Electric Bilge pump

[SAWDOC]

My new to me boat has two manual bilge pumps. Having read the useful article in Salty John's website on bilge pumps, I am persuaded that an electric bilge pump would add to safety on board. I would like to fit one with a solid state switch that does not fail, and also incorporate an audible alarm to wake me from my daydream before she goes under. Has anyone done this recently and if so what have they gone for? Our boat is 33 foot with a good deep bilge
I was thinking of combining the outlet pipe with one of the manual pump outlet pies to avoid another hole in the hull?

 

[Boo2]

My new to me boat has two manual bilge pumps. Having read the useful article in Salty John's website on bilge pumps, I am persuaded that an electric bilge pump would add to safety on board. I would like to fit one with a solid state switch that does not fail, and also incorporate an audible alarm to wake me from my daydream before she goes under. Has anyone done this recently and if so what have they gone for? Our boat is 33 foot with a good deep bilge

I haven't received it yet but have just ordered a Rule 800 GPH computerised automatic bilge pump from MarineScene. These save the need for a seperate bilge switch and has the bonus for me that it is a form and fit replacement for the one I already have (boat is a UFO 34 btw so similar to yours in size). These don't have an alarm though so may not suit your needs.

I was thinking of combining the outlet pipe with one of the manual pump outlet pies to avoid another hole in the hull?

I asked about doing that a while ago and got replies saying it is basically a bad idea. One issue is obviously that you will need to ba careful with the pipe run/arrangement or else there is a chance that the manual pump will pump backwards through the electric pump back into the bilge. Another issue is that it will reduce the total flow if you ever need both going at once.

Boo2

 

[Martin_J]

I remember thinking that bigger boat.. bigger bilge pump.... smaller boat, smaller bilge pump....

then came to the realisation that 200 gallons of water sloshing around in the bilge of a small boat will affect it considerably more than would 200 gallons of water would sloshing around in the bilge of a large boat..

So.. went for the largest I could but that meant getting a switch that would cope with 25A (for a 4000gph pump).

To save that big pump being used.. I then also went for a smaller pump mounted at a lower level with a switch panel (that had a built in alarm). This panel actually relies on two switches, the first to activate the pump and the second to activate the alarm. It's good because even if the first switch fails, the second will activate the alarm (and the pump as well). This switch/panel is a basic 'seaworld' one but at least allowed for two switches to be connected and either will activate the pump.

Hope this helps..

 

[Martin_J]

Not sure how old your boat (and existing bilge pump hoses) are.. but I did find that my hoses after 14 years had started to split.. The manual pumps still sucked the water out.. but they do better with new hoses.

 

[BrianH]

I fitted a Johnson Ultima bilge pump, with the water sensing unit integrated, with the outflow into the self-draining cockpit. This leaves the manual pump tubing free and is itself an obvious indicator that it is activated. By all means fit an audible alarm too.

This was fitted after a serious water ingress incident in rough conditions when, single-handed, I went below to find the cabin deep in water. That's when I found that effective manual pumping would be too exhausting for much more than 15 minutes - well, for this old geezer.

 

[Salty John]

I asked about doing that a while ago and got replies saying it is basically a bad idea. One issue is obviously that you will need to ba careful with the pipe run/arrangement or else there is a chance that the manual pump will pump backwards through the electric pump back into the bilge. Another issue is that it will reduce the total flow if you ever need both going at once.

Boo2

Yes, you can't just use a T piece into the manual bilge pump hose. If you did want to run the two pumps to a common outlet the best way is to have a Y piece into the manual bilge hose after the loop as the hose is heading downwards to the outlet. The electric pump hose then feeds into the manual pump hose in a downwards direction and at a converging angle. There is then almost no chance of either water stream turning back through an acute angle and heading back up one of the pipes.
I guess this is one of those cases where a picture would have been worth a thousand words!

 

[JerryHawkins]

Keep it seperate

Having had a wake-up call a couple of years ago (disaster averted by our friends in the boats with orange tops and blue hulls and their big diesel powered pump) I completely redesigned our bilge pumping arrangements!

Our boat is 34' and I now have two 2000GPH pumps one in the engine room bilge and one just forward of this along with a 3rd 2000GPH 'roving pump' to be dumped where water is coming in to aid the fixed pump. Each pump is completely independent from pipework to electrics. I have two float operated alarms slightly higher than the pumps so I know if their not coping. All pumps and switches are monitored ( http://www.celectron.co.uk/bw8kit.html ). I have 3 manual bilge pumps, one dedicated the other two can be diverted for bilge pumping (black water tank pumpout and toilet). Have been considering a diverter so that the engine raw water pump can draw from engine bilge.

