Waterpump running constantly when tank empty

:) I shall add it to my mental inventory of boat noises....

A/C cooling (with stream of water)
A/C not cooling (no stream of water)
TV inverter fan
Shower sump pump
Galley fridge
Cockpit fridge
Domestic water pump (pumping water)
Forward bilge (fortunately not heard that one in the night yet)
Aft bilge (ditto)
Wife's fan
Eberspacher
Plus of course the noises from neighbouring boats! ....
Etc

Why on earth is your Eberspacher running??

But, actually, the most inconvenient noise at night on a boat is the "slap and tickle" that you get in the bow cabin.
I think you all know what I mean.
For me, thats the main attraction of a mid or aft cabin - no "slap and tickle".
 
Why on earth is your Eberspacher running??

But, actually, the most inconvenient noise at night on a boat is the "slap and tickle" that you get in the bow cabin.
I think you all know what I mean.
For me, thats the main attraction of a mid or aft cabin - no "slap and tickle".

Don't worry, I don't run it in SCM! Actually I do love the sound that my Eber makes, to me it sounds like a little jet engine spooling up :).

I like the "slap and tickle" noise, reminds me that I'm on the boat. Incidentally, I was awoken from my slumber at around 7am by a scraping noise the other day. Looked out my port hole and there was a chap scraping mussels off the pontoon floats. Presumably to eat or to sell? He could have got quite a meal if he'd scraped the ones off some of our neighbouring boats.
 
Yup, agree with others re water pump. I've often thought of but not got round to a cut out that disconnects the water pump after 20 mins continuously running. Anyone know of such a black box? Probably eBayable

Main noise for me on dead still night is mullet sucking at the hull. But with a larger boat/more cabins, pumps, condensate sumps etc, there is something buzzing every ten mins on a "quiet" night. :D


I had a flood last year when a guest left the bidet valve on the WC turned on.

It is on my todo list .... to add something that alarms when the pump has been running for longer than xx minutes.

This is very simple.

One of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-5V-12...var=601189261430&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

And a buzzer ( mounted wherever). Some Fairlines ( an I have not actually looked if mine does) have the switch light up on the lower helm when the pump is running - so a simple place to mount it.

The balance of course is how long you set it for. Most showers etc are probably less than 5 mins - so 5 min is a starting point .

A bit of a pain when you open all the taps to drain the system but you can always put a switch in the buzzer circuit.

The challenge with turning the pump off is that in the middle of a 6 minute shower it goes off and then you need to reset it. Not rocket science of course but has the opportunity to be annoying whereas a buzzer is just irritating !
 
Incidentally, I was awoken from my slumber at around 7am by a scraping noise the other day. Looked out my port hole and there was a chap scraping mussels off the pontoon floats. Presumably to eat or to sell? He could have got quite a meal if he'd scraped the ones off some of our neighbouring boats.

We were told in the early days that they take the mussels off the pontoons to seed the mussel beds in the lagoon.
Those would be the beds round the Musclarium Restaurant in the lagoon.
 
Main noise for me on dead still night is mullet sucking at the hull.
Blimey, are plastic hulls THAT bad?
I already noticed that the wave slapping sound is day and night compared to timber boats (and I mean it - like 100 vs. 1 difference!).
But sucking mullets... Pah, frozen snot boats... :rolleyes:
 
Ah, that's the advantage of Outdrives!

But I'm lead to believe that in SCM you can hear the muscles chomping away at the weed on the bottom of your boat! Not had that one yet.

Would those be the mussels from Brussels?

Re: ice cubes, is there a better noise anywhere than the noise of ice cubes cracking when you pour a fine spirit over them? :encouragement: YUM
 
Blimey, are plastic hulls THAT bad?
I already noticed that the wave slapping sound is day and night compared to timber boats (and I mean it - like 100 vs. 1 difference!).
But sucking mullets... Pah, frozen snot boats... :rolleyes:
Too late now, member of F.S. club :D:D:D
 
I had a flood last year when a guest left the bidet valve on the WC turned on.

It is on my todo list .... to add something that alarms when the pump has been running for longer than xx minutes.

This is very simple.

One of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-5V-12...var=601189261430&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

And a buzzer ( mounted wherever). Some Fairlines ( an I have not actually looked if mine does) have the switch light up on the lower helm when the pump is running - so a simple place to mount it.

The balance of course is how long you set it for. Most showers etc are probably less than 5 mins - so 5 min is a starting point .

A bit of a pain when you open all the taps to drain the system but you can always put a switch in the buzzer circuit.

The challenge with turning the pump off is that in the middle of a 6 minute shower it goes off and then you need to reset it. Not rocket science of course but has the opportunity to be annoying whereas a buzzer is just irritating !
Thanks J, but I must say I'm struggling to see that the thing you linked to does the job. Instructions are a bit hard to follow:
Mon. Mode:
1. The module Power-on, When triggered the relay is switched on, timer delay off.
2. When triggered on the delay process, again triggered, it will immediately interrupt the delay.
Cycle Mode:
1. The module Power-on, When triggered the relay is switched on, (T1) timer delay off. (T2) timer delay
on. Such cycle. T1 and T2 are set by two adjustable resistors, respectively.
2. When triggered on the delay process, again triggered, it will immediately interrupt the delay.


