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Review of Siphon Pump by RoadPro(R)
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Removing water from an ice
chest requires
- siphoning via siphon pump
(or
basting bulb),
- draining through the
drain
spigot,
- hand-dipping with a cup
or
bowl, or
- dumping the cooler upside
down.
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Since
our
preferred method of keeping food cold in our truck is by
ice
chest,
we need a good bit of ice and have a resulting good bit of water to
remove.
Sometimes the amount of water
from the melted ice (and the force behind it) in the cooler makes
draining the water a messy proposition.
Hand-dipping can get cold.
Dumping the cooler upside down isn't a viable
option inside the truck (although Mike has been known to clear out the
contents to clean out the cooler from time to time).
So, the only other options at our disposal are
removal via siphon pump or basting bulb.
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Many a
truck
stop
sells siphon pumps like the one shown. We decided to purchase one in
late 2009. The directions on the back for assembling the unit seem
straightforward enough.
When we opened the package, we noticed right away
something that was not noticeable because the orange hoses were
packaged behind the front label: one of them had a "kink" in it.
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We regret that we do not have
a picture of it.
But Vicki has drawn an illustration to show that
the flow of liquid through the device would be hindered by the kink.
Once kinked when packaged (and left for however
long it took for us to buy it), the hose could never be "unkinked."
The only avenue left to us was to cut off the hose
above the kink, which we were unwilling to do.
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We used the unit twice. We noticed in unwinding the
coiled plastic
hoses that they tended not to be uncoiled very easily. This made
siphoning water from the ice chest out the door of our truck difficult.
The "curliness" required two people to hold the two ends of the hoses.
There was really nowhere decent for us to "put" the pump
when pumping water out of the chest (which is not the fault of the pump
itself). But we gave it a shot. Vicki tried working the hand pump,
which didn't seem to want to draw the water out very well the first
time.
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After the barely passable first attempt to use
this
device, we dried it as best as we could and put it back in the package.
The second time –- for whatever reason we don't understand –- the
device did not work.
We do not know what caused the device to not work
like
it should. It could have been
- the kink in one of the
hoses,
- an error in assembling
the
parts, or
- operator error.
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work for us.
We were disappointed and ended up taking it back
to the truck stop chain from which we had purchased it.
If the device had worked, we foresaw that it would
save some wear and tear on Mike's back, since at the time, he was
having to lift the ice chest off the floor and onto the driver's seat
to drain the water out the door onto the ground from time to time.
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For a while, instead of draining
the water out
the door, we were "recycling" the water through our Go Berkey® water
purification unit to make
drinking
water.
The siphon pump could have helped us in our recycled
water efforts, but
unfortunately it did not.
Every driver who does not have storage room on the floor
for an ice
chest who uses this form of cold food storage needs to be concerned
about lifting it fully loaded with water and ice from floor level.
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Money saving tip:
Before buying a siphon, it would be a good idea to be able to see the
entire length of the hose to make sure that it isn't kinked. Consider,
too, if you want/need a siphon pump that requires two hands to operate,
especially if you need to hold one or more of the hoses to keep them
from recoiling.
Some people prefer a siphon pump that can be used
in multiple circumstances, such as for use with a 55-gallon drum.
Besides foreseeing the circumstances in which you would use one,
consider well the type(s) of fluid(s) that you
plan to transfer. Some devices might work better with certain liquids
than others. Are you transferring water, cleaning fluids, oils,
volatile chemicals, fuel, or what?
Also, while we encourage shopping around for the
best value you can get, you might be wise not to shop on the lowest
cost alone. Sometimes, lowest cost translates into an inferior product.
Be careful in using any siphon that requires
putting an end in your mouth to create a vacuum, as use with a
non-potable liquid could lead to sickness or death.
Please note that it is considered theft to siphon
fuel from another trucker's vehicle for use in your own, and for this
reason we strongly disapprove of this practice.
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For
more money saving tips besides those on a siphon pump, return to our
product reviews page
or
our
home page.
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Nominate
Mike
& Vicki Simons -- TruckersSavings -- for a social media award
in the Shorty Awards travel category