If you ever need it, you'll be glad you have as many ways as possible of getting the sea back to where it belongs!

 

[SAWDOC]

Our boat is 34' and I now have two 2000GPH pumps one in the engine room bilge and one just forward of this along with a 3rd 2000GPH 'roving pump' to be dumped where water is coming in to aid the fixed pump. Each pump is completely independent from pipework to electrics. I have two float operated alarms slightly higher than the pumps so I know if their not coping. All pumps and switches are monitored ( http://www.celectron.co.uk/bw8kit.html ). I have 3 manual bilge pumps, one dedicated the other two can be diverted for bilge pumping (black water tank pumpout and toilet). Have been considering a diverter so that the engine raw water pump can draw from engine bilge.

Hi Jerry - that sounds like a pretty comprehensive re-design!
The bw8kit seems great - would it perhaps be OTT for a single pump arrangement? What I was after was something which would sound an audible alarm which I could detect if I was on board and a monitor which would tell me how many hours the pump had run or equivalent.

 

[SAWDOC]

I fitted a Johnson Ultima bilge pump, with the water sensing unit integrated, with the outflow into the self-draining cockpit. This leaves the manual pump tubing free and is itself an obvious indicator that it is activated. By all means fit an audible alarm too.

This was fitted after a serious water ingress incident in rough conditions when, single-handed, I went below to find the cabin deep in water. That's when I found that effective manual pumping would be too exhausting for much more than 15 minutes - well, for this old geezer.

I am of the same view, when it comes to long bouts of manual pumping. Francis Chichester set an example of manual pumping while carrying out running repairs which some of us might find hard to live up to!
I am trying to visualise situations which could actually occur on our boat where an electric bilge pump would save the day - can I ask what caused the serious ingress of water in your incident?

 

[prv]

I am trying to visualise situations which could actually occur on our boat where an electric bilge pump would save the day - can I ask what caused the serious ingress of water in your incident?

An electric bilge pump (along with two manual ones and two men with buckets) saved the day when the log transducer popped out of its hole during my day skipper course. Because we had the hatch pulled closed to keep spray out, we hadn't noticed until the water was already over the bunks.

To the OP - consider how much noise your pump makes - you may well not need a separate alarm Mine was firing up from time to time last season till I tightened the stern gland a bit, and it's quite obvious when it's running.

Pete

 

[BrianH]

I am trying to visualise situations which could actually occur on our boat where an electric bilge pump would save the day - can I ask what caused the serious ingress of water in your incident?

My deck scuppers drain into the cockpit drain tubes with a T-junction and that had been broken away by a shifting load in heavy weather. From my narrative log:

"I found that the heavy container that had been thrown about in the port cockpit locker had smashed an anchoring point for the drain tubes that led from the deck to the cockpit drain seacock, tearing the aft drain tube out of its T-junction with the forward drain tube. Being on the starboard tack that put the port side down, this junction was intermittently below sea level so water was entering from the seacock as well as all the waves that were breaking on deck and draining into the ship."​

 

[Twister_Ken]

To the OP - consider how much noise your pump makes - you may well not need a separate alarm Mine was firing up from time to time last season till I tightened the stern gland a bit, and it's quite obvious when it's running.

Pete

Ditto. You'd have to have emptied a rum bottle if you wanted to sleep through the noise of my bilge pump.

 

[sarabande]

then came to the realisation that 200 gallons of water sloshing around in the bilge of a small boat will affect it considerably more than would 200 gallons of water would sloshing around in the bilge of a large boat..
.

Not necessarily true ? A small boat is likely to have a small area of bilge where 2 tons of water could slosh around, whereas a larger boat may have broader flatter bilges where the free surface effect of the same mass will have more impact.

 

[prv]

Not necessarily true ? A small boat is likely to have a small area of bilge where 2 tons of water could slosh around, whereas a larger boat may have broader flatter bilges where the free surface effect of the same mass will have more impact.

I don't think we're talking about free surface effect here, but rather "some distance below the surface" effect, which I think is what would happen if you put two tons of water in my boat

Pete

 

[sarabande]

two tons of water also weighs a lot more than mine !