Bilge pump question

[Justin_NSA]

I was winterizing my 30T today. The boat is new to me. My hot water tank drain line runs to the bilge in the center of the boat where a bilge pump sits. This pump is wired to the Hunter switch panel on the port side to a switch labeled appropriately 'Bilge Pump'. The pump comes on when you flip the switch and stays on until you turn it off. Shouldn't there be a float switch so it can be left on to engage if/when needed? Is there another pump on standby in the 30T (1991).?

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

The pump comes on when you flip the switch and stays on until you turn it off. Shouldn't there be a float switch so it can be left on to engage if/when needed?

I would certainly think so, otherwise how does it know to come on as the boat is sinking at the dock?
On our boat, the switch you refer to is strictly a momentary test to see if the pump runs even when dry. There is no shut off switch to the pump as it is (or should be) wired directly to the battery with a fuse close to the battery.

 

[Ken Cross]

On ours we had the same problem.
On our bilge pump there are 3 wires
The one connected originally goes directly to the pump motor (originally this was wired to the circuit breaker. It goes to the wire to the test switch)
The open wire was the one going to the float switch and then to the motor (This should be connected to the circuit breaker)
The 3rd wire is the ground.
All I needed to do to see these wires is open the floor panel above the bilge pump.

You just reminded me that I still need to connect the wire to the test switch.
Ken

 

[Benny17441]

In some older Hunter models with shallow bilges that is the way the pumps were OEM wired. It is set up as a manually operated pump to use when you are aboard. I believe it underscores the point that bilge pumps are convenience items and do not have much to offer in terms of safety. It was not deemed of any necessity to have the pump run when the boat was unattended. The purpose of the bilge pump is to expel incidental water that accumulates in the bilge without you having to open the floor boards and get down to manually scoop it up. If your bilge is deep enough, I do not know about the h30, then you can add a float switch but if you have a shallow bilge then your option would be to replace the pump with an electronically controlled one. These pumps are controlled by a computer chip that starts the pump at intervals of 2 minutes and if their impeller finds water resistance it will continue to run until most water is expelled out and then shuts off. The restart interval prevents backflow recycling until a higher water level is attained. These pumps are small in the 500 GPH range but quite adequate for the task. There is a tendency to rely on bilge pumps to prevent a boat from sinking when unattended but that concept is a fallacy which provides a false sense of security. Once a boat starts taking on enough water to sink it in a short period of time that amount of water will overwhelm the largest of regularly used pumps. But for convenience I'm all for installing an automatic pump or switch so that I do not have to mind the pump. The best safety action is to frequently inspect hoses, clamps, thru-hulls, valves, an variations in bilge levels.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Thanks guys, mystery solved. There IS a float switch. It's in an adjacent bilge area. When I raise it, the pump comes on. So it appears to have a fused line to the float switch and separate power on the panel to manually turn it on. I'll just need to remember to use the panel switch when I drain the hot water tank again. The float lets it get too deep before it kicks in and doesn't remove enough water. As it is I have to sop up the remaining. All I have left to do is replace the leaking corrugated hose with some smooth hose. It is cut where it makes a sharp bend behind the cabinetry.

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

Justin, the float switch should be in the same compartment as is the pump itself, for a whole host of good reasons, not the least of which is to avoid the confusion you experienced when first not seeing both at the same time. The pump should never be told from a remote location to pump where it (the pump) is now. Any mismatch in levels between the two places, or an even slight out-of-trim condition could fool one or the other.

I'd recommend a Water Witch type (WM sells one) which has two electrical contacts in a small sealed rectangle. When the two contacts arc through contact with water, the pump goes on-- no moving parts and nothing to jam it, clog it, fool it. These can be had for about 30.00. Word to the wise-- carry a spare one. Like anything digital (on-or-off), when it goes it goes and that's it. The flapper types can usually be prodded into more work. Luckily, changing a Water Witch type is as easy as unplugging two wires and plugging them back in.

Consider making a 'permanent' mount for the pump and switch, into which you can just plug a replacement pump. I cut the little blue basket for my Rule one (to make it fit deeper) and mounted it into the bilge; for a replacement pump I can just snap the new one into the old one's basket.

Another word to the wise-- cheap bilge pumps seem made for West Marine's extended warranty. When I worked there I called it a 'subscription to bilge pumps'. Pay 8.00 for the warranty, and every 2 years, no matter what, return the used pump for a new one and buy a new warranty. That's it. These things WILL go; make that work for you.

Also, Justin, avoid that cheap corrugated plastic hose. At Cherubini we used that only for the initial run from the bilge pump out of the bilge sump; this was to allow us to pull the pump up 32" from the depths to work on it. After there we used the heavy-duty sanitation hose, which is approved for seawater. Remember the bilge-pump hose does two vital things: it removes water from the boat, so you have to question why you have to do that (boat is leaking or sinking); and it prohibits its own contents, including that which may find its way in from overboard, from leaking into the boat somewhere else. For this you need good hose. That cheap corrugated stuff belongs on children's science-fair projects and in hipster art studios-- NOT on your boat.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Thanks Diana. I bought some Shields 148 series sanitation hose. Heavy duty and smooth, no corrugation. The pump and switch are level with each other and only about 1' apart.

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

Thanks Diana. I bought some Shields 148 series sanitation hose. Heavy duty and smooth, no corrugation. The pump and switch are level with each other and only about 1' apart.

Sounds like a god way to go.

 

[seadaddler]

Also a good idea to take apart the pump and float and clean out
old gunk that may affect the operation of both.
mine is 07 and about a year ago my bilge float was not always
working properly and sticking and so after a good cleaning of debris
of both it worked flawlessly.
Nick

 

[Charles Erwin]

I'd recommend a Water Witch type (WM sells one) . . .

Water Witch make very good very reliable switches. The design is such that it will not engage if the fluid is diesel - this prevents a diesel leak from pumping overboard.

However, the switch pump will not engage either - if the fluid is very fresh water.

For example my boat is in saltwater and had a topside leak. Bilge water accumulated from rain water over a winter. The switch did not engage. My solution was to provide salt to the bilge - an aspirin bottle with several holes drilled through, filled with rock salt will work.

Charles