Date: 1 March 2015. Warranty Paperwork
(SeaSense bilge pump)
©
janice142
One of the
advantages of living afloat is that we are in touch with the outside
world. Like the other day, when I heard the bilge pump come on I did
not hear the water splashing outside. I immediately knew there was a
problem. Checking, my 800gph primary bilge pump was not removing
water.
This pump
is easily accessible. Each Monday I remove the grate and clear out
any hair that might be accumulating. Skipper sheds, and my hair is
long too. Because I don't want any issues, clearing is a part of my
routine maintenance and thus far has been successful.

Today,
alas, that was not to be. There was a bit of seaweed that had gotten
caught in the impeller and broken the unit. Yes, the shaft still
spun but that's not enough. The blades on an impeller form a
centrifugal force that remove water from the bilge. Mine wasn't
working so I needed to resolve that ASAP.
Fortunately, finding the paperwork is not an issue. All too often when items break finding the purchase information is one more
thing to go wrong. When stuff is already not good, hunting down
missing paperwork is a real pain in the transom.
Aboard
Seaweed I've solved that issue. My system is simple. As items are
purchased I place the paperwork in a folder. I am organized, so
items are in alphabetical order too.
My folder
is from Target. It was in their dollar section so the quality is not
great, but it works. I don't like the vents at the bottom corners
though. Also, the plastic is icky -- not sticky, just what I would
call crisp. It is not of good quality however for a buck, it is
still fine after five or six years. Jeesh!
The doggone
folder won't fall apart. It still serves the purpose so I can't
justify buying a replacement.
Have you ever noticed when you want to buy a new product, Old
Faithful keeps on and on, and on?!?

This pump
is my primary. It's the first one that comes on when water gets into
the bilge. Made by
SeasSense,
the 800gph automatic pump is a good one. This is the first failure
and I've been using this brand since discovery. According to
Calder's Mechanical and Electrical Manual,
bilge pumps should be judged (among other things) by weight, and the
SeaSense is a hefty unit.
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The
SeasSense
800gph bilge pump is an automatic, and at $40 (full
freight at a sporting goods box store) affordable. When I
purchased this unit, I made the following notes:
- Length of
guarantee
- Date of
purchase (and price)
- Installation
date
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There's a secondary
reason I write on the paperwork (photo above) the date
of
purchase. As you can see, the ink has faded on my receipt
after 2.5 years. ↓ |
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My inked notes make
finding the data critical to my issue easy. I know that this
is under warranty.
Also, I've removed any
paperwork in foreign languages. English works for me and the
rest is drivel so with scissors: chop, chop.
As you can see, I've kept
the wiring instructions, plus the model number from the card
on the package and my receipt. All else has been thrown away.
These three items,
attached together with a piece of tape, were filed
alphabetically in my paperwork folder. Retrieving same was
easy -- and so too was the return policy.
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Kudos to
SeasSense
and yes, I will be buying a spare pump for my ship's stores.
Soon!
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I phoned the company on Monday morning, emailed the
required proof of purchase and damage later that afternoon. I
followed up with a phone call, speaking with Heather in their
office. Now,
days later my new unit is in hand and already installed.

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Side note regarding installation of 12-volt items: Whenever
I'm hooking up new goodies, before I do the final wiring I
verify the unit works. I've had DOA items, so this is my
sanity saver.
After I've got everything
laid out, I clip the wires together with my light-tester.
The light verifies that I've got power to the newest goody.
Thus, it should power up and work.
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Insulated alligator clips are at the ends of my light.
They held together the wires for the bilge pump with the power
source for testing. Once I confirmed the SeaSense pumped
water, I added the butt connectors and made it all pretty.
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I have two
2k Johnson
pumps and the single 800gph
SeasSense
in Seaweed. Algae has a 500gph pump too. Have
I mentioned that I don't like bailing?
Life's good afloat. It's better
when bailing is kept to a minimum.
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Memory
Lane: There was this fellow who had
annoyed me. It had rained during the night and I was an early
riser. Before he woke up I carefully rowed my dinghy over next
to his and very quietly bailed mine out and into his. Then I
went home (back to the 40'er) and waited for Tom to roll out
of his quarter-berth. He did eventually, and had a lot of
water to bail out of his *Zodiac.
*Zodiac is a brand of inflatable dinghy.

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Lesson to be Learned: Boys should
never annoy little girls. (I was probably less than ten
years old at the time.)
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In dirt days I kept paperwork with the appliance. Do you
do the same or have filing system?
What pumps do you have aboard your boat?
COMMENTS:
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