What are
the torque specifications for the
Berkeley pumps?
Torque specs:
1/2" bowl bolts 70-75 ft.lbs.
5/16" nozzle housing bolts 20-25
ft.lbs.
5/16" bearing cap bolts 20-25
ft.lbs.
5/16" suction to intake bolts
20-25 ft.lbs.
1 1/4" impeller nut 70-75 ft.lbs.
How do I
adjust the packing gland?
Packing gland adjustment:
The packing gland can be tightened
so no water leaks past it, but if
it is set up too tight it will
overheat and the packing materials
useful life will be shortened. If
the gland is permitted to leak too
much at low speeds the pump could
suck air back into the suction
piece causing poor acceleration
and low speed thrust. So you can
see that the gland adjustment is
important to the operation of the
jet drive. The correct adjustment
should be about 1 drop of water
per minute at idle leaking past
the packing gland. Both of the
adjustment nuts should be
tightened or loosened equally as
to avoid breaking the aluminum
packing follower.
How do I
maintain the thrust bearing?
Thrust bearing maintenance:
Grease thrust bearing every 2
months or 100 hours of operation.
(high performance applications
should be greased more often)
What type of
oil does the pump use?
Bowl tail bearing oil:
Use 90 wt.gear oil check every 2
month or 100 hours of operation.
To refill the bowl oil remove both
of the 1/8" npt plugs on the bowl
and using a squeeze bottle of oil
force oil into one of the holes
till it comes out the other,
re-install both of the plugs.
You may notice after a while that
the bowl bearing area is full of
water and not oil. This is a
satisfactory condition, (it is
best to keep full of oil) as water
will leak past the seal, except
that this water could cause
structural damage to the bowl if
permitted to freeze. For
winterizing always re-fill with
oil before lay-up of the boat.
Both oil and or water will both
lube and cool the tail shaft
bushing at higher rpm levels. The
bowl seal is more designed to keep
the water out than the oil in as
it is installed towards the
pressure of the water. The seal
will keep the oil or water mixture
in the bowl area when the boat
hauled out of the water as well.
Can I run
my pump while the boat is on the
trailer?
Running the Berkeley out of the
water:
A Berkeley pump can be run out of
the water as it has a greased
thrust bearing and lubricated tail
shaft bushings. The impeller does
not touch the wear ring, but due
to the fact that the bottom of the
pump is open during trailering the
boat, it is best to run water into
the pump through the nozzle while
running on the trailer. The only
issues with running out of the
water is that after about 15 to 20
minutes the bowl seal can get hot
from lack of cooling and cause
seal damage. The packing gland may
have to be re-tightened when the
boat is used the next time as
well. |