Ref the 6 minute shower there shouldn't be a problem: if your pump and accumulator are well sized the pump will not run continuously even if a couple of showers are in use. The pump should cycle on and off. Each time it cycles on the black box should restart the clock (and I would make it 10 mins anyway).
 
Ref the 6 minute shower there shouldn't be a problem: if your pump and accumulator are well sized the pump will not run continuously even if a couple of showers are in use. The pump should cycle on and off. Each time it cycles on the black box should restart the clock (and I would make it 10 mins anyway).

J,

so how many mins is filling the bathtub? I guess that's going to be the limiting factor for setting the clock :D
Leaving aside the fact that the 1.5K pump does need "a few" Amps, I'm pretty sure it's going to be a v.easy job making this timer with any plc or 5euro arduino board. If you don't find a solution by autumn, give me a shout I should have time to play and put something together!

cheers

V.
 
Blimey, are plastic hulls THAT bad?
I already noticed that the wave slapping sound is day and night compared to timber boats (and I mean it - like 100 vs. 1 difference!).
But sucking mullets... Pah, frozen snot boats... :rolleyes:

Yes your hard chined GRP is going to sound like an echo chamber compared to a round bilge
wooden boat. Things could be worse though, nothing carries internal sound like a hard chined aluminium boat, like being inside a steel drum.
 
Thanks J, but I must say I'm struggling to see that the thing you linked to does the job. Instructions are a bit hard to follow:
Mon. Mode:
1. The module Power-on, When triggered the relay is switched on, timer delay off.
2. When triggered on the delay process, again triggered, it will immediately interrupt the delay.
Cycle Mode:
1. The module Power-on, When triggered the relay is switched on, (T1) timer delay off. (T2) timer delay
on. Such cycle. T1 and T2 are set by two adjustable resistors, respectively.
2. When triggered on the delay process, again triggered, it will immediately interrupt the delay.


Ref the 6 minute shower there shouldn't be a problem: if your pump and accumulator are well sized the pump will not run continuously even if a couple of showers are in use. The pump should cycle on and off. Each time it cycles on the black box should restart the clock (and I would make it 10 mins anyway).

If the pump cycles on and off surely it will never hit the 10 min time setting, which defeats the problem that J is trying to solve?
 
If the pump cycles on and off surely it will never hit the 10 min time setting, which defeats the problem that J is trying to solve?

that was my initial thought Pete, but J wants the pump to stop when tank is empty in which case pressure is never up to the point of pump cycling, so pump is constantly on. It will work fine, although it's probably smarter to have a system drop the breaker when NMEA2K bus gets a message that fresh water tank is down to 3% (say)

cheers

V.
 
that was my initial thought Pete, but J wants the pump to stop when tank is empty in which case pressure is never up to the point of pump cycling, so pump is constantly on. It will work fine, although it's probably smarter to have a system drop the breaker when NMEA2K bus gets a message that fresh water tank is down to 3% (say)

cheers

V.

Vas, JFM wants to stop the pump once the tank is empty but jrudge wants it to stop earlier to prevent flooding.
 
Flood what? Surely your drains and bilge / shower sump all have a greater capacity that your water pump? To my knowledge the vast majority of water pumps are diaphragm type and can run dry without damage. I know mine was on for a several days accidentally when the fresh water vacuflush toilet failed to shut off it's water supply with no ill effect. The waterpump also makes enough noise so as to be clearly audible although not intrusive, you could hardly miss it on a boat 40 foot or less.
I could understand a system to prevent total water loss but the only time I would not notice a pump continually running while onboard is while underway. Easy enough just to flip the breaker if it bothered me that much. Better to instruct people on how to use the facilities and to be careful in their usage imo.
 
Last edited:
If the pump cycles on and off surely it will never hit the 10 min time setting, which defeats the problem that J is trying to solve?
The problem I'm trying to solve is continuous pump running which only happens when water tank is drained. E.g. You put dishwasher and washing machine on with (by mistake) only 1/8th tank of water and leave the boat for the day
 
that was my initial thought Pete, but J wants the pump to stop when tank is empty in which case pressure is never up to the point of pump cycling, so pump is constantly on. It will work fine, although it's probably smarter to have a system drop the breaker when NMEA2K bus gets a message that fresh water tank is down to 3% (say)

cheers

V.
yup, exactly. Bit of a 1st world prob of course.
 
The problem I'm trying to solve is continuous pump running which only happens when water tank is drained. E.g. You put dishwasher and washing machine on with (by mistake) only 1/8th tank of water and leave the boat for the day

Does it do any harm to the pump though. They are capable of running dry without damage.
 
Top