Raw Water Washdown Question.

[magicalbill]

To all of you who use your washdown in salt water(which I assume is most of you); how do you keep the unit from crystallizing and corroding when it sits for periods of time unused?
We flush our engines to keep the same salt-oriented deterioration from happening. Is it different with a raw-water pump? If so, why?

 

[GulfSea]

I can't believe I paid $44 for basically a modified toilet plunger with garden hose fitting but it does the job for the livewell and raw water washdown plumbing. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=50366&subdeptNum=50396&classNum=50401

 

[Curmudgeon]

I have a Shurflo Pro Baitmaster, it's mounted 'motor up' and serves both wash down and baitwell. At the end of the day, I unscrew the inlet fitting and replace with another fitting and short piece of hose. Water hose screws to short hose and flushes the pump and outlet hoses. I also wipe the motor housing down with Corrosion X every spring and fall. A little bit of a pain, but I installed the pump 6 years ... :wink:

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Magic,
I have wondered this too. My boat spends 80% of its time running lakes and rivers and 20% of its time on the salty brine of the Gulf and Atlantic. I have washed it down after those trips with freshwater but it did not seem to help. We have a dedicated ShureFlow ProBlaster. Last winter I did not completely drain the washdown and it froze and cracked the plastic bottom part so I had to install a new pump because the screws to the assembly housing were so corroded I could not replace the cracked plastic piece.

The boat was just 2 year old when this happend and honestly I thought is this the best Shureflow could do in terms of exterior corrosion on a water pump for a boat? Again, my boat is kept on a trailer under carport out of the elements and sees the ocean a handful times of the year and yet the pump's exterior seems so cheap.

 

[magicalbill]

Thanks All;
I was not, and probably should have been, aware of a device that flushed the system. I am only in salt water for 3 weeks a year in the Keys, and the rest of the time I'm in Northern Michigan, where no flushing is needed.
Thanks again for the feedback and here's hoping your Bahama Trip goes well, Smoky. Take lots of pics!

 

[seasick]

I had to replace my washdown pump last season after 10 years of service. I dock in salt water and I don't flush the washdown. All I do is let the pressure out after a trip. I haven't had any major issues with the setup. Maybe I am just lucky.

 

[magicalbill]

You and others I've talked to.
Some pumps seem to lead a charmed life. Me? Murphy's Law has followed me pretty closely in the past, so before I induce salt water into mine, I though I'd get some other opinions.
I don't fish, so my dockside freshwater hose has been fine for cleaning after snorkeling runs to the reef. I may just keep using it in freshwater unless we finally pull the trigger and move to Fla.