Wash down pump

[Davidj]

I must be dumb. I have a double issue with Mainship 34. 1980 vintage. No water to toilet and wash Down. Does the toilet use the same lake water. Where is the pump??!

 

[Mambo42]

Do you perhaps have one of those old toilets with a handle next to it ? That handle is for pumping water as well as flush down. You would indeed pump water from the sea or lake and also flush everything into the sea or lake. Many countries have now forbidden those systems, but every now and then you still see boats with these old style toilets.
If you have a toilet with a macerator there should be a switch for water and flush down.

 

[tiltrider1]

Toilets and wash down pumps usually use raw water. Raw water would be the water the boat floats in. Toilets and wash down pumps do not usually use the same thru hull fitting. However, it sounds like in your case they are sharing the same thru hull.

First check to see if the thru hull was closed. Second check the strainer. If neither of these work then you can try using a garden hose to blow out the THru hull.

All this is assuming you don’t actually have an electrical problem preventing your pumps from receiving an current.

 

[Comodave]

Agree, suspect the through hull is closed. At least that would be the first thing I would check.

 

[dhays]

I must be dumb. I have a double issue with Mainship 34. 1980 vintage. No water to toilet and wash Down. Does the toilet use the same lake water. Where is the pump??!

You're not dumb. If you want to see prime examples of truly dumb questions, you can browse through threads I have started.

One of the best things you can do with a new-to-you boat (and actually kind of fun in a way) is to open up all the hatches and start tracing all the plumbing you can find. You will answer questions that you don't even know you have and gain a better understanding of the boat.

As you do it, take some blue tape and a sharpie and start to label things as you discover what they are. You can get fancy with the labeling later. I can spend and hour tracing a hose and figuring out where it goes and what it does only to come back a couple days later and not remember what it was. Hence the blue tape and sharpie.

 

[PhilPB]

On my MKIII the washdown is supplied from the ac water supply input just after the strainer and before the ac pump. The head is supplied from a thru-hull/ shutoff under the floor/stairs to the galley. Access to that thru-hull is via the floor access panel for the shower sump which is at the bottom of the stairs. Being this a 41 year old boat, configurations will certainly vary.

 

[Newtrawlerowner]

To check thru-hull, it might be wise to remove the hose. On my 2003 MS 400, the handle moved but the valve would not close. I replaced in the water.

 

[Davidj]

You're not dumb. If you want to see prime examples of truly dumb questions, you can browse through threads I have started.

One of the best things you can do with a new-to-you boat (and actually kind of fun in a way) is to open up all the hatches and start tracing all the plumbing you can find. You will answer questions that you don't even know you have and gain a better understanding of the boat.

As you do it, take some blue tape and a sharpie and start to label things as you discover what they are. You can get fancy with the labeling later. I can spend and hour tracing a hose and figuring out where it goes and what it does only to come back a couple days later and not remember what it was. Hence the blue tape and sharpie.

Thanks for responding. I am taking your blue tape advice!

I have never owned a boat this big so understanding all of the systems takes me more time than average.

 

[SteveK]

Thread started with NO water from washdown pump.
How about I add "Too much water from wash down pump"
WE pulled anchor washing chain & anchor. My monitor system reports bilge pump activity warning. Well, with the power to the pump still on an old fitting ruptured and proceed to spill water into the bilge.
Remember to turn off a washdown pump.

 

[HeadedToTexas]

Remember to turn off a washdown pump.

Amen!

 

[Newtrawlerowner]

That was a good test of the bilge pump warning system. Now you know that works.