Bilge Pump useless in Emergency

Gunni

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Jim;
That Guzzler pump takes 5 strokes of the pump handle to move 1 gallon of water :yikes:

Take a look at the Edson aluminum-body high volume diaphragm pumps, specifically the Model 165, purpose made for emergency dewatering. The great thing about the Edson pumps is that you can swap in Viton diaphragms and use them to pump fuel, or that barrel of rum you got for a song down in Barbados!
 
JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,745
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
woodster said:
manual overboard discharge for the holding tank
Click to expand
Oh my, that left a WIDE OPENING for a wisecrack about 3 gushers and one of them on the HEAD.:laugh:
Jim...
 
JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,745
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Gunni said:
That Guzzler pump takes 5 strokes of the pump handle to move 1 gallon of water :yikes:
Click to expand
Yeah it was just the first find, not a great buy. I was looking for ≈20GPM ( 2" hole in my boat) which would be 100 strokes per minute.:yikes: pant pant pant....

The truth is it takes the same bodily energy to hand pump 20 GPM (from same height), no matter the stroke rate.

But Gunni, you are so right if you are solo on the boat and you have your hands full.
Jim...

PS: 100 strokes per minute is the new CPR, no mouth, heart pump rate. Two Dr. said to the beat of the song...
"Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain"
 
DaveJ

DaveJ

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Apr 2, 2013
474
Catalina 310 Niagara-on-the-Lake
That 100 strokes per minute is also the Beejees 'Stayin Alive', appropriate for CPR! Oops, it's also Queens 'Another one bites the dust'.... Not very good thing to hum while doing CPR. Couldn't resist.
Cheers
 
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Likes: JamesG161
chrisings

chrisings

.
Nov 14, 2013
238
Catalina 30 MkI 1983 TRBS Westbrook, CT
Others, wiser than I, have correctly pointed out that a proper "emergency" pump should be a good manual solution. What I would like to address is the OP question regarding "waterproof" wiring. Most, if not all, bilge pumps on our vessels are Direct Current (DC) as opposed to Alternating Current (AC). DC wiring can and will function, for a while, when submerged. We waterproof our DC wiring as a long term preventative measure against corrosion.
 
D

Don Lucas

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Jan 12, 2011
930
Hunter 410 full time cruiser
A larger backup pump is a consideration. But if you are flooding to the point that the normal bilge pumps aren't keeping up and you lose power you would need something like a gas powered trash pump. The thing is that even if you had one you probably would sink while getting it out and setup. Then there is the setup of having a branch off your engine raw water pump that can be switched over to suck from the bilge.

But all these things are to deal with a major problem and should really only be considered as something to give move time to find and stop the leak.
 
Ron20324

Ron20324

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Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
[QUOTE="...if you are solo on the boat and you have your hands full...."[/QUOTE]

What would Robert Redford do in a situation like this???
 
DaveJ

DaveJ

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Apr 2, 2013
474
Catalina 310 Niagara-on-the-Lake
What would he do? Nothing, stare at the water flooding his electronics probably, that was a very frustrating movie, I wanted to jump into the TV and start some action..
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Sailors getting wound up about inaccuracies in 'all is lost' is like race car drivers getting wound up about 'fast and furious'.

ITS A MOVIE.
 
DaveJ

DaveJ

.
Apr 2, 2013
474
Catalina 310 Niagara-on-the-Lake
It wasn't the inaccuracies that got to me, it was the inaction to the situation. I liked the movie, guess I inserted myself into it. It's like watching someone type with one finger...searching for the next letter...
 
M

markwbird

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Nov 26, 2012
1,654
C&C 40-2 Berkeley
Hmmm. It seems the original thread went a little bit astray. I understand that the everyday bilge pump is not the emergency bilge pump and I do not intend to make it that. BUT, it seems a good idea to make it hardy enough to continue operating when completely submerged in the event of some flooding. Mine does not seem to be. Is that normal? Should I fix this issue? Has anyone else done this? If I were pumping away for dear life with the hand pump it would be nice if the bilge pump was still working as well. See what I mean?
 
JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,745
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
markwbird said:
Mine does not seem to be. Is that normal? Should I fix this issue? Has anyone else done this? If I were pumping away for dear life with the hand pump it would be nice if the bilge pump was still working as well. See what I mean?
Click to expand
There are plenty of suggestions in this thread to answer your above questions. One reason for "bit astray" is your post title. It included "Emergency".:)

captