Bilge pump question

Megs20Burt!

Megs20Burt!

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I have 2 x 2,200 gph bilge pumps. It seems that both pumps struggle to pump out the last 2 inches or so of bilge water. Can I double up and use one of the low profile pumps to get those last couple of inches of water out? Anybody tried this?

Appreciate any advice in advance.

Thanks
 
You could. It sounds like water in your bilge is common?
With a little more information someone may have a great solution for your problem
 
Do you have a sump that the pump can sit in ? If not, then short of using a Pela type pump, then you’re almost certainly destined to have a bit of water sloshing about which the pump can’t deal with.
 
Thats what I have done as most boats seem to have the main bilge pump where its accessable and that is not at the back at the lowest point. I have a low profile pump that lies on its side under the engine right aft as I hate to see any water in my engine room.
 
Rappey said:
You could. It sounds like water in your bilge is common?
With a little more information someone may have a great solution for your problem
Click to expand...
It is a constant battle keep them dry.

The boat is an American Sports Cruiser (Cruisers Yachts 280CXi). 2006 with 329 hours on twin D3 160’s when I bought her last year. The boat was based in Inverkip until 2018 or so, now inland.

Most of the habitation kit onboard is OEM from date of manufacture and as you can imagine, I am working my way through a minor re-fit of systems, which I was well aware of and the final purchase price reflected that. The boat was used reasonably well for the first few years of its life, but used very little until we bought her.

The front bilge did have a water leak which I tracked down to a mis-fitted nav light letting in rain water from the anchor locker, now fixed. This bilge has the shower sump, thru-hulls for the electric head & a/c water supply along with the fresh water tank. I suspect the water tank is leaking as all of the fittings are badly corrode. When the boat was out of the water winterised for some time waiting for parts to get work done over the winter, this bilge was completely dry. It could be the thru-hulls, these are slated for replacement when the boat comes out post Xmas, but I suspect the water tank.

The rear bilge has one thru-hull for the black water tank and there is always water in the sections between the engine stringers. I have 4 engine vents either side and there is always evidence of water ingress down the s/board side after rain. This water goes into the space between the outer and main stringer. There is no waterway between these spaces for drainageThe main space between the the engines always has water, the thru-hull is in this space. The port side has some water, but minimal. Again no connection between the main stringer space and this one.

The starboard side of the boat is exposed to weather more than the port side.

The boat has the extended swim platform option and some on the cruisers yachts forum suggest that there may be a rain water leak from the upper section if the sealant has perished in places over time. The engine bay needs some TLC and whilst I am about that, I will try and see if this could be the cause of the water.

Any thoughts with this extra information please?

Thanks
 
What do you mean by double up on the pump? Run two pumps on one feed? Feed two pumps into one outlet?
I wasnt sure if you had an open boat so water in bilge is common or a leak which would eventually be resolved .
Ive used one outlet for two pumps. They join together at the outlet with a swan neck to stop water from one pump going back down the other..
As suggested, how about buying a low profile auto bilge pump and its own skin fitting to be placed at the deepest part of the bilge. Would mean your two powerfull pumps would not be working and therefore prolonging their life..
 
Rappey said:
What do you mean by double up on the pump? Run two pumps on one feed? Feed two pumps into one outlet?
I wasnt sure if you had an open boat so water in bilge is common or a leak which would eventually be resolved .
Ive used one outlet for two pumps. They join together at the outlet with a swan neck to stop water from one pump going back down the other..
As suggested, how about buying a low profile auto bilge pump and its own skin fitting to be placed at the deepest part of the bilge. Would mean your two powerfull pumps would not be working and therefore prolonging their life..
Click to expand...
Thanks Rappey,
The hull is cored and there are specific areas of the hull for thru-hulls. There are 4 on the 280, 2 in each bilge. The second one in the aft bilge is for the speed sensor. I could follow your suggestion and double up the new pump with the existing one, the existing pump sits below the engines and on a shelf type set-up, it’s never going to pull the rest of the water out. A low profile pump close by would get the rest of the water out and leave the existing pump sat there until really needed.
 
Megs20Burt! said:
The boat is an American Sports Cruiser......
Click to expand...

I cant vouch for the validity of this but have heard that the last inch of water being unable to be picked up is by design to meet regulations. America is particularly strict with fines for oil pollution and as there is inevitably at least a teaspoon of oil in the bilge somewhere your pump will not be able to pick it up and distribute it overboard into the marina or where ever by nature that the oil will always float on top forcing you to manually extract it and dispose of it safely. The easy cheat you are after of course is if your bilge is genuinely clean have a low profile pump empty into your shower sump. You'll soon know if you were genuinely clean or not if the heads start to stink up.
 
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