Bilge Pump System Ideas

[Madehn]

personally i really like the idea of using a diaphram pump mounted high and dry for the "maintenance" pump. i am also very partial to the switches that have a bell shaped plastic piece mounted down low connected with an air tube to a pressure switch that is also mounted high and dry-- much more dependable and easier to work on all components!

[Lepke]

One issue with bilge pumps is voltage drop in long wire runs. In a voltage drop situation the pump will draw more amps. Years ago bigger boats had 32 volt systems. Now 32v accessories are hard to find. If your bilge pumps are burning out or blowing fuses, you may have a voltage drop problem. In a flooding situation where the pump runs continuously, even a new pump could fail.
Most boats are wired where the power makes a round trip from the engine to the conn and back down to the bilge. In my boat some of the bilge runs were 60'. I changed my wiring to using a relay near the pump and the controlling switch and original wiring just powering the relay.

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by jhulmer

The small pump is considered the drying pump and the 2000gph is the backup and is wired to a Water Witch alarm.

I also have a manual pump mounted in the cockpit.

Pics of my solution: (still have to install the quick release mounts)

Looks very well made!

[Mike Banks]

n not have too much (within reason) bikge pump capacity. In my trimaran which had no five ton of lead wishing to drag me to the sea floor, I had a large electric bilge pump connected through a mercury float switch if you can still find one.

The idea of a much larger external petrol or electric pump as an emergency "stay afloat until rescue" strategy also occurred to me. To that end I ran PVC tubing in the bilges to the lowest points, and led them solidly mounted into the engine compartment and from there to an above deck clip fitting. Only a short length of flexible tube was needed to connect the emergency pump to this, so the emergency pump, eloectric plus generator or pure petrol can be swiftly hooked up because the tumes are already in place as are the tie-downs for whatever pump you decided to use. I think it cost less than one hundred dollars, and when not in use can double as a bilge ventillator.

60 mm diameter PVC, glue and elbows and brackets. It might be a good idea to run more than one tube since they take up little space and bilge ventillation is so important.

[wholybee]

Originally Posted by Madehn

personally i really like the idea of using a diaphram pump mounted high and dry for the "maintenance" pump. i am also very partial to the switches that have a bell shaped plastic piece mounted down low connected with an air tube to a pressure switch that is also mounted high and dry-- much more dependable and easier to work on all components!

https://www.groco.net/as-100

This is what I have. I installed it after going though 3 brands of rocker type float switches in one season. I've only had it 2 years but hear great things about longevity. And a huge plus, nothing electrical underwater and no moving parts underwater.

[Mike Banks]

Long runs do not allow the pump to draw more amps. The opposite is the case. The voltage drop means less EMF and less current. That means a less useful pump and a pump less able to perform its task efficiently.

The answer is to run heavier wires. All of my feeds are a minimum of 6mm tinned run in conduits. For the really long runs I use welding lead cable as bus-bars, and auxiliary battery at the bow which augments the anchor windlass and shower and toilet pumps. The blige pump feeds are 6mm to the pump leads that are sealed into the pump. To connect these I solder them, then tape them with polyisobutadeine self amalgamating tape such as Rotunda tape. Bilges unless force-ventillated are potentially damp and mouldy places. Small extractor bige-blowers do not draw too much current and keep bilges dry and safe from gas accumulations.

[Panope]

Originally Posted by AJ_n_Audrey

..............I have a boat with a deep bilge............

Rule 2000 automatic at the bottom of the bilge. (Spare pump on hand)
Rule 4000 pump about 6 inches higher in bilge
Ultra Safety Systems UPS-01 Float switched connected to Rule 4000
Ultra Safety Systems high water alarm connected to Rule 4000

Concider placing the big rule high enough in the bilge that it is easily reachable so that debris can be cleared from the inlet. They say that even the tidiest bilge will produce endless floating stuff in the event of flooding.

Steve

[blueazimuth]

Most of us rely on electric pumps and they are good for removing a relatively small amount of water.

