Intrepid Pump Builders,

Shawn's diagram and instructions for constructing a hand operated bilge pump inspired me to design a plunger-type foot pump. Below is my sketch of what such a pump would look like. I envision mounting it in the center of the front bulkhead on the cockpit side with a big friendly foot pad the size of a automobile break pedal. The main pump housing and plunger is simple with the oneway valves located in a tee below the pump. I thought that the tee could be made to be removable for field service of the valves, and having it at the lowest point would reduce the amount of water left in the pump housing after the pump starts sucking air. As for dimensions, they are totally flexible and can be tuned to get a comfortable size and gpm (gal per minute) rating. I imagine the housing being ~8" in diameter with 4-6" of plunger travel. The plunger would be smaller than the ID of the housing with rubber flappers on both sides of a rigid disk in order to get a high tolerance design. There should probably be a sleeve around the plunger rod at the end cap to help the plunger move straight in and out, but maybe not...

This is the first pump of any kind that I've designed. Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks alot,

Tim.