Bilge Pump Mounting

[Don107]

Hi all
I am replacing the manual electric bilge pump on my Sailmaster 845 with a auto electric pump and would welcome any thoughts on how i am intending to mount the new pump
At the moment it has a 400 gph rule pump fitted in the bilge sump with the strainer screwed down to the bilge floor and the main body of the pump hose clamped to the bilge pump outlet hose
This makes it difficult to separate the pump body from the strainer to clean the strainer as it is a bit of a reach down through the cover panel in the cabin sole
I have purchased a 800 gph version of this pump http://www.spx.com/en/johnson-pump-marine/pd-marine-bilge-ultimabilge/ and what i intend to do is mount the strainer to a piece of 12mm white plastic cutting board cut to suit the shape of the bilge sump (approx 300mm long and 210mm wide at one end and 150mm wide at the other) and sit the cutting board in the bilge sump
The hose connector screws on to the outlet of the pump and if i need to clean the strainer i can unscrew the outlet hose and lift the pump and cutting board mounting plate out of the sump and separate it in the cabin i can't see to much wrong with doing it this way as is it will be secure at all normal angles of heel but i am open to other suggestions if any one can see a problem with what i am intending to do

Thanks in advance

Regards Don

 

[Salty John]

That's how I mount my pumps and it works well. If you fit a piece of dowel to the base plate, as a handle, it helps lift the pump out of a deep bilge. Or you can use a lanyard. I leave enough slack in the hose to allow the pump to be lifted out of the bilge onto the cabin sole for maintenance.

 

[coopec]

Dion107

The link you gave no longer works.

What you are doing sounds fine to me. For a moment there I was thinking you were going to mount the pump above water level but of course most centrifugal bilge pumps won't self prime.

I always interested in what Don Casey has to say.

http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/installing-bilge-pump.asp

Cheers

 

[BrianH]

What you propose sounds feasible. I have the 1000 GPH version of your pump and it performs well, venting into the cockpit where water can exit via the cockpit drains. This acts as an indicator that the pump is functioning, acting as an alarm if the boat is filling.

Despite being in a deep sump I have no problem lying on the cabin sole and unclipping the pump from its base to raise to sole level for maintenance. It is also easy to mop the dregs from the sump that no pump ever clears entirely. With your proposal you will have to raise the board first.

 

[lw395]

Hi all
I am replacing the manual electric bilge pump on my Sailmaster 845 with a auto electric pump and would welcome any thoughts......
Regards Don

I think you need a manual pump as well.

 

[coopec]

Don

I think you'd find this article interesting (and maybe concerning). It certainly has made me rethink my approach to bilge pumps. I have an engine driven Jabsco (rubber impeller) pump on my workshop shelf which is capable of pumping 100L/minute or 6000L/hour. (That's a 44 gallon drum every 2 minutes) Maybe I should run that off my Perkins using an air-conditioner compressor clutch?
http://www.sailfeed.com/2012/12/all-about-bilge-pumps/

 

[Don107]

I think you need a manual pump as well.

Hi Lw

I have a manual pump fitted to the boat as well as the electric

Regards Don

 

[Don107]

Hi To all

In the end on my Sailmaster I mounted the pump to a piece of lead sheet that I purchased from a plumbing shop cut to the shape of the bottom of the bilge sump

I was originally going to use plastic cutting board but was concerned that it would float in the bilge

The lead sheet is good because it is heavy and also thin so it reduces the depth of water that is in the bilge

I just bolted the pump strainer to the lead sheet with some stainless steel bolts and nyloc nuts and then clipped the pump body down on to the strainer

Regards Don

 

[Ardenfour]

similarly, mines is bolted to a length of 10mm perspex, switch at one end, pump at the other. I have a diving weight bolted in the centre to keep the whole assembly on the bottom. A lanyard allows me to pull it up if needed

 

[ghostlymoron]

What you propose sounds feasible. I have the 1000 GPH version of your pump and it performs well, venting into the cockpit where water can exit via the cockpit drains. This acts as an indicator that the pump is functioning, acting as an alarm if the boat is filling.

Despite being in a deep sump I have no problem lying on the cabin sole and unclipping the pump from its base to raise to sole level for maintenance. It is also easy to mop the dregs from the sump that no pump ever clears entirely. With your proposal you will have to raise the board first.

Barnacle, yours certainly seems to work, I've never seen a drier bilge.

 

[BrianH]

Barnacle, yours certainly seems to work, I've never seen a drier bilge.

Ah well, the photo was taken just after installation. No pump clears all water (even with the “field effect” sensing technology), which was my concern about the OP's mounting plan. I find no problem unclipping the pump from the base, screw-fixed into the GRP, for maintenance (not yet necessary after five years use) and much easier for getting at the dregs without having to raise a base plate.

When fitting out I always mop out the bilge sump - there is invariably a litte fresh water from a winter's snow and rain down there - not much considering I do not leave the pump activated, not being allowed shore power when unoccupied, by my marina regulations.