However, if you seriously need to de-water the boat - if, for instance, a seacock blows into the boat, leaving a 3" hole, which has happened to me - electric pumps are just unlikely to do the job. Mine could not keep up, and it was only the bucket parade which saved the boat.

In an emergancy, and in anything but an almost flat calm, and in daytime, to get out a Honda, put on deck in a safe place, and keep it there, add gasoline, start it and plug in a pump, just seems too slow and perhaps too dangerous to be practical. And to refuel a hot engine under difficult conditions??

What is needed is a 3" clutched, engine driven pump. Period.

I'll add a comment about Rule pumps, all IMHO. Before Rule bought out the previous manufacturer, whose pumps were reliable, 😊 what R..e did was to cost reduce their newly acquired pumps until they failed, then made them so that they just didn't fail. 😣

Unfortunately, Rule is almost the only game in town - many marine stores don't also carry Attwood and Johnson pumps. In 30 years of boating, I don't think I had a single Rule pump that didn't fail or give trouble within a few months.

Most times I could fix it, and quite easily, but a pump is virtually a liability useless is you can depend on it.
Just my personal experiences of this brand. Perhaps they are now reliable, but I won't buy one by choice. When out cruising, one does not always have a choice.
Having said that, they seem to OK for non critical fresh water applications - showers etc

An engine driven pump is the only way I know to get serious water out of the boat.

[mitiempo]

Originally Posted by blueazimuth

What is needed is a 3" clutched, engine driven pump. Period.

An engine driven pump is the only way I know to get serious water out of the boat.

If you want a serious portable pump get a Pacer. Up to 280 gallons a MINUTE! That's 16,800 gallons an hour. Suction lift to 25'. Honda engine powered and not too expensive.

Pacer Pumps

[thebootlegger]

Following...

[John_Trusty]

Originally Posted by thebootlegger

Following...

Not to be didactic ... for those that don't know, you can follow a thread without commenting by using the "thread tools" tab at the top of the reading page. That way, it will show up on your "subscribed threads" list to keep following (see Quick Links>Miscellaneous).

[CascadeThumper]

Interesting thread, good links. My setup: Powerboat 2 bulkheads = 3 areas. A Rule 2000 fore and aft in each. I prefer the smaller hole in the hull rather than the bigger hole for the next size Rule. I use the enclosed cage units not the external switch (that's another story) the overhead console will soon have 6 little LEDs alerting me if a pump comes on. Small steady leak, no problem. Bigger leak, let's say a shaft comes unhooked a falls to the bottom with the prop. #1 quick fix = tee shirt/sweat shirt/rags and a big can of fast dry spray foam. I learned this from a mechanic/surveyor fishing buddy who sees such things when boats go into the yard for repairs then get dumped in the water for sea trials. Just like my local car dealership, nice guys but sometimes they go out for lunch

[sailcrazy]

We built a "Bilge Tree out of 3/4" PVC. At the bottom foot (L) I attached a Rule 4000, with a "Water Witch" switch above it. I built the PVC tree so the PVC pipe IS the carrier of the pumped water up and out of the bilge, where it connects to a hose and on out of the boat. I also built a second tier, with another Rule 4000 on it and another electronic switch. Then above that I mounted a high-water alarm. All 3 are connected to their respective auto-Off-On switch at the Nav Station, but mounted so the red "ON" light can be easily seen from the helm station in the cockpit. The High-Water alert light is next to the pump switches, and its 100dB horn is on the same panel. We test each bilge pump at least 1/week. We gave up on float switches, as they seem to get jammed easily and regularily, and the electronic sw seem to work in anything fluid.....and do not get jammed. When it's time for mx, all I need to do is disconnect the 2 hoses (primary and B/U), pull the manual pump hose out, and then pull the whole assembly out of our deep bilge (under the engine and hard to get to) in one easy action. And since the pumps and switches are all the same, spares are reduced and easily transferred. Its been installed since 2001, and has worked very well so far.