On our B311 there is a very swallow bilge. What is the best type of float switch for these boats? Any insights on the best way to install. Thanks for all of your insights and knowledge.
bilge float switch
- Thread starter cstonedent
- Start date
We've given up on the float switches and gone for the electronic 'probe' type that is
a thin probe that attaches to the side of the bilge wall and extends down into the bilge (you decide how close to the bottom of the bilge) and you hook it up just like the switch and when water comes in, say 1/4 to 1/2 inch, the probe turns on the bilge pump and pumps the water out...Defenders sells them and I'm sure West Marine does as well. the have different brand names but they
bilge witches or whatever....water witch is one brand name.
a thin probe that attaches to the side of the bilge wall and extends down into the bilge (you decide how close to the bottom of the bilge) and you hook it up just like the switch and when water comes in, say 1/4 to 1/2 inch, the probe turns on the bilge pump and pumps the water out...Defenders sells them and I'm sure West Marine does as well. the have different brand names but they
bilge witches or whatever....water witch is one brand name.
The bilge on most Bene's are really small. I use the following
http://www.spx.com/en/johnson-pump-marine/pd-marine-bilge-ultima-switch/
Easy to install.
Good Luck
http://www.spx.com/en/johnson-pump-marine/pd-marine-bilge-ultima-switch/
Easy to install.
Good Luck
Water Witch bilge switch. Model 230 Sealed, no float. 7 year warranty. https://www.waterwitchinc.com/new/SiteElements/Pages/SecondaryPages/Products/BilgeSwitches.html
+1 on the water witch. The bilge on my B423 is so shallow that the bilge would be flooded before the original lever switch would turn on.
I'll take a photo tomorrow. I mounted the switch for my 423 on a piece of starboard and then inserted in the bilge cavity.
I just picked a location in my bilge sump that represented where I wanted the pump to turn on, then drilled and screwed the WaterWitch module into place. The fiberglass in this area is very thick. I spent most of my time carefully wire-tying the wires back to the nearby junction box, and doing a proper heat-shrink crimp on the electrical connections. You do have a ratchet-crimper n'est pas?
Here you go- photo shows WW mounted on starboard and inserted (loose) in the bilge cavity. The bilge hoses hold it in
place.
place.
A neighbors boat bilge pump kept being triggered by his switch, the pump turned on and pumped out the small bilge but as soon as pump turned off the water in the hose would rush back and fill bilge again, triggering the pump. His bilge hose was 25 feet long and all uphill so that might cause it but also activating the pump for longer period didn't empty the hose... not sure what switch or pump he had but switch was very low in bilge.
The Water Witch Model 230 runs the pump for an additional period of time after the sump has been pumped dry, this works to move any bilge water beyond the pump diaphragm where it will not back flow. One of the better features of a solid-state pump controller.
Syversens
That is not a switch problem, it is an install problem. The volume of water in the bilge the switch will trip at, can't exceed the volume of water in the hose that will flow back into the bilge when the pump is stopped.
The solution is to either reduce the amount of hose between pump and overboard discharge, or raise the height of the switch (whatever the technology).
That is not a switch problem, it is an install problem. The volume of water in the bilge the switch will trip at, can't exceed the volume of water in the hose that will flow back into the bilge when the pump is stopped.
The solution is to either reduce the amount of hose between pump and overboard discharge, or raise the height of the switch (whatever the technology).