Rule pump meltdown

PascalG

PascalG

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Sep 16, 2003
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12212
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Had a small 800 gph rule pump burn up yesterday. It was only 3 months old and used to pump the very bottom of the bilge. 3amp breaker didn’t pop… mate was outside the ER and smelled something. Took us a few minutes to ID the source as it was under the floorboards and smoke wasn’t very thick. Plus I wasn’t expecting a bilge pump to smoke so we checked all the other equipment first. As soon as I cut the power the smoke stopped.

First time this happens to me… opened up the pump this opening and interestingly it was the black negative wire terminal that melted.
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Nope. Basket was tight and nothing was lodged in the impeller… breaker is rated at 3amp, pretty much the same as the 2.5 recommended
 
Mecury switch failure? Did you check the impeller to see if it was stuck? Which boat was this and was it in storage on the hard or in the water?
 
Impeller is a little hard to turn but nothing jamming it. That’s on the 116 inside the keel in the ER which acts like a sump. Whenever we clean a strainer or wash the bilge some water ends up in there so the pump gets regular use.

The interior of the pump was wet, hard to see in the picture so it seems that water got in. Off after just a few months.

Just in case, I ordered an Ultra Switch and will get rid of the rule float switch.

Btw, an IR gun is very handy to spot such problem when in a hurry. When I pulled the floor hatch, I aimed it at both bilge pumps… the 3700 was cold… this one one at 180 degree.
 
Pascal I am thinking it should spin without effort. Could be it bound up a bit with the float switch keeping it hot. If I am not mistaken the pump can be pulled out for a cleaning. Regular maintenance kind of thing. Clean the bilge pumps after pulling them from the base plate.
 
Sounds like high resistance in the ground circuit
 
It s all quality tinned wire, all connections high and dry nowhere near water. Wiring harness was originally set up for a Jabsco belt driven diaphragm pump which drew more than this little thing. Somehow bilge water got inside the pump.
 
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