Bilge Pump

[TrebleDesigns]

Hi,
I am currently working on the design of a motion powered bilge pump for a university project. The product is to be targeted for small day/ski boats, wooden boats, dinghys; basically any boat with a large cockpit area that drains to the bilges or slow leaking boats.
The product aim:
No need to worry about flat batteries
Perfect for use in boats with no other available power source
Reduced need to check boat
To displace volumes of water of large periods of time

I am looking for your opinions on what type of thing you would like to see considered in my product design specification, or what would you expect the product to do? a few things to consider could be:
- What would you be willing to pay?
- How big should it be?
- How long does it take to set up, or is it permanently fixed?
- How should it attach?
- What modifications would you be willing to make to your hull?
- Average pump flow rate?
etc.

I am looking for as many peoples opinions as possible so if someone has already put down something you agree with put it down anyway!

Many thanks for your time
Connel

If anyone owns the type of boat described above please contact me if you feel you could help, trebledesigns@hotmail.com


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[tcm]

hi

dunno what mechanism you plan tio use but

1) you can't modify the hull: it wd have to be a unit that retrofitted, and the outlet pumped up a tube say 1 metre higher than the unit (max 2 metres say)

2) it wd have to be submersible

3) it could be £100 ish, perhaps more. I wdn't restrict to little boats really where price and space are much more of an issue.

4) flowrates erm with motion power, anything would do. lecky ones are lots of litres a minute. Not a great deal of use having one that can't deal with a bath of water in a few minutes max otherwise yerd stil need a lecky bilge pump. hence not worth much

5) screw it or glue it to the ionside of the bottom of the hull. Make sure it's a self contained unit if at all possible.


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[Wiggo]

bigger boats likely (but not always) to be on shorepower, or have big domestics and/or solar/wind chargers, so leccy ones fine. So I think the market is likely to be small boats anyway.

Not sure big boats would move enough to generate enough energy, would they? Unless in Gosport Marina.

Main issue, like Matt says, is you have to lift quite a head of water, and ideally, you want a pump that doesn't leak a pipe full of water back into the bilges when the boat stops rocking.

All this from bugger all energy. Can afford to work slowly, if it's just clearing drips from condensation, leaky canopies, sternglands etc, but what use when summat big lets go? Mind you, if it does, you're probably stuffed anyway.

I want a decent non-centrifugal pump, so I can clean my bilges, and not get left with an inch and a half of water that the pump won't get rid of...

<hr width=100% size=1>Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione.

 

[Kevin]

Hi

I would be interested in knowing how you get on.

I have a small offshore racing boat and the bilge pumps give no end of trouble usually only working one season and then breaking -thanks Rule for that!

For me an ideal bilge would be one that

costs under £100
pref. not submersed but inline.
360gph minimum. powerful enough to pull water through 2metres, one metre vertical lift minimum.
RELIABLE
LONG LASTING
light weight -pref. 1 kilo or under


Kevin

 

[ipw]

Their was a product 25 yrs ago similar to your idea for the tender/dinghy market have you tried the scuttlebugs forum to see if any seasalts can remember the product. Rumour has it that some left the factory with the valves put in wrong way and ended up pumping water IN the boat with the rocking action

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[tcm]

Re: Bilge Pump wind power

i agree that probly not enuf movement in a boat for most of the time, esp big or even probly bigg-ish ones. Can you make something powered by inactivity? Or bone idleness?

Better option shirly gonna be power battery wiv some wind, and run the bilge pump from that. or mebbe clockwork. Is this a wind-up?


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[Its_Only_Money]

I wouldn't have thought the rocking motion of the boat at rest would yield enough energy - perhaps better to use wave action external to the boat, this would entail some sort of rig setup perhaps on the swim platform though???? Either way, boats sink in flat calms due to skin fitting failure etc so most people would want a solution that will work in all circumstances, those with least space will only want to fit one pump and would probably plump for electric.


<hr width=100% size=1>Rgds

Simon
Its Only Money
Fairline Sprint
Solent-based