted: Jun 18, 2003 12:05 am Post subject:

RanMan - if your Jabscos have "only filled your tanks 5 times", I can't quite equate this with "constantly failing". To me, that sounds more like "never worked in the first place" which ain't the same thing. The reversible ballast pump is just one example of a whole range of flexible impeller pumps made by Jabsco so why should they have cocked up so badly on "their execution" of just this pump or are you sayng all their pumps suck?

Can imagine your frustration if the siting is a difficult as you say but your complaint sounds more emotional rather than logical to me. Trashing stuff in this way isn't helpful to others and isn't really justifiable unless you can give specific reasons why. Then we can make our own judgements based on the evidence rather than accept a sweeping statement that a particular piece of kit sucks.

RanMan · Outlaw Joined: 14 Apr 2003 Posts: 186 City: Pittsburgh

Mr. Blean,
Ok, how about rarely worked. On the second set of replacement pumps now. Warranty fixes for sure, so it's not costing me anythng other than hassle. But they just are unreliable. They'll work briefly then die. Cycle them fill/empty gets them going but then death again soon after. I want trouble free reliability. They aren't it.

MrBlean · Posted: Jun 18, 2003 5:41 am Post subject: Pumps failing

OK RanMan, it seems Jabsco are taking responsibility for the failures but what exactly is happening and what are the symptoms? Are he impellers breaking up, sticking to the insides of the pump and preventing the motor from turning or what? If the latter, if you remove the impeller, does the motor turn OK?

What do you mean by cycle them fill/empty? Do you mean switch quickly from one direction to the other i.e. drain to fill or vice versa? And if this clears the problem temporarily, how long for? If this is a "semi-permanent" fix until the next time you use? If so, it would suggest the impeller is sticking to the inside of the pump and/or taking a set in a particular rotation that can't be overcome by the motor when it first starts in the other direction.

I'd like to have some more details so that if/when my brand new pump shows similar symptoms, I can recognise immediately.

MrBlean · Posted: Jun 18, 2003 11:00 am Post subject:

As a consequence of the bad PR the Jabsco ballast pumps have been getting here, I have just re-read the data sheet supplied with my recently installed pump to see if I could glean anything useful therefrom that may shed light on the difficulties experienced by RanMan and others. The are two references to the Run-Dry protection system. The first states that it senses when there is no water and shuts off the pump to prevent excessive impeller damage (doesn’t say the impeller won’t be damaged at all). The second says that after 20 mins continuous operation, the Run-Dry sensor may cut in a shut down the pump. To allow the pump to self-prime, there is a delay on the Dry-Run protection before the pump shuts down.

I’m betting, therefore, that the run dry protection device is a temperature sensor built into the pump. When there is no water present, the pump will get hot very quickly due to friction from the impeller running without lubrication. Moreover, after a long (20 min) period of continuous operation, the heat generated from the motor itself will probably be enough to trigger the temperature sensing device/circuit.

It also says that in left unused for an extended period, the impeller may stick to the pump body preventing the motor from rotating. If this happens, it suggests disassembling the pump and greasing the impeller before re-assembling. It also mentions the problem of having inadequate voltage available at the pump motor as a consequence of using small gauge wires, long cable runs and poor quality/corroded connections.

So, there are a number of potential problems that could be causing the pump(s) to malfunction, some of which may be due to poor operator use and some due to poor installation. Any user on his third set of pumps would have to consider looking at all these possibilities rather than just blaming the pumps themselves.

In the case of the slowing pump, it may well be it's failing to prime fast enough due to a blocked/restricted water supply and is getting hot and shutting down to protect itself. Another option may be that the wires used to connect it are too narrow and the volt drop is excessive. The pump's not getting it's full 12 volts, lacks the powewr to turn effectively and gets hot. All these things are possible and would need checking.

OttoNP · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 848 City: MI

Pumps can also tell if there is water present based on the load. This is how some of the automatic bilge pumps work. If there is ware the load is higher and therefore more current is drawn, the automatic pumps will run until the current drops back (i.e. the water is all gone).

Man, all this talk makes me want to buy one just to play with the pump and the switch!

Nick
________
MARIJUANA STRAIN INDEX

MrBlean · Posted: Jun 19, 2003 7:13 am Post subject:

Nick - The instructions for the pump also say it's not designed to work in a closed system i.e. against a significant back pressure. The maximum head is 8 ft so if there's more back pressure than that I'm assuming the pump will get hot and the cut-out will operate.

The fact that it will probably cut out after 20 mins of normal usage - even if it's pumping water OK - suggests it's a separate thermal sensor rather than a current sensing device/circuit. After 20 mins, the pump gets hot and cuts out. I've had a mssg from one of the guys with problems confirming he left the impeller in over winter. I'm guessing it's taken a set and/or stuck to the inside if the pump body in places so when it started for the first time this season (dry) it left rubber residue on the pump body walls. The consequent increased friction is causing the pump to overheat and shut dow.

Treating it like the raw water pump for your motor, which it's similar to, suggests the impeller from this pump should be removed at the end of the season to prevent such problems.

jwat142 · Wakeboarder.Commie Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Posts: 1009

X-STAR,

Could you please email me the fix to the Jabsco ballast pump at jwaterson14@hotmail.com. I called Jabsco and they sent me to a dealer which had no idea what I was talking about. Thanks for any help you can provide!