Is my impeller the cause of lake-a-lake not working ??

[Dandy]

That impeller looks ok to me. Just make sure none of the blades are cracked. I normally remove impeller, during the winter, and reuse the following season, if it looked alright. Would replace at least every other year, though. I had originally read that you should coat the stored impeller in petroleum jelly, but I guess the impeller manufacturers recommend a water-based lubricant. I can tell you the petroleum jelly coated impeller is way easier to slide back in there. You should see water out of the exhaust within 20 seconds. Make sure you are using a standard hose, not this little coiled hoses that have about half the diameter.

Some rubbers are not compatible with petroleum based products and will have a negative reaction with the rubber, typically causing it to swell and distort. At work, we work with several compounds that are not petroleum compatible and we use a silicone lubricant on all of the gaskets and orings and it works well. Here is the product we use.
https://www.grainger.com/product/JET...rchQuery=2ykj9

[IDBoating]

This is also a (secondary! ) use for KY Jelly. As a water soluble lubricant, KY won't harm rubber yet will still make things easier to insert. And twist! And....

Yes, I did edit that to improve its humor level. But it's still true.

We use KY Jelly on our boat's impeller. Slips right in. We don't STORE it in the stuff, though. Dry it thoroughly, then store in a ziploc bag as described above.

[Dandy]

And why exactly do you have bulk quantities of KY just sitting around? My "impeller" must not be of the same girth as others

[IDBoating]

To be honest, when I go to buy a tube of KY, I explain exactly what I'm using it for. Otherwise the checkout gals give me funny looks and exchange knowing glances with each other. So far, they've bought the story....