CD 27 Whale Gusher Bilge Pump

[Ray Garcia]

John,

I would be very interested in your information.

Thanks!

[Breault5]

I too am looking to replace the old Gusher 8 and got some interesting info. The guy told me the replacement pump for the Gusher 8 is the Gusher Urchin, sold at Defender, as well as, West Marine. The Urchin comes in three different models. the one for the thru-deck(bulkhead) installation is part # BP9013. He said it is an exact match as far as the mounting holes go. Defender sells it for $65.99. Does anyone out there have any experience with this? Whales tel. # is 802-367-1091, I spoke to Justin at ext 202 in their Vermont location.

[John Vigor]

Defender has the Whale Urchin BP9013 on sale at the moment for $59.39. The West Marine catalog is asking $97.99 for the same thing.

John Vigor

[John Ring]

I just ordered the Whale Titan - should be here in a week or so. I'll report back how (if) it fits.

ok, it was worth a shot, but the Titan is larger than the old Gusher 8. Also, the thru-deck bolt pattern is different. I don't know if a direct replacement for the Gusher 8 is available.

I'll return the Titan and order the Urchin BP9013, and see how that goes.

John Ring
CD28 Tantalus

[Steve Laume]

I searched hard last year this time for a rebuild kit for the Gusher 8. I even talked to the Whale rep at the Defender sale last year and again just a few weeks ago. Whale did not and does not list a rebuild kit for the 8. Although it hurt a bit, I did not want to compromise on my primary bilge pump so I went with the Gusher 10. On my boat it fit in the same space with a slight enlargement of the hole in the bulkhead. The bolt pattern was slightly different but they are only holes. Aside from the amount of money it initially cost I am extremely happy with the choice of the Gusher 10. Being a current design, I can get rebuild parts for it and it should last longer than I do, Steve.

[John Ring]

I'll return the Titan and order the Urchin BP9013, and see how that goes.

The thru-deck mounted Urchin BP9013 doesn't match the old Gusher 8 either. The mounting bolt pattern is different, and requires drilling new holes.

John Ring

[Joe Myerson]

RMeigel:

I've just taken off my Whale Gusher 8, and am planning to rebuild it, even though it still works perfectly well.

But the boot cover is cracked beyond use. Do you know which gear-shift boot from AutoZone works on this pump?

Thanks,

--Joe

[Ray Garcia]

This is the closest one I could find. Would probably still have to cut to fit.



http://www.dansperformanceparts.com/bug ... shift2.htm

$4.95 from Dans Performance Parts.

I am going to look locally before I order.

[Joe Myerson]

At that price, it's worth a gamble. (How much do you suppose it would have cost at a so-called marine store?)

--Joe

[Ray Garcia]

After a couple of stops on the way home yesterday, I could not find the boot at local auto parts stores. At least ones that I thought would fit or less than $4.95.

I ordered the boot, shipping to New York, $14.90.

If you want, wait to order and I will post my results. Though it may take a few days. The part ships from California.

I'm sure the "super" mega marine store would have charged double

[Joe Myerson]

Thanks again, Ray.

I'm going to see if my local auto supply stores carry a gearshift boot. If not, I'll wait for your results.

--Joe

[marktilley]

The Gusher 8 Mk III on my 1979 Northern 29 had a ripped outer boot, the handle socket was broken halfway down (still usuable though) and the diaphragm was cracked and had a small leak.

I had patched the diaphragm last year with duct tape (which was working fine), but this spring I figured it was time to look after it properly along with the other stuff.

I measured the hole spacing and went off the to local chandlery. I found the hole spacing on the Urchin to be the same for the 4 holes around the boot, but the two lower holes were no longer part of the main body. There were, however, an additional 4 holes facing downward for mounting on a board or whatever. Given that I couldn't get spare parts for anything but the diaphragm, I elected to replace the entire pump with a new Urchin.

When I got back to the boat, I set about making a backing plate out of some scrap plywood to take the extra stress on the 4 remaining holes by also utilizing the otherwise unused 2 lower holes. (The instructions said that minimum thickness for mounting should be .5", and my cockpit locker thickness was about .25".)

After getting that done and feeling pretty pleased with the result, I started to mount the pump, and that's when I discovered that while the hole spacing was the same, the pattern had been rotated 90 degrees!!

Naturally, there was no way the pump could be rotated where it was located and I was in no mood to drill more holes in the cockpit leaving old ones that would need to be filled.

After cursing the unknown idiot who made the decision to introduce such a useless change in specification, I completely dismantled the old pump and found that at least the arm (handle socket) and outer boot were exactly the same for the two pumps. And so, for the price of a new pump, I now have a new arm and outer boot. The diaphragm rim is not the same however, and my old one is still duct taped, waiting for me to get over this fiasco enough to spring another $25 for a replacement diaphragm.

[Joe Myerson]

Attention all you Whale gusher owners out there.

Defender stocks the exterior boot for the Gusher 8 and Gusher Urchin! (It's the same part, and it costs about $12.)

The Whale part number is AS3725.

The delightfully helpful lady on the telephone at Defender helped me find the part on the Whale website (www.whalepumps.com). When I told her the number, she said, "We must have had a lot of calls for that part, because we stock it."

Last year, thinking I had a Whale Gusher 8, I bought a spare parts kid from West Marine. When I took apart my pump last night, I discovered that I my boat had a Gusher Urchin instead. So I returned my West Marine part and called Defender.

They had my parts kit in stock, and they had a truly helpful staff member who found they had the boot (called a "gaiter" on the Whale website).

If only Defender had a local outlet, I'd only shop there!

--Joe

[Ray Garcia]

Perfect. I am ordering mine today before the word is out.

Good job.

[Ray Garcia]

Delivered and installed Friday. I wound up replacing the original ridged wall, bilge hose as well. I replaced it with a smooth wall bilge hose to improve flow.

Thanks everyone for the follow up.

Ray