Homelite WaterBug.

[rarefish383]

Found my Dad's old WaterBug, primed it, and it fired right up. Filled the fuel tank and it pulls from the tank and runs great. These little pumps have to be primed, and there is no throttle, so it starts up WOT. Last time it was used was when my son was in Cub Scouts, he's 29 now. I primed the pump and it just runs WOT. So, instead of trying to get it to draw from a 55 gallon barrel, I hooked the garden hose up to the intake line and ran water into it. That brought the idle down and it was pushing water out the discharge side faster than just the hose. I also tried filling the suction side hose and it filled the whole pump and started back flushing the intake line. When the water was back flushing the intake line there were two pin holes in the line. Could that be enough to keep it from pumping? I'm heading back out now to cut the line off past the pin holes. In the mean time, has anyone ever messed with one of these? Can the pump be rebuilt? It's a cool little pump, I could use in hunting camp to pump water from the creek to flush our terlet.

[blythkd]

We used to stock and sell Waterbugs back in the 80's before it was replaced by the AP125. They were a pretty good little pump in my opinion. We used to have a customer that managed a water district that used one a lot to pump holes out when they were repairing lines. It did the job for him for a few years.

Any hole in the suction hose will make priming tough if you're trying to lift water very high.

Sure the pump can be rebuilt, if it needs it and you can find parts. Unless it's had rocks or anything rough ran through it there's probably not much that needs rebuilt. I've taken apart more pumps that just needed grass and weeds and the like cleaned out of the impeller than anything else.

[rarefish383]

Thanks, I just took my dog out for a drink. At the end of the discharge hose is a pile of some kind of fluffy stuffing. The original red pickup hose with strainer is still on it. The discharge didn’t have a hose on it. Looks like something got in there and made a nest. I’ll pull the end off and clean it out, see if that was the problem. I think I saw the O Ring gaskets on eBay. If I can’t find the right gasket I’ll try Moto seal?

[blythkd]

Back in the old days you could pull the end off one of those pumps and just re-use the rubber gasket. I realize things could be different now that they're well past being old enough to vote. As long as it comes off in one piece though I'm sure worst case you could get by just buttering it up with some silicone.

[rarefish383]

Well, pulled the end off, gasket looks fine. But, now I remember how I came to find this thing again. It fell off a shelf and bounced across my shed. Looks like the cone from the pump is cracked, the housing of the tank is cracked, and here is some of the stuff that was in the tank. It looks clean, not like a critter put it there. Any chance the fuzzy stuff was some kind of packing in the cone where it cracked? It's a shame the plastic cracked, it's a cool little pump. I see dead ones on ebay asking $150. I might look for a parts one. If the AP125 is a little bigger and better, maybe I'll look for one of those. Thanks for the help.

[rarefish383]

OOPS, I forgot the pics, for what they are worth?

[blythkd]

Shouldn't be any fuzzy stuff in there, it was sucked in from somewhere or brought in by an insect or critter of some kind.

I have an AP125 and I'd much rather have a Waterbug. It's a much better pump in my opinion. The engine is better, it's just more challenging to service because it's all enclosed. The AP125 has the new gen engine with only half a crankshaft like the new gen weedeaters went to back in the 80's. They're simpler, cheaper and easier to work on but that's about it. I'd vote for finding a donor Waterbug for parts. If it runs as it is and just needs a couple of plastic pump parts installed, seems like an easy fix and you'll have a good pump.

[rarefish383]

Thanks, I'll try my old Stihl/Homelite guy. He had several new in box Homelites, now that I think about it, they may be the AP125's. I do like my little WaterBug. Maybe he has a donor?

[rarefish383]

Saw guy said he thought he had a water bug somewhere? He has 3-4 new in box Homelite pressure washers.

[rarefish383]

Been busy so haven’t played with any saw stuff. Last WaterBug I saw on eBay was a non running junker, they wanted $125. Gonna check again and see if I get lucky? If not I’m going to try some plastic weld on the cracked tank. I better check with Joyce too.