Bilge pump system

[mechmike]

Hi all,

I bought a 2003 OC331 after checking with you guys on this forum and now i'm in the process of spring prep. I come to find out that the previous owner altered the bilge pump system by eliminating the alarm and rewiring the pump to work by using the panel switch only. I'd like to restore this to its original condition but have no info. I dropped an email to Beneteau but would like some real people feedback. Specifically, how the system actually works, where the alarm mounts, and any real life scenarios as to why he disconnected it in the first place. Such as, does the alarm sound every time the pump turns on ?
Wiring diagrams are limited to numbered circuits only , accessable on the Beneteau site so any additional links to drawings or schematics would also help.
Thanks to You All,
Mike

 

[DougM]

The original Beneteau on my 323 wiring didn't include an alarm nor was there a float switch. I just wired a Rule pump switch and a float switch into the circuit. At least this way I had the insurance that the pump would come on when the toggle switch was in the automatic position if the bilge water rose enough to activate the float switch. I still had a manual position to activate the pump as well.

All I really had to do was locate the original circuit via the wire number at the pump and modify it. The wires are generally number tagged at each end (breaker and point of use).

These boats have pretty shallow bilges, so I mounted my float switch as close to the edge of the sump hole as I could get it.

 

[mechmike]

thanks for your reply. i wired that rule sw on my old boat and it worked great. on the beneteau i think the way its supposed to work is that the pump and float circuit is always live and the panel sw is used to run the pump on demand. the panel sw is an on/off type sw though. usually this setup would use a momentary sw just like the Rule sw.

 

[agaliha]

That's the way it works on my 2002
b361...the float swith circuit is always on and flipping the breaker switch marked bilge pump overrides the float switch (meaning the pump runs weather or not the float switch is activated). I have no alarm. Some people like to put a cycle counter on the float switch circuit so you can see how many times it has run while you were away. With a dripless stiffing box, my bilges are so dry they have "dust bunnies" in them. I have to pour water in the bilge to keep the pump parts moist.
Agaliha

 

[mechmike]

i also have a dripless seal on propshaft. bilge just has capfull of water in it. don`t know yet but should be dry as well. a counter might alert u about a problem so that might be a good idea as long as i'm at it. thanks for ur reply Agaliha.

 

[larryw]

Most Bene's have dripless packing and don't need float switches or alarms. Mine has niether.

 

[Gunni]

Well thank goodness that the other 10 thru-hull perforations in the boat would NEVER leak! I'm appalled by the single, low-volume bilge pump on my Beneteau and am looking for some owner solutions. I'd like to end up with 3 electric pumps plus the manual cockpit bilge pump. Fore, engine compartment, and back-up bilge sump.

 

[Ron20324]

Most Bene's have dripless packing and don't need float switches or alarms. Mine has niether.

There are other places to leak than the shaft. Float switches are needed if you leave the boat. Us 323 owners seem to be adding float switches under the salon table.

 

[mechmike]

thanks to all for your thoughts.
i think that Beneteau wired in an alarm w/float sw but left the task of turning on the bilge pump to the boat owner. i say that because i note the location of the existing float sw under the table but at a high location which would bring the bilgewater level to right at the floorboards before the pump would come on.
my idea now is to buy an additional float sw with an alarm, and locate that sw close to the sump. this would keep the bilge drier and the alarm would be wired to the higher mounted sw. this setup would then activate the alarm in the event that the bilge pump can't keep up with a bad leak or that the bilge pump system has failed.
this would offer more protection and for the boat and peace of mind for me.

 

[oceanbird]

I have just put an equivalent to a float switch in my 373. It relies on conductivity through the water to turn on. That has an added bonus of a little extra pump time as the surfaces dry out. I also don't have to worry about anything being accidentally put on top of it stopping it from rising. I simply cable tied it to the hose at the correct height in the sump. It is wired back to the live side of the house battery switch through a 5 amp fuse. In that way when the battery switches are turned off, the pump can still work and I can still use the manual demand switch on the switchboard if I want.

 

[AndyS]

It's good to hear all of the solutions to the problem, and I'll tell you what I have done. I bought a 281 in November and was also bothered by the lack of an automatic bilge pump. After a lot of thought, I pieced together what I think is a good insurance pump system. (BTW, I don't have a dripless stuffing box - yet - and do get a little water in the shallow bilge after motoring for a while. Except for that, the shallow bilge is extremely dry.) I put a Whale automatic pump (Supersub Smart 650) right under the prop shaft as it exits the engine, just above the raw water intake. It turns on when it detects water on its surface. It is wired directly to the battery through a Rule auto/manual switch I installed in the nav station area, adjacent to the switch panels. In this way I can turn it on manually, but it stays in auto mode. The outflow is taken through a bulkhead next to the engine, and into the lazerette, and then through a new thru-hull adjacent to the other ones. I have never seen water get high enough to trigger this new back-up system, but it's good to now have that, in addition to the manual system, and the standard electric manual pump that is more forward in the boat. Hope all of that helps.

 

[JohnShannon]

Rule makes automatic bilge pumps, they turn on every 2 min or so and if motor current is low = no water they turn off right away. If motor current is high = water present, then they run until current drops.

So no float switch required, and automatic operation. Anybody have any experience?

 

[agaliha]

I have one of these in my Boston Whaler runabout that I store on a trailer. I turn off the breaker until I launch the boat. It works great for that situation. It does come on every 5 or 10 minutes (just to sense water) and I think that would drive me crazy in my Beneteau at night.
Agaliha

 

[JohnShannon]

Oh thats good info, so you can hear when it runs? I was thinking of getting one but audible noise would be a problem

 

[Ron20324]

I would think if the bilge pump was running- you would hear it. On the 323 it is behind the salon seat, and you can't miss hearing it.