Water tank. Top mounted dip or pickup tube? Will a Whale Galley pump prime?

[Zach]

Hi Guys,

I'm the old stainless water tanks down in the bilge, and I'm looking at using Vetus polyethylene tanks, which have a 1/2 inch pickup tube to draw water on the top... rather than a gravity drain. I like the idea, mainly because a hole in the line doesn't kick on the bilge pumps!

I'm curious if the Whale galley pumps will draw from a dip tube, or do they need their feed line run from the bottom of the tank?

Thanks,

Zach

[Pelagic]

As long as the tank is vented and the pump is mounted lower than the exit point of the dip tube, it should hold it’s prime if connections are tight.
Dip Tube as low as possible to avoid sucking air

[sailorchic34]

A whale foot pump has a 10 foot vertical head capacity. So assuming faucet 3 feet above deck and 3 feet for hose friction loss, the whale will pull up from 4' below deck level. So should not be a problem. Bottom feet or top feed the vertical lift is the same.