Xylem Flojet Pump Strainer 01740002A 40 Mesh

If you run a Flojet fresh water pump on your boat or RV, this inlet strainer is cheap insurance. It's the small stainless part that sits on the suction side of the pump and catches grit, sand, and bits of debris before they reach the diaphragm and valves. Grit is what kills these pumps. A worn valve seat or a scored diaphragm means a pump that cycles forever and never builds pressure, and that always seems to happen on a weekend when you're a long way from a parts counter.

This is the Xylem Flojet strainer, part number 01740002A. It has a 1/2 inch inlet and a 1/2 inch hose barb outlet, and the screen inside is stainless steel at 40 mesh. It mounts directly to the inlet side of the pump, so there's no long run of extra plumbing to leak or trap air. If you've ever chased a pump that wouldn't prime, you know how much that matters.

Here's how we like to install it. The strainer goes on the suction side, upstream of the pump, and it should sit ahead of any check valve in the line. Put it downstream of a check valve and the pump can cavitate on startup, which sounds like a rattle and feels like a pump that can't quite catch its prime. Orientation matters too. On the 1/2 inch barb outlet, snug the hose down and double-clamp it. Boats vibrate, engines shake things loose, and a single clamp on a suction fitting is exactly where you'll pick up an air leak that drives you crazy. Two clamps, opposed, and you're done.

The 40 mesh screen is fine. That's the point. It stops the small stuff that a coarser screen lets through. The trade-off is that a fine screen loads up faster, so if your water source is silty, algae-heavy, or you're drawing from a river or a questionable dock spigot, plan to pull the screen and rinse it more often. On clean tank water it's close to set-and-forget. In dirtier conditions a quick monthly cleaning keeps flow up and keeps the pump from working against a partially blocked screen. The good news is that cleaning it is a two-minute job. Kill the pump, unclip or unthread the housing, rinse the stainless screen under fresh water, and put it back.

Who's this for? Anyone running a Flojet fresh water pump who wants it to last. That's a big chunk of the RV and marine world, from washdown setups to galley and head supply on cruisers and sailboats. If you're rigging a new pump, add the strainer at the same time. It's a lot easier to plumb it in now than to retrofit it after you've already lost a set of valves to sand. And if you're troubleshooting an older pump that keeps cycling or won't hold pressure, dropping a fresh strainer on the inlet is one of the first, cheapest things worth trying before you start swapping parts inside the pump head itself.

A couple of honest notes. This strainer is built to match Flojet fresh water pump inlet threads, so confirm your pump's inlet before you order. Forcing a mismatched fitting is how housings crack. And while stainless holds up well, if you run in brackish or salt-heavy water, keep an eye on it over the seasons and rinse it with fresh water when you can. Treat it right and it just quietly does its job, which is all you want from a strainer.

Bottom line, it's a small, sensible part that protects a pump that costs a lot more than the strainer does. Buy it with the pump, install it on the inlet side, double-clamp the barb, and clean the screen when your water's dirty. Do that and you'll forget it's there, which is exactly the point.