Bilge pump failure

I was getting my kayak ready and needed to empty a little water that had collected in it. I picked up a bilge pump that had been laying around unused a while and it didn’t work at all. I assume the seals have dried out or something. I sure would hate to have discovered this problem when I needed it on the water.

I was getting my kayak ready and needed to empty a little water that had collected in it. I picked up a bilge pump that had been laying around unused a while and it didn’t work at all. I assume the seals have dried out or something. I sure would hate to have discovered this problem when I needed it on the water.

Get that cleared up!  I am just so happy that you posted after all this time.  Happy New Year and let's get a sturgeon...

Since I haven't even had the yak in the water in 3 yrs (damn) but always intend to get back in it,,,,,,,,,,,,Thanks for the tip, I never woulda checked it,

Takes a while to prime many of the hand pumps.  I'd try it longer.

Takes a while to prime many of the hand pumps.  I'd try it longer.

It might fix itself with moisture and time. I have two. The one unused for the last year worked immediately. The bad one has been unused longer. I ran water in it with a hose but that didn’t help. I will soak it to see if that helps.

I was getting my kayak ready and needed to empty a little water that had collected in it. I picked up a bilge pump that had been laying around unused a while and it didn’t work at all. I assume the seals have dried out or something. I sure would hate to have discovered this problem when I needed it on the water.

Get that cleared up!  I am just so happy that you posted after all this time.  Happy New Year and let's get a sturgeon...

Until yesterday the last time I fished was for sturgeon a year ago. With all the pandemic shutdowns and then large crowds I have just stayed home. I hope the new year brings better times.

Since I haven't even had the yak in the water in 3 yrs (damn) but always intend to get back in it,,,,,,,,,,,,Thanks for the tip, I never woulda checked it,

Post here what you find. Mine is a Seattle sports.

Make sure to run fresh water through it after each use. I had a Rule 550 that served me for over 10 years until I sold it last year. I still have a few pumps that I used for a about 3 years and had no problem so far.
(Just fyi, the Attwood 500 is 100% more efficient and pumps stronger than the Rule 550. The Attwood draws 1amp at 12v. The Rule draws 2amp.)

Make sure to run fresh water through it after each use. I had a Rule 550 that served me for over 10 years until I sold it last year. I still have a few pumps that I used for a about 3 years and had no problem so far.
(Just fyi, the Attwood 500 is 100% more efficient and pumps stronger than the Rule 550. The Attwood draws 1amp at 12v. The Rule draws 2amp.)

I believe he is referring to a manual, not a 12v pump. But, freshwater rinse is good either way.

LOL... sorry. My bad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the reminder.  I'll get mine out tomorrow and try it.  I haven't tested it in many years.   Kind of like a smoke detector - hope I never need to use it, but check it.

My bilge pump had sat unused for about 10yrs... actually used it once maybe 5yrs? ago to pump some water from a burst water pipe incident. Anyhows, it was frozen up when I checked to get it for kayakfishing ready. Unscrewed the little screws and took out the cap, sprayed some silicone spray and it works dandy again.

silicon would be my first fix.
if you can find silicon oil you can soak the diaphragms in it.
If diaphragms are cracked and you can't get replacements you can sometimes cut new ones from innertubes or rubber gasket material.

Thanks for the advice. I'll spray some silicone in mine and test them before I go out again

Well, I checked mine tonight and it worked just like new. I keep it in a nylon bag tied to my tackle box with slip knots so that I can get it in a hurry. I guess the bag protects it from the elements some, but it's nice when something works as well as it did 16 yrs ago.