Priming a transfer pump

[mregan]

Bought a transfer pump to pump the water out of my bilge. (bilge pump crapped out this winter)
Reading the directions it mentioned I needed to prime the pump before turning it on. Wasn't sure if I was supposed to prime the intake side or discharge side so I did both.
This is my setup.
Sat the pump on my sole, stuck a 3' piece of hose on the intake side and had a 50' hose on the discharge side.
Poured water into 3' hose to prime. Turned the pump on and immediately stuck the 3' hose into the bilge. Pumped for 5 sec. then wouldn't suck anymore.
Unscrewed the 50' hose, made a U in the 1st 3' of hose close to the pump, screwed the hose back on the pump. Pulled up on the U so the water would go into the pump. Started pump, pumped for 5-10 sec then stopped sucking.
Then unscrewed both hoses, stuck the impeller of the pump into the bilge, watched water go into both side of the impeller, pulled out and screwed on both hoses. Turned pump on with same result.
Finally I disconnected the 3' hose, stuck the impeller/intake opening into the bilge water and turned it on. Finally worked and drained the bilge but I had to hold the pump the whole time so the intake opening was always in the water. 

What am I doing wrong. What I'd like to be able to do is sit the pump on the sole, stick the 3' hose in the bilge, turn the pump on and move the hose around to suck out all the water. Can't seem to get it to work that way?

[Stu Jackson]

mre:  what kind of pump is it?  http://westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Choosing-a-Pump

Impeller pumps essentially have to have flooded intakes.  That's why your raw water (impeller) pump works, because it's under the waterline, and why your shower sump pump works because it's a diaphragm pump.

[BillG]

sounds like you may be losing your prime, when you fill the 3 ft intake hose with water, are you filling it completely and then putting your thumb over the end as you place it into the bilge,  I'm thinking that you want to prevent any air from getting into this hose which could cause a loss of your prime

[mregan]

Stu
It's this pump from Harbor Freight.  Says it's self priming but reading most of the reviews on their site, most people had to prime.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-marine-utility-pump-9576.html


Bill, didn't try that.  I'll give that a try.  I brought everything home to try to play with it to figure it out.  

[Ron Hill]

mre : You might want to take the face plate off that pump and look at the impeller blades - just to make sure they are all there!

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

Also, after you prime the intake side and hold your thumb over the end of the hose, you MUST have the intake side submurged in the water before you turn the pump on or you will lose your prime again.

Mike

[Ralph Masters]

Look at the stamp on the pump to see where it was made, if it says "Made in China" there's your problem.

Ralph

[TonyP]

MRE
Could it be you are trying to raise the water too high with your 50ft of hose.
Just a thought

Tony

[mregan]

Tony
I thought of that but when I put the intake of the pump in the water, it had no problem pumping through the 50' of hose.

[lazybone]

Why not just replace the broken bilge pump with a new one?

[Andrew Harvey]

A shop vac is an amazing temporary bilge pump for a spring clean out

[Jim Hardesty]

I also use a small shop vac.  Works great, just don't let it over fill.
Jim

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

All of the shop vac's I've seen have a float switch that shuts off the suction when it gets full and before the water reaches the motor.

Mike

[Les Luzar]

I too would use a shop vac. It is fast and really simple to get the job done. I keep it on my boat to periodically dry out my bilge an keep it as clean as possible. We have a small bilge anyway, so the shop vac should do the trick!

Les