Shower Sumps and Raw Water Intake

sail sfbay · Jul 14, 2020

I assume you want to install a shower sump pump and plumbing as shown in the diagrams below. I have Rule Sump Pumps, but others are available at lower cost. Below is a diagram of my raw intake to the engine. A photo of your raw water intake (assuming to your engine) would be helpful to see what your concern(s) is(are).

sail sfbay · Jul 14, 2020

As a chemical engineer I would not expect your raw water configuration to be acceptable IF it does not have any dog legs AND minimum distance to the engine to reduce pressure drop.

sail sfbay · Jul 14, 2020

Run the engine and monitor water temperature over say 30 minutes and if the temperature does not exceed the engine high temp then OK. If not, then start troubleshooting raw water strainer, water pump, heat exchanger, exhaust elbow, etc. Hate to see you haul the boat, install new thru hull closer to the engine inlet, thru hull valve and hose. Others in the forum will have additional advise.

sail sfbay · Jul 14, 2020

Glad to hear!! Go sailing and do not worry.

stuartsw · Jul 14, 2020

And check out the Whale 320 Gulper pump for your shower sump. I replaced my OEM Jabsco with it and am very pleased with the results.

JamesG161 · Jul 15, 2020

Sable Sailor said:
My engineer brain just doesn't want to accept the arrangement.

I had the same thought at first.
Now I see the logic of placing the Strainer where it is visible and accessible to clean.

Noteworthy: I have never needed to clean my Engine water strainer in 5 yrs, but the rest of my strainers need cleaning. :huh:

I normally close most seacock at berth. I open the engine one, which has my keys on the handle, right before a Start up.
My exposure to crappy water, when underway, is small.
_______

Sable Sailor said:
I want to install new sumps. The forward shower pan is pretty shallow, so I'm going to have to be creative.

I have two of these Rule Sump Pumps systems which are well designed.
Rule Shower Sump Drain System - 800 GPH
The forward head has shallow drain, but it drains aft into a collection spot. It is accessible to install one there.

Both of mine are on the same panel breaker.

Jim...

PS: Strainers are coarse filters and pass silt.

artboas · Jul 19, 2020

I strongly recommend the Whale IC grey water pump system.
You’d only need 1 pump. Get the “T junction” version, and order the 3/4” ports
This is, by far” the most reliable and efficient solution on the market. Regular sump boxes are continual maintenance, and are built around a price.

scottdube · Jul 22, 2020

artboas said:
I strongly recommend the Whale IC grey water pump system.
You’d only need 1 pump. Get the “T junction” version, and order the 3/4” ports
This is, by far” the most reliable and efficient solution on the market. Regular sump boxes are continual maintenance, and are built around a price.

I replaced both sump boxes on my 410 with the Whale IC pump. I hated those sump boxes. They smell, get clogged, switch gets gummed up and sticks you name it. The gulper diaphragm pump is much better for this job and never smells as it pumps dry every time.

alankeene · Jul 28, 2020

The trouble with the shower pump in the fwd head of the Hunter 45 Legend mid 1980's model is that the float switch would shut the pump off and there is always residual water left in the pan. What I did was to remove the pump, fiberglass over the holes left from the removal of the pump and hose, and I installed a drain. There is very little room below the shower pan so when you hole saw the drain hole, be carefull not to drill into the hull!! I hole sawed about a 3 inch hole so I had room to get my hand in to run a 3/4" thin wall and flexible hose under the shower pan and ran it back to the midship bilge to a sump pump box. Then I found a sharp angle 90 degree hose fitting(very tight fit for a drain elbow because not much room for a 90 degree under the shower pan as the hull is close!) that I could glue to a 4 inch piece of plastic flange and then goop and screw it down to the shower pan over the 3 inch hole I had hole sawed. Its a gregarious job- drilling a 3 inch hole into your shower pan but ya gotta do what ya gotta do!!. If any questions just write and ask me! From Al Keene. Hunter Legend 45 1987. Suzie-Q

alankeene · Jul 28, 2020

And, also concerning the engine raw water intake, My strainer was located inside the engine box. Very hard to access it and keep an eye on the flow, clogging etc etc. So I moved it higher up from the water line,--- To be specific---, I put it in the aft head, outside the engine compartement, on the fore and aft bulkhead where I can SEE IT!! Its not the greatest spot but at least its accessible . I re-oriented the engine intake sea valve as well. It took some pre-planning but worth the revamp. I can provide pics if any one wants them Al Keene. S/V Suzie-Q

RoyS · Jul 29, 2020

My experience with a packaged shower sump/pump/check valve assembly was not good. In my case the sump box was small and utilized a float switch to operate the centrifugal pump. To keep the returning discharge water in the hose from re-cycling the pump endlessly the assembly contained a check valve at the pump discharge. Because centrifugal pumps have so little head pressure, often the check valve resistance prevented the assembly from functioning at all. Eventually I gave up and tossed the whole thing. Put a centrifugal pump in the shower bilge with a lighted manual switch in the shower. The light reminds me to shut it off.

alankeene · Jul 29, 2020

Here

are the pics of my seawater intake for the engine

and the strainer location in the aft head

Shower Sumps and Raw Water Intake

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Attachments

.

.

.

.

.