Pumped Drains from Heads wash basin and shower

catmandoo

catmandoo

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Pumped Drains from Heads wash basin and shower

The drain from my heads wash basin is by gravity to a skin fitting just below the water line . As my boat is a catamaran the outlet is more or less permanently under water and eventually gets blocked by Barnacles and it takes ages for the basin to empty . I am thinking of fitting a pump (Whale Gulper ) and combining the basin drain with the shower sump; however I don't want to draw air when either the shower sump or the basin drain gets dry .

I am not sure if I have sufficient space under the shower sump to fit a collection box and submersible pump to take all drain inlets and there is the problem of a collection box overflowing into the shower . One alternative is to drain the basin into the shower sump but I like the concept of the pump sucking the water out of the basin directly particularly when shaving gel is tending to clog the inlet. My married daughters also have long hair which clogs the current submersible shower pump

I dont want to buy two pumps nor have a suction with two ball valves in each line requiring setting depending on whether one has a shower or a shave .

So has anybody come up with a simple system to operate that will not antagonise SWMBO or the female siblings ??? /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Re: Pumped Drains from Heads wash basin and shower

In my cat, the basin drains are both above water.

I have a johnson shower sump, and that works well, but I do have a habit of putting a couple of pints of clean water through it after the shower in order to reduce possibility of smelly sump.
 
Re: Pumped Drains from Heads wash basin and shower

Solutions to both your problems, Cat...

A plug in the sink while pumping out the sump will solve the problem of the pump pulling air through the sink.

A screen over the shower drain will keep the long hair out of the sump.
 
Re: Pumped Drains from Heads wash basin and shower

I have looked at the Johnson Multiport shower sump but since my existing shower sump is integral with the floor tray the Johnson one would have to go under it and I dont think I have enough space between the bottom of the existing sump and the starboard hull bilge bottom to locate the new sump . Also I would have to lift the existing integral floor tray/sump to access the unit and remove female hair and other debris trapped in the pump filter etc

( the problem with the existing pump / sump is that the unreliable mercury level switch cuts off before the sump is pumped dry leaving hairy greasy water in the sump . I want to be able to have a complete flush out every time the system is used )

The existing sump is also not wide enough to insert the unit partially or fully .

I have decided any way that I will not go for level control in the new operation . I will just have a push pull on off switch so all I need really is a tee or Y piece below the
shower sump taking both drains before going to the pump suction .This way there wilL be water in the T either way and I can filter hair off in the sump outlet relocated to the bottom by just lifting up the wooden shower grating

And HEY PRESTO PROBLEM SOLVED I THINK?
 
Manually switched shower pump...

When I had a boat with a manually switched shower pumpout system, I found it was noisy to leave it on constantly whilst showering, and inconvenient to keep switching it on and off. With your system, why not keep the automatic mercury switch but add a manual on/off switch so that you can achieve your objective of pumping it dry.

FWIW, the basin seacock in my heads is also underwater, and I haven't found barnacles to be a problem, although I do poke it out every couple of years whilst antifouling.
 
Re: Manually switched shower pump...

Unfortunately thats what I have already got .

One problem which I did not mention is that with my boat being a catamaran with hydraulic drives and prop shafts on each hull I can only acess the shaft gland and the motor etc on the port hull by lifting up the shower floor tray complete with sump . With a submerged pump in the sump the discharge pipe goes out of the side and when I have to access the shaft and seals it is a real Bu**er. Dirty water drips from the sump. and I have to disconnect electrics and piping . A longer length of plastic pipe, no wires and an empty sump attached to a bottom drain will make the access operation much easier I hope .

However thinking further maybe I will replace the push pull switch with a clockwork timer switch if I can find one
 
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