: I am a long ways from putting a bilge pump in my kayak but I keep thinking
: about what a poster from Canada said about using toilet plungers for the
: pumps. It would seem that two of them mounted as combination foot braces
: that your feet rests on and at the same time also being two large volume
: pumps would be an ideal marriage. I am not sure how the pumps would work,
: but wouldn't the bilge line from the rubber plunger to the bilge have a
: one way check valve on the end of it, and the discharge water line have a
: one way check valve on its end also but working in reverse of the bilge
: valve.

: John

Hi John

You want some sort or part of your footpegs to be rigid for bracing so the difficulty would be having the space. But 2 pumps side by side seem to fit the cross section shape . You need oneway valves on the intake and exhaust. The most efficient hook up is to link them to gether with a teeter so that when you push one side it lifts the other, then you dont need springs and you dont waste that energy. In plan view, if both were mounted in a bulkhead like nicks foot pedal with each angle being half the throw, when you press one pump the other is fully lifted.

One thing abt plungers is that they already have a good diaphragm connection, just cut of the handle say 1in long and drill a hole thru to mount the teeter, pad the teeter.

To make, I'd use say 3/8 or 1/2 ply or a foam build up, cut a hole 1/2 in less than the plunger perimeter all around, place plunger on ply,build a 1/2 in glass lip to tiny bolt thru, and temporarily connect a teeter, fully press down and clamp or brace in place, turn upside down, place in 2 pcs of 1/2 ply say 1in by 1in(valselined)on opp sides of the hole w/some sort of pvc or glass or abs 3/4in pipe tacked or screwed to it. Then glass over the whole works say 1in over lapping the ply. Pop it off and clean up, remove the small ply bits and make a rubber or silicone flapper valve in one of the depressions or use something like the inline valves from your old respirator. One one way one the other. Maybe another near the outtake for safety. Connect the teeter. try out

This is the basic idea, but any one of these steps probably would be modified. Its a fun idea, one that I'll try out on some yak in the future, but don't forget that you can get real pumps that really work.

-mick