What our Clients have to say about KPM Many folks are tired of replacing worn out OEM sea water pumps every year or two. My situation was more chronic. I have a wonderful 1999 22' Advantage Citation with somewhat of an Achilles heel: the boat drafts quite a bit of water, the swim platform dictates that the Bravo 1 drive cannot trim all the way up and I have the dreaded low water only pickup on my outdrive.
These factors combined to produce a situation where I would suck up the bottom of the lake in less than 3 feet of water and immediately destroy Mercruiser's OEM sea water pump, as I've come to find out, within 15 - 30 seconds of touching bottom. It did not take many harrowing situations and lost days on the water for me to search for any solution. I considered paying for a new lower unit but they all have dual water pickups now so I wasn't sure that is a solution. Enter the KPM run dry pump. I was told it really was a system and should be used with the KPM sea strainer to filter the sand and silt. A couple years earlier I was duped into buying an expensive competitor's sea strainer that did nothing but look nice so I figured I'd just buy the KPM run dry pump. I thought it would stop pumping water the second I touched the bottom just like the stock pump. Well, the stock pumps quit pumping as soon as sand touches them because they are destroyed at that point. Of course in addition to replacing the pump you still have to dismantle your cooling system to find the bits and pieces of the impeller to prevent them from clogging your oil cooler or even worse something in the engine.
Turns out the first time my outdrive sucked up the bottom of the lake with the KPM pump, it continued to pump sand all through out my cooling system all the way up to my oil cooler. After again tearing apart and cleaning my cooling system the amazing thing was the impeller in the KPM pump was in perfect condition! Granted the billet aluminum pump housing was a bit worn from all the sand it pumped but it still worked. I then purchased and installed the KPM sea strainer and just as promised the next time my outdrive touched bottom the sea strainer filled with sand, silt or what ever murk was on the bottom of the lake. I simply emptied out the sea strainer (usually twice to clear the remaining material from the inlet hose and outdrive that had not yet made it to the strainer) and went on my merry way. No being standed on the water, no 911 call, no water patrol towing me 8 miles back to the nearest launch, none of it! In fact, I boat in lakes with unavoidable shallow areas (the harbor into my slip is too shallow for me). At least 10 times a year for the last 3 years I have repeated this process. My KPM strainer stops all lake material from entering my cooling system, and my KPM run dry sea water pump has no problem running dry until I am able to idle off to a safe area where I can anchor and clean the system out before overheating. Yes this is a system. A tire needs a wheel and the KPM run dry pump needs the KPM sea strainer. No real secret to the strainer. They just figured out how to get enough flow through 2 perforated aluminum plates with some sort of durable filter media between them. So simple yet nobody else does it. The pump? I know the impeller is made from some special material but I don't have a clue how they make that marvel work. As long as I'm not getting towed back to the launch with my tail tucked between my legs I don't care. From idle to 5000 rpm with a 385HP Mercruiser 454 Mag, I've never had a problem in 3 years.
Now that I'm having some engine work done I'm going to replace my KPM pump with a new one just so I don't have to worry about the damage I did to the billet aluminum housing before I had the KPM sea strainer. Remember, they are a system and should be used as such. I read the testimonials from the British military who repeated the cycle of running the pump for 10 minutes dry and 10 minutes wet for 3 days with no pump failures. Now I can be just as confident as the military and Coast Guard clients who use these products for the same reason I do - RELIABILITY! I boat primarily on Leech Lake in beautiful Walker, MN Jeff Boll
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