NB Willawaw
New member
I have a Bilge Alarm on my boat - it tells me if the water level is rising because the bilge pump is either not working or overwhelmed by a large inflow of water.
However, it occurs to me that something which is just as important, is knowing whether the bilge pump is working harder than normal.
If I return to the boat after an absence of days or even weeks, I might find a minimal amount of water in the bilge - all well or so it would seem.
However, for all I know the pump could have been starting every hour to pump the bilge out !!
The alarm is there for catastrophic events - a last resort..
A Bilge Counter that counts the number of pump operations over a set period of time would also be useful.
Week 1 - I arrive on the boat after an absence and check the counter - 0
Excellent.
Week 2 - I arrive on the boat after an absence and check the counter - 3 times in the last 7 days.
Worth investigating.
Week 3 - I arrive on the boat after an absence and check the counter - 21 times in the last 7 days.
Very worrying - instant action required.
The alarm never set off once during any of these weeks, but there is obviously a worsening problem with water ingress.
I think a dual installation of counter and high level alarm worthwhile.
What do you think ?
However, it occurs to me that something which is just as important, is knowing whether the bilge pump is working harder than normal.
If I return to the boat after an absence of days or even weeks, I might find a minimal amount of water in the bilge - all well or so it would seem.
However, for all I know the pump could have been starting every hour to pump the bilge out !!
The alarm is there for catastrophic events - a last resort..
A Bilge Counter that counts the number of pump operations over a set period of time would also be useful.
Week 1 - I arrive on the boat after an absence and check the counter - 0
Excellent.
Week 2 - I arrive on the boat after an absence and check the counter - 3 times in the last 7 days.
Worth investigating.
Week 3 - I arrive on the boat after an absence and check the counter - 21 times in the last 7 days.
Very worrying - instant action required.
The alarm never set off once during any of these weeks, but there is obviously a worsening problem with water ingress.
I think a dual installation of counter and high level alarm worthwhile.
What do you think ?