1981 Cat 30 bilge pump/ice box question

[Cabin by the Sea]

Do all the bilge pumps have a pretty decent amount of back flow once the pump turns off? We don't use the shower but the ice box cold plate was removed by PO so when we ice up the drinks,the melt drains into the bilge. When the float switch is on the pump works fine but I feel like a pint or possibly more (never measured) comes back in when the pump turns off.

So essentially I either shop vac it dry or live with a half inch to an inch of water. I can't imagine this is how it is supposed to be.

While on the subject of the ice box does anyone have recommendations for aftermarket refrigerator options. Last question, the bilge pump isn't directly wired to the battery so I leave the house battery on while away (in slip hooked up to shore power). How hard is t to hard wire the bilge pump so it always has power? Thanks in advance, first sailboat I've owned and only had it for about a year so tons to learn.

 

[The Garbone]

My bilge pump is wired to my start battery with only a fuse and the float switch between. If I want to run it I need to open the bilge and lift the floater. Mine is a pretty high volume pump (forget what size) but does leave a bit of water in the bilge that comes back from the hose when you turn it off.

My manual hand pumper has a nice nearly flush pickup and does a better job but also leaves a few cups of water that I have a small 12volt vacuum I clean it up with.

I don't use the icebox for drinks as I prefer my 9 day cooler in the quarter berth. , it has wheels and does indeed last at least 4 days with ice.

 

[Cabin by the Sea]

Yea I usually use a cooler in the quarter berth as well. I'll try the hand pump and see what level it gets the water down to. Thanks for the info!

 

[Anonymous member 131]

bilge pump answer

You can purchase a three way switch for around $25.00 or less (amazon) it comes with a fuse. Run one hot wire from your house battery hot lug, not the battery its self. Then run the black wire. ,usually, to spade #1 and the brown and white to spade #2. Most pumps today have to be grounded so run a wire from your ground lug, again not straight from battery, pig tail it to the pumps ground wire and run it up to the switches ground wire. I have this setup in my 1980 cat 30 with a 750 gph bilge pump with a check valve where the old shower sump pump was. The pump had its own check valve but I removed it for space. Your bilge will always have some water in it. Its what keeps your prop shaft bearings cool so don't expect a dry bilge unless you redo your bearings and put in a dry run bearing set.

Hope this helps. I also have a 12 V frig. Unit will try to remember to get specs on it for you.

 

[Anonymous member 131]

bilge pump answer

You can purchase a three way switch for around $25.00 or less (amazon) it comes with a fuse. Run one hot wire from your house battery hot lug, not the battery its self. Then run the black wire. ,usually, to spade #1 and the brown and white to spade #2. Most pumps today have to be grounded so run a wire from your ground lug, again not straight from battery, pig tail it to the pumps ground wire and run it up to the switches ground wire. I have this setup in my 1980 cat 30 with a 750 gph bilge pump with a check valve where the old shower sump pump was. The pump had its own check valve but I removed it for space. Your bilge will always have some water in it. Its what keeps your prop shaft bearings cool so don't expect a dry bilge unless you redo your bearings and put in a dry run bearing set. My pump is a seaflow auto unit with built in float

Hope this helps. I also have a 12 V frig. Unit will try to remember to get specs on it for you.

 

[Cabin by the Sea]

Thanks, I appreciate the info. I vac'd it out Saturday and Sunday there was just a tiny bit in there which is fine. I figured the less water the less "boat" smell.

 

[Anonymous member 131]

If you go to this site and look under huow to repack a traditional stuffing box you ll get what I mean. There is also all kinds of goodctech. Articles there I think you will benefit from.

Good luck and remember your on a boat surrounded by water. Its never goig to be completly dry. If you try to make it that way it will drive you insane, so get used to a little water or for your sanity find a new hobby

 

[Anonymous member 131]

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/boat_projects
Sorry here's the site

 

[Cabin by the Sea]

Thanks mark, this last weekend there was barely anything so I'm good with that, at least if I vac it it will stay dry.

 

[Anonymous member 131]

Just remember four to six drops per minute will go into your bilge minimum while your engine is running so you ll always have more to cleanup after running your motor if your goal is to have a dry bilge. When I bought my boat the P/O had emptied the oil from the engine into the bilge to change the oil and left me a stinkung slimmy mess. If you havent thought about this do so now. Get an accordian style liquids removeal pump to hook to your oil exhaust line on your engine or you WILL have mess as I did. It is also illegal to dump these oils overboard as the P/O DID it also ruined the bilge pump. Alot to think about but if your prepared it will be a piece of cake. AND if your caught dumping oil or fuel into a lake it is a six figure fine AND they ll take your boat till you pay it.

 

[OS2Dude]

Our 1984 C30 also has a lot of back wash once the pump shuts off. In our case the float is higher than the pump, and the required travel for it to turn on the pump is about 1.5", so we have about 2-3" of water in our bilge at any time. Since I'm on a lake, I chose to add a back-flow preventer to my line, and that keeps the level down as well.

