The bilge pump quit working. Probably because it's filled with water. West has them listed near $100. Is there any saving this thing? If so how do I take it apart?
Bilge Pump sounds like a coconut
- Thread starter Hermit Scott
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It's a bilge pump - why would water hurt it? 
I guess it got into where it's not supposed to get - wiring connections corroded inside maybe? As for taking it apart, find any screws you can and unscrew them. It's a good Alzheimer's test as well.
In the end, it might be worth the $100 to replace it. Remember, West Marine is not the cheapest place by a long shot.
I guess it got into where it's not supposed to get - wiring connections corroded inside maybe? As for taking it apart, find any screws you can and unscrew them. It's a good Alzheimer's test as well.In the end, it might be worth the $100 to replace it. Remember, West Marine is not the cheapest place by a long shot.
It's toast. Don't try saving it because water leakage through to the hot part of the circuit can do a lot of damage to your boat.
Buy two new bilge pumps mail order from here. Get one of the largest capacity that has an outlet that fits your current hose size and mount it about six inches higher in the bilge than it is now with the float switch at about the same height. This one will stay dry and unused unless it is ever needed to help save your boat. It will last forever that way.
Buy a small one with 5/8 or 3/4" hose to take care of condensation and other normal water collection. This one can be cheaper because your boat isn't ultimately depending on it and you'll need to replace it every couple of years since it gets wet. Yes, water destroys bilge pumps. You'll need to drill a new through hull for it or you can put a "Y" in the existing bilge line right before it exits from the boat and a reducer on one leg to take the discharge from the small pump.
Roger is on the money
I am about as frugal, read TIGHT, as anyone on this board, but I will not cut any corners on bilge pumps. I have a set up much as Roger describes, with a 1100 and a 2000. Would like to install a 3700 GPH, but they are just too tall for room available. I also would make them on totally independent circuits, completely isolated from each other. Without a good working bilge pump, it doesn't take a lot of water intrusion to put a boat on the bottom.
I am about as frugal, read TIGHT, as anyone on this board, but I will not cut any corners on bilge pumps. I have a set up much as Roger describes, with a 1100 and a 2000. Would like to install a 3700 GPH, but they are just too tall for room available. I also would make them on totally independent circuits, completely isolated from each other. Without a good working bilge pump, it doesn't take a lot of water intrusion to put a boat on the bottom.
Second Roger's advice...shop here!
The sbo.com online store has the best prices around...and when you shop here, you support this site! Here's the link to bilge pumps
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/category.htm?cat=3708
The sbo.com online store has the best prices around...and when you shop here, you support this site! Here's the link to bilge pumps
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/category.htm?cat=3708
The big, "save the boat" pump (or, better, pumps) should be wired directly to the battery or battery side of the main switch with an inline fuse of the proper size for the wire and pump. The only way to turn it off should be to pull the fuse.
The small pump for dealing with incidental water could be wired to the bus so that it only comes on when the master battery switch is turned on. Then, when you get aboard the boat, the pump may start. By keeping mental track of how long it runs after you turn the master switch on, you will know if the rate of water intake is increasing and you should look at things like the stuffing box or deck leaks. This pump would be a good candidate for one of those otherwise dangerous 3 way, ON-OFF-FLOAT switches. You can use ON to override a balky float switch and OFF to test the big bilge pump.
Please forgive my ignorance. I thought bilge pumps, or at least some of them, were submersible. The one I have in my Whaler, a manual 500 GPH, has been under water after a rainstorm, leaving the plug out, etc., and still works. Am I just lucky?
Roger-If I put one 6" higher than the other in a C30's bilge, it would be above the floor boards
I will buy them from here. I last ordered some eye straps to finish my lazy jacks from here. They are good people to buy from.
I will pitch the coconut and get two new ones as recommended. Thanks.
I will buy them from here. I last ordered some eye straps to finish my lazy jacks from here. They are good people to buy from.
I will pitch the coconut and get two new ones as recommended. Thanks.
I think that the water is in the "sealed" portion of the unit. Yes they are submersible but you will not find to many electrical motors that "run under water".
