Grey water tank sender unit

[rafiki_]

On the Azi, the sink units and showers from both heads run into a collector tank, and then the waste is pumped out by a Whale Gulper 220. There is a solid state sender unit which triggers the pump on and off. It looks like this has failed, as the full warning light came on at the weekend, and I had to manually switch the Gulper on to drain the tank. Any thoughts on the sender unit manufacturer and type? Not being lazy, but will not be back on board for a couple of weeks.

 

[PCUK]

ASAP do such things.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Have you tried cleaning the sender unit? On previous boats I've had that sender unit stop working but worked again perfectly after cleaning. In fact its a good idea to the clean the whole grey water tank once or twice a season because the detritus that gets in there can reduce the efficiency of the pump too. Having said that I have had the grey water level sensor on a previous boat fail and I just went into the nearest chandlery and bought a solid state bilge level sensor which looked similar and it worked fine for a couple of seasons after that until I sold the boat. I stand to be corrected but I don't think there's anything special about the sender units boat builders fit into grey water tanks

Some builders do fit the lifting type level sensors in grey water tanks but I think those are a bad idea because they do get gummed up quickly in grey water tanks and stop working

 

[jfm]

It will be one of these P http://www.valley-marine.com/electronic-automatic-float-switch_8_867_21650.html

It's a useless piece of junk imho. I am on my 3rd one already on current boat (I have one for the crew cabin shower pump out) and I replaced a few on the previous boat. I want to change it but haven't got round to making the appropriate mods so I just carry a spare all the time for now. I give them a typical lifespan of <1 year. They're widely available online in Uk for ballpark £30-£40 eek

 

[MYAG]

It will be one of these P http://www.valley-marine.com/electronic-automatic-float-switch_8_867_21650.html

BE 9001 no longer made and superseded by BE 9003 which is exactly the same unreliable part but with extra mounting lugs. I too hate them, had to replace 2 last month and have 4 in stock...... Changing them once a season is about right in my experience.

 

[rafiki_]

Mike/JFM, many thanks. I understand that these things are "disposable". A friend with a Snazi reckons they last about 18 months, so I have been lucky to date. Will have a better look when back on board.

 

[rafiki_]

For closure, the failed part is a Quick auto float switch. Couldn't source one of these, but found a Whale BE 9006, with a 40 second delay for pump off. Fitted yesterday, and appears to be doing the job. The Whale appears a better design to me as it has a test facility, unlike the Quick. Azi also use Bandino switches, but couldn't find one of these either. The tank outlet is an odd design, I pulled about 10 litres of grey out from below the pick-up. This will always be a potential source of "pong", so will try the JFM tweak of sending some dishwasher solution down now and again.

 

[alt]

On the Azi, the sink units and showers from both heads run into a collector tank, and then the waste is pumped out by a Whale Gulper 220. There is a solid state sender unit which triggers the pump on and off. It looks like this has failed, as the full warning light came on at the weekend, and I had to manually switch the Gulper on to drain the tank. Any thoughts on the sender unit manufacturer and type? Not being lazy, but will not be back on board for a couple of weeks.

I replaced my float switch with one of these. When I asked on the forum, I was advised that they were junk, but I went with one anyway. Guess what? Within a few months it had failed.

So, as jfm says.... TOTAL JUNK. Don't waste your time. I only had one for the shower sump, so I replaced the whole sump box with a 'horny bull frog' diaphram pump. Ok, it makes some noise... but it works. I just turn it on when i'm showering.