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**Dockhead** · 06-08-2015, 03:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevec195

Beware. If your boat is broached by a wave or you are knocked down, there will be no end to the small items in your cabin that are ready standing in line to obstruct your bilge pump inlet as the float into your bilge. My theory is not to make it any worse by adding a filter but instead, working on treating the algae or using the boat more, or flushing the bilge, or....

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Indeed. In a disaster, normal bilge pumps WILL be clogged. Because of this, they are of limited value as dewatering pumps. For dealing with flooding, you need a large bore solids rated pump, like a trash pump. Otherwise you need to have your hand in the bilge the whole time continuously clearing the pump screen.

Don't use a screen or strum box finer than absolutely necessary to block debris which the pump can't handle. For goodness sake no filter.

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Kenomac · 06-08-2015, 03:20

We cleaned out the bilge this morning. Rinsed with water, scrubbed with dishwasher soap and a brush, then hit it with the heavy duty bilge cleaner, scrubbed, sucked out the soup, then poured in a little more bilge clearer to let it stew for a while.

Now the entire boat smells like "Tidy Bowl."

We'll be looking into installing a macerator type pump. Lots of little hard crap, dirt, pebbles, electrical bits all caught in the screen filter just before the pump. Not sure if it's ok for that sort of stuff to be run through the pump?

ranger58sb · 06-08-2015, 03:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by FamilyVan

Mark, I recently/currently am having a nightmare of a problem after some unusually heavy sailing that caused oily scum to wind up in my bilge system. As a result I've been down on the boat trying to reach every nook and cranny on my bilge.

Have you been able to identify and fix the oil source?

-Chris

**Dockhead** · 06-08-2015, 04:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenomac

We cleaned out the bilge this morning. Rinsed with water, scrubbed with dishwasher soap and a brush, then hit it with the heavy duty bilge cleaner, scrubbed, sucked out the soup, then poured in a little more bilge clearer to let it stew for a while.

Now the entire boat smells like "Tidy Bowl."

We'll be looking into installing a macerator type pump. Lots of little hard crap, dirt, pebbles, electrical bits all caught in the screen filter just before the pump. Not sure if it's ok for that sort of stuff to be run through the pump?

If you can reach the bottom of your bilge, you're really lucky. I have to remove batteries and remove a battery box, and then hang through the floor like a monkey, to reach my primary bilge pump. Bleh! It takes a couple of hours. Needless to say I don't scrub the bilge out very often. But fairly often when I'm in a port with good water pressure, I will hose out the bilge. I do get scum and carp in the bilge like you did, from time to time. It's a function of rainwater down the mast, which means there's always some water in the bilge. A great argument for deck-stepped masts

For a trash pump, why don't you look at something like the Honda AC-powered submersible trash pumps, something like this: http://powerequipment.honda.com/pumps/models/wsp100? These will handle solids up to 2" because they are designed for dewatering construction sites. Use it with a folding 2" fireman's type hose and you don't need to install anything -- just store it in the bilge. Could save your butt in case of a flooding incident.

FamilyVan · 06-08-2015, 04:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Have you been able to identify and fix the oil source?

-Chris

I think so. I have a really goofy set up to fill (my 500L) diesel tank. Basically, I have to fill it from Jerry's inside my cabin. My brother was down sailing with me and he observed that I always spilled a few drops in the process, he told me those few drops were enough to cause my problems. So I bought a diesel pump from Canadian Tire, I'm hoping that's my only problem.

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Yukon Cornelius · 06-08-2015, 04:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I'm going to look into adding the KPM Marine bilge pump. The macerator is a good idea.

Any idea on how much a KMP costs? Apparently it's a secret because the company lists everything on its website but the cost.

Thanks

$600

KPM Bilge Predator Aluminum Offshore Bilge Pump

geoleo · 06-08-2015, 04:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenomac

We've been having incredibly warm weather here the past month, so warm that we had a fresh water bacterial bloom take place in the bilge today. The black pond scum then plugged up the inline pump protector filter. Yuck.

Got the stinky mess cleaned up, and now here's my question....

Is it necessary to have a pump protector filter ahead of the primary bilge pump? It seems to be counter productive if and when it gets plugged up just when you might need it most. If the filter is necessary, then what is the best kind, what size and what type of mesh screen?

Second question: What's the best detergent cleaner to really give the bilge a good scrub? I can't get down in there easily because it's so deep, but I can spray a hose and use a scrub brush on the end of a pole to get at everything.

Thanks

Ken

It's always something.

Just wrap it in household screem (FG) from home depot. Use dawn!

**Dockhead** · 06-08-2015, 04:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by zboss

Kenomac,

I don't understand why anyone bothers with comical mass-marketed bilge pumps. Commercial pumps like the one I have included in this response do not need to be protected from most of the crap you would find in a bilge and the rest get chewed up like a garbage disposal...

KPM Marine Bilge Predator, KPM Marine Aluminum Bilge Pumps, KPM Marine

That looks fantastic!!

Hot tip, thanks!

FamilyVan · 06-08-2015, 05:03

Ken, I doubt this would help with your algae problem and it certainly doesn't help with my oily gunk issue, but for debris I have this steel plate screwed onto the base of my aft/automatic bilge pump. It allows the pump to suck only from the sides which I think helps with debris.

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FamilyVan · 06-08-2015, 05:04

Oops forgot attachment

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ranger58sb · 06-08-2015, 05:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by FamilyVan

I think so. I have a really goofy set up to fill (my 500L) diesel tank. Basically, I have to fill it from Jerry's inside my cabin. My brother was down sailing with me and he observed that I always spilled a few drops in the process, he told me those few drops were enough to cause my problems. So I bought a diesel pump from Canadian Tire, I'm hoping that's my only problem.

Ah. Does seems like an odd arrangement; wonder why no deck fill. Could you add one somehow?

Anyway, good if you've solved the issue that creates the oily bilge in the first place!

-Chris

Ericson38 · 06-08-2015, 05:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenomac

We have an electric Jabsco 36600 series piston driven bilge pump with the larger grid screen installed on the end of the suction end. The inline screen that became clogged is just before the pump. I installed the inline filter last season when the Jabsco quit on me two days before the end of the season leaving me with a bilge completely filled with watermaker fresh water, so I installed a temporary substitute water pump in its place to pump out the bilge. The filter came with that pump and is quite small and looks to be an intake raw water strainer.

I left the strainer in place after rebuilding the Jabsco electric bilge pump three weeks ago. The bilge pump gets used daily, because excess water from the watermaker at start up gets dumped into the bilge (the first five minute of production or so), freshwater that's diverted from the water tank. Upon discovering the pond scum issue, I noticed that the primary fresh water pump had sprung a leak, so that will also be replaced later today.

Your 36600 pump is rated at 8 GPM, or 480 GPH.

http://www.xylemflowcontrol.com/file...ng_Systems.pdf

How many electric bilge pumps do you have installed ? We have a pair of the smaller 36680s for the shower drain sumps.

I'm interested since our boat came with a pair of rule 1500s (3000 GPH total), separate batteries and float switches. I'm not sure that is considered adequate, so a good topic.

AC condensate goes right into bilge, and in the warm Chesapeake waters, this can mean growth for sure. I rinse out with Simple Green, since it does not suds up very much.

I note that the Jabsco diaphragm pumps have to be mounted above a wet bilge, and they are sold with the inline filter.

Snowpetrel · 06-08-2015, 06:01

ha, I feel for you guys because I am in the same boat, slowly waterblasting and cleaning out all the crap from my bilges. At least I have good access, but all the aluminium webs are very awkward to clean, and lots of the paint flakes are clogging everything up.

Ive been toying with fitting a engine type raw water strainer to my bilge line. But I am using a small deckwash pump to suck from the very bottom of the bilge and its built in filter is pathetic. Ive not set up my proper trash pump yet. Not sure what I'll do. Every time I've been badly flooded the only thing that has worked have been buckets!

**David M** · 06-08-2015, 06:36

I use an electric pressure washer to clean my bilges. I try to keep my bilges clean and debris free so that my bilge pump never clogs. I keep the screens on my bilge pumps knowing that they are relatively clean therefore the chances of them clogging are very minimal.