Cruisair Water Pump Issue/Question

[bbwhitejr]

AC(Cruisair-7,000btu) has performed flawlessly since we bought the boat. However, on Saturday, we had a problem...Turned on the AC and things appeared normal until I looked over the side to see water exiting the thru hull-no water. Shut it down immediately. Checked the seacock-open. Checked the strainer-clean. Tried again-no water flow. Forced water back through the thru hull and tried again-no water flow. Had the admiral start the AC while I was in the bilge with my hand on the motor-could not feel motor doing anything.

Sunday, brought the boat up on plane and looked at the thru hull and water pouring out of it. Started the gen, brought the boat back to plane, and turned on the AC with water still pouring out of the thru hull. Stopped the boat with gen and AC running and water flow ceased. Turned it off. Could not get water flow.

Today...checked and I am getting 110v to the motor. Pulled the pump and motor out. Wired a pigtail to the motor so I could plug it in to an outlet. Motor initially just hums with the pump attached. Removed the pump face and the impeller and motor runs perfectly. Turned the impeller on the little shaft by hand and it was not an easy smooth, rotation on the shaft. Put a little 3-n-1 oil on the little shaft and put it back together and impeller turning perfect. Took a piece of emory cloth(400 grit) and polished the shaft a little. Put all back together, put a funnel in the inlet hose, plugged it in, poured a gallon of water into the funnel and it blew water 20 ft.

Not sure what to think, but seems to work perfect now.:huh:

Thoughts and advise appreciated...
Thanks,
Bennett

 

[Mike Blake]

Sometimes they get clogged. My pump is a march, and when the strainer gets clogged the compressor shut's down and so does the pump. That may have happened to you. If it ever happens again make sure you check the strainer and see if it is clean.

 

[bbwhitejr]

Sometimes they get clogged. My pump is a march, and when the strainer gets clogged the compressor shut's down and so does the pump. That may have happened to you. If it ever happens again make sure you check the strainer and see if it is clean.

I checked the strainer and it was clean. Nothing ever shut down on its own-I shut it down each time myself. Maybe I did not allow it to run long enough for it to shut down on its own.

Thanks,
Bennett

 

[dpmulvey]

Something got past the strainer and into the pump that exceeded the pump's brake horsepower. Your removing the impeller and polishing the drive shaft and oiling everything brought the pump back to good operational condition.

Dont argue with success.

Any pix of the surgery?

 

[MancaveII]

For what it's worth, my experience has been that even with the strainer fairly clear, I've had silt get into the tubing and have the system cut off. Removed the tube right after the strainer and with the full force of the water hose blew out the lines...all good. Usually have to do it three times in the season.

Be careful with any polishing or sanding anything, I believe the impeller is a magnetic floating device so I would be careful.

 

[Mike Blake]

I checked the strainer and it was clean. Nothing ever shut down on its own-I shut it down each time myself. Maybe I did not allow it to run long enough for it to shut down on its own.

Thanks,
Bennett

Sometimes they have a delay on turning back on mine does. 3 minutes or something like that.

 

[SearayPaul]

My pump stopped two weeks ago. Motor worked fine. Very easy fix once Frank put me on to the parts. Pull the pump off the motor, four nuts on studs for my pump. Take out the six or seven screws that hold the cap on. Remove the impeller, just pull. Below that is a magnet that I will bet is cracked, mine was. By the way this is a magnetic pump. Frank told me that March makes the pump. Look on Amazon for the wet end. 60 bucks is the price for a/c.

 

[bbwhitejr]

My pump stopped two weeks ago. Motor worked fine. Very easy fix once Frank put me on to the parts. Pull the pump off the motor, four nuts on studs for my pump. Take out the six or seven screws that hold the cap on. Remove the impeller, just pull. Below that is a magnet that I will bet is cracked, mine was. By the way this is a magnetic pump. Frank told me that March makes the pump. Look on Amazon for the wet end. 60 bucks is the price for a/c.

Thanks Paul. I pulled the impeller and the magnet looked brand new. There were 4-screws holding the face on the pump. Once the 4-screws were removed, the impeller was right there. The impeller is mounted on a small round plate with the magnet on the back. The whole thing rotates on a small ceramic like shaft.

As David advised, not going to argue with it now. I will reinstall and see what happens. I just wonder what caused the initial malfunction.

Thanks,
Bennett

 

[bbwhitejr]

Something got past the strainer and into the pump that exceeded the pump's brake horsepower. Your removing the impeller and polishing the drive shaft and oiling everything brought the pump back to good operational condition.

Dont argue with success.

Any pix of the surgery?

Requested surgery pics.

I will work on the pics tomorrow.
http://s1382.photobucket.com/user/bbwhitejr/library/Mobile Uploads

Hopefully the pics work this time.

 

[joeyleggz]

cant see the pics says private

 

[joeyleggz]

I see it now thank you ,so the magnet just lays in there on the shaft and impeller ontop?

 

[bbwhitejr]

I see it now thank you ,so the magnet just lays in there on the shaft and impeller ontop?

The impeller, the plate it is attached to, and the magnet are all one piece with a hole through the middle. That "piece" spins on the stationary little ceramic shaft.

FYI-I was quoted $400-500 to replace the whole unit. Using Paul's advice from a previous post in this thread, I checked on Amazon. The entire motor and pump is $240. The "wet end" meaning the pump with impreller, housing, etc. is $63. At most I would have needed the pump. Planning to reinstall tomorrow and see what happens. My bet is that it runs like a new one. I did read somewhere that if it ran for a minute without water, the impreller was subject to freeze to the shaft. Mine was not frozen, but the motor just did not have enough umph to turn it due to the friction between the ceramic shaft and plastic impeller. I will report back after reinstalling.

Bennett

 

[bbwhitejr]

Pump/motor reinstalled and performing like a new one! I love it when I can save a few bucks!

One more bit of info-the motor/pump only come on when the compressor is running.

Bennett