I had read a post somewhere where they used a smaller pump (Like a Rule 500 with an integrated switch) that sits in the lowest part of the bilge and keeps the ice box and other sundry contributions out of the bilge and the larger pump and float were moved to only come on when the level was quite high. I am thinking about trying this out. Any comments?

 

[hvbaker]

Our 1984 C30 also has a lot of back wash once the pump shuts off. In our case the float is higher than the pump, and the required travel for it to turn on the pump is about 1.5", so we have about 2-3" of water in our bilge at any time. Since I'm on a lake, I chose to add a back-flow preventer to my line, and that keeps the level down as well. I had read a post somewhere where they used a smaller pump (Like a Rule 500 with an integrated switch) that sits in the lowest part of the bilge and keeps the ice box and other sundry contributions out of the bilge and the larger pump and float were moved to only come on when the level was quite high. I am thinking about trying this out. Any comments?

What you describe is my set up. Small pump keeps bilge water at a out 3/8 an inch. Large pump never comes on unless I lift the float switch. Water gets in bilge from rain. Leaks in the stern locker.

 

[Sanfelice]

I would not want to put a check valve on the primary bilge pump line. If it gets clogged then you run the risk of being without a functioning bilge pump. As many have said, the pump will leave some residue water which I remove.

I put a refrigeration unit on my boat this summer. I got this one from Defender.

http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|2276204|2276226|2530801&id=2383951

It has worked well all summer where 95 degrees is routine. I was lucky enough to have a friend that is an ac guy. It was wired that the fan runs all the time instead of when the compressor comes on as it was originally configured. This made a big difference. Never needs defrosting. Very little draw. It does not have a freezer which is not what I wanted. The unit keeps the temp at 36 degrees. Could go colder but then it freezes items at the very bottom of the box.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Cabin,

The guys as usual, have passed on valuable info.

Here's another thought, I use my old in-place ice cooler in my 1980. It used to free drain into the bilge & that was not much of a problem aside of some mildew buildup in hot Florida months.

You have a 1981 model which is close to mine in design. I changed the cooler drain line to tap into the sink drain but, ABOVE the water line. Right before this tie-in, I also installed an in-line ball valve for positive shutoff of the cooler drain under the cabinet before the tie-in. You can access this from the small door on the bottom-side of your sink cabinet.

I also added extra insulation around the cooler & this keeps things colder for at least another day longer. I addition, I use a pre-cut L-shaped 1" thick soft plastic cover that I put over the cooler contents as, there is really no insulation on the top underside of the cooler.

Maybe you can incorporate this for your use. The drain line run is pretty short, maybe 4-5 feet depending on which side of the cooler you have the drain fitting on. Mine is now on the forward side of the cooler, the old location was on the aft side. If you wish to keep the original location, a few 90° hose fittings will also work. Just make sure your line runs downhill without traps.

CR

 

[Elysium_Van_Isl]

I have that setup as well. You should be on the right path by now, but I'll throw out a couple other points -

One is that you need to be careful with how your pump is mounted in the bilge. If it's screwed down you might want to look at an alternate way of securing it. The C30's of this vintage (like mine) have a plywood core sandwitched inside the bilge. It's well reported on in this forum. So watch your 'penetrations'. The water gets down into the plywood and it will rot out.

Another point, and Ron references this, is that the bottom of the icebox actually sits at 'approximately' the waterline. When I first got the boat I hated the stinky mess that got into the bilge from leaky food. I tried to tap into the sink drain but for me, the boat waterline was just above the bottom of the icebox....so it wouldn't work. Instead I just went back to the single hose off the drain and put a plug on the end. Leaving it in the engine compartment. Then, whenever I'm using ice in the box I just drain it off into a container and dump it.

As for your question regarding backflow from the bilge - yes, it's a huge PITA. There is such a long run to the stern that it's unavoidable unless you put in the check valve. But as warned, there is a slight risk with them. Personally, I weighed the cost/benefit and went with the check valve.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Guys,

You know what, it's just a free flow drain line. The quickest & best fix would be to wire in a 3 set switch for your bilge pump. Put it on automatic & walk away.

Your pump should have either an internal or external float switch. If a pump 3-position switch is properly wired in & mounted into your panel, this concern goes away.

It's only water, were not building a Swiss watch. The worst you can do is to overthink this.

I cannot add any more solutions therefore, I will now unsubscribe from this thread.

Good luck,

CR

 

[ArkadiyS]

I went about this bilge connecting issue a bit differently. On my main panel, there is a switch "Bilge". When my automatic pump started to work inconsistently, I replaced the pump, the floater and all of the wiring. It is a 1985 boat, so anything I touch just needs to be replaced. I ran a straight line to the main power on the panel (unswitched), so that the bilge is direct, and the other line to the "bilge" switch on the panel. This way the bilge is always on and works as it needs, and I am able to 'override' manually from the panel when i switch the "bilge tumbler" on. This way, i do not need to play with the floater in the bilge to turn on the pump, and it is getting juice in the auto mode. As for the water... it has been a very odd mystery to me... no idea how the water gets in there.... I periodically dry it completely, and it always comes back....