US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

Wally,

I have a 3-4' hose that drops down into the lake that connects to an inlet thru hull. I made a couple thru hulls that were also threaded internally from the outside to accept a theaded fitting. I just prime the system with a garden hose held tight against the inlet hose until I get water out the outlet. A checkvalve on the end of the pickup hose prevents it from draining back when the AC cycles off. I still get good flow out the outlet, plus it works great, so I guess I have no issues. I also drop a hose from the discharge fitting into the lake, otherwise the 3' water drop is noisy. I use the Mermaid Condensator which itself reduces the water flow over a normal install system. If not for that, I wouldn't need the checkvalve as both hoses are below water level and would be air free once primed. Your March pump works great for my setup. My slip neighbor uses the smaller capacity Teel pump for on the lift use also, other than no Condensator usage and 1/2 the hose runs, and his also works fine. We knew there was a possibilty of issues, but had none. Your charts only addressed 'lift' heights, not suction heights, (understandably so) so we held the pump held 5 ' over a bucket of water using 20' of hose for accuracy and see if it would pull once primed. It did, we installed.

GoFastSonic

Ok I did the deed and drilled a 1 inch hole in the bottom of my Sonic. All looks ok but I did use about half a tube of 5200 to make sure it wont leak.

East Coast B

With each new hole, it never gets mentally easier to drill them. I like the transom hole idea, no drag and you don't have to worry about trailer bunks or lift bunks.... I've seen a couple dig into the bunks already.

Wally

iTrader: (1)

US1....we dont bother with suction lift as it would cause more problems then its worth for our pumps....we get enough daily calls form people that plumb the inlet side too small and starve the pumps causing damage!!! You probably have the LC-3CP-MD (our most common for marine AC systems) The next size up in family would be our series 4 pumps...and with our priming chamber installed you can actually get about 10' of suction lift possible out of the pump.....it would be slightly less out of the 3 series pumps as they have some strong shaded pole motors in them (i should know...i re-designed it! )
I think ive seen you post those pics before....neat idea....i take it you threaded the inlet fitting to fit that barb adapter? You know if you were at a marina that didnt have a hose/water available for priming you could buy one of those outboard priming bulbs and just stick it on the end of the hose in the water and give it a few squeezes to prime the system up....just another idea for ya

GoFastSonic

East Coast B - We did it with the boat on the lift and our lift bunks and trailer bunks both sit in the same place on the boat!! So shouldn't be a problem. I said the same thing to my husband and he said transom had thicker fiberglass!! Also take a look at the AC Thread under Sonic, I posted some info on our install for you.

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

Yes on the thru hull fitting. Made them from scratch so I could have thicker wall. Just tapping a store bought thru hull leaves very little wall thickness for my comfort.

LC-3CP

Can a priming chamber work on my pump, or is it part of the 4 series? I like that idea! Is that on the March website? My only worry is my checkvalve will not seal some time and I'll loose the prime and toast the pump. Have a strainer on the hose end for added protection, plus hose is long enough to go at least a foot below water surface to prevent any surface crap from being sucked in. Using a high quality SS checkvalve for a more failure free item.

Wally

iTrader: (1)

You could use the priming chamber if you wanted to....you would need to get an adapter as the chamber is made fora 1" FPT inlet size and the LC-3 has a 3/4" FPT inlet....quick trip to home depot and you could be in business.....the only other issue you would run into would be the support of the priming chamber...when you get it addapted tot he pump the chamber would be about 1/2"-3/4" off the ground so you would need to get some starboard or wood if you want just to put under it so it doesnt put undo stress on the pump inlet.....let me know if you want to try it out....

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

I've looked on the March website, but see no priming chamber. You have a link to it in case I'm looking in the wrong area? Trying to get an idea on how it works and if it will fit. I am interested in one if it will allow me to eliminate the checkvalve, not have to prime it, and space alotment.
Thanks

Wally

iTrader: (1)

Go here:
http://www.marchpump.com/documents/pdf.htm

bottom right hand corner...click on the link and it will take you to the parts sheet with pic attached to one of our 5.5 series pumps....and a dimensional drawing showing the sizing of it

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

Any idea on the $$ on this? Looks very simple and easy enough. My only concern is if it would siphon back down after the AC unit shuts off. Appears to be a trial and error testing to see if it will work under different applications.