Bite the bullet and find yourself a new one. Most of the bilge pump a good for a few years and all of a sudden they are history. I am working on a similar issue with the float switch in a Rule pump with an automatic float.
Bite the bullet and find yourself a new one. Most of the bilge pump a good for a few years and all of a sudden they are history. I am working on a similar issue with the float switch in a Rule pump with an automatic float.
i call that a brokenshoestring budget..LOL...i plan on doing the huge bilge pump thing and switching out mine--in my deep bilge under the engine is a 500 gph pumP--in A formosa!!!LOL---my back up or secondary pump is 2200gph---so i will add a 3700 gph to the deep sump under engine--then i will have adequate pump for boat.... i , too, am on broken shoestring budget---so is step by step procedure...bilge pumps are very important things to have functional....
if you know any thing about the Scottish people you know how frugel they are ...but i wonder if you know about the Yorkshire people in the UK ....they have been discribed by the Scotts as Scottsmen with the genorusity removed......
regards
woody
Well, put it just high enough to stay dry. You could even put it in a locker above the floor boards. If your boat is sinking, you won't be concerned about wet feet. Having it in a place where you can quickly clear debris from the strainer is also good.
Basically the primary function of a bilge pump is to discharge small amounts of water which may collect in the bilge. You may fulfill that need quite adequately with a 500 GPH pump which usually retails for $25. Any of these small pumps can hardly be relied to keep the boat afloat in an emergency so if I had to choose I would rather put my money in the upkeep of hoses and clamps and the through the hull valves. I'm not too concerned about when the boat is unattended as there are usually enough eyes in the vicinity to notice any problems but when underway the chances of getting swamped or holing the hull increase tenfold. For that reason we have a manual Gusher pump capable of discharging 20 gallons per minute. We do keep a larger 2000 GPH in line should the water level rise over the smaller one but it really does not add much to my peace of mind. Don't forget that the most efficient water transfer system in an emergency is a bucket. The engine can also be used to pump water out in an emergency.
I have two bilge pumps pretty much as has been recommended here, but I have the "primary" pump (the low one) wired directly to the battery via a fuse and it is connected to a Bilge Pump Counter made by AQUALARM. I reset it to zero every Sunday night when I leave the boat for the week. If I see on Friday that the pump has been on more than once or twice during the week (Usually the result of whatever ice was left in the ice box on Sunday) I know to start looking for the source.
The higher secondary pump is also on a float switch, direct wired via fuse to a separate battery and it is connected to an alarm, also AQUALARM, which I hope would draw attention if it went off during the week and prompt investigation and a phone call from the Harbor Master. Both pumps also have manual switches which over ride the float switch.
I believe the counter is important to have because a bilge pump on a float switch switch can mask a small problem until it becomes a big one.
The higher secondary pump is also on a float switch, direct wired via fuse to a separate battery and it is connected to an alarm, also AQUALARM, which I hope would draw attention if it went off during the week and prompt investigation and a phone call from the Harbor Master. Both pumps also have manual switches which over ride the float switch.
I believe the counter is important to have because a bilge pump on a float switch switch can mask a small problem until it becomes a big one.
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Hermit, it may be possible to put the larger one just to port of the engine inside the settee/engine compartment. So long as it is higher than the other, doesn't usually get wet, and its intake is just below the bottom of the engine. I think there's enough room there.
Also, just curious, is your existing bilge pump a manual/electric combo? I've got a manual bilge lever hole on the port side in the cockpit.
D@mm!t, I've just given myself a homework assignment for this winter.
Also, just curious, is your existing bilge pump a manual/electric combo? I've got a manual bilge lever hole on the port side in the cockpit.
D@mm!t, I've just given myself a homework assignment for this winter.
I have separate hoses running to the bilge, one for the manual in the cockpit and one for the bilge pump. Someone before me had them ran separately.
Installing the big one by the engine is a good idea. Roger is right, that if the boat was sinking it wouldn't matter if I had wet feet when the big one kicked on.
Installing the big one by the engine is a good idea. Roger is right, that if the boat was sinking it wouldn't matter if I had wet feet when the big one kicked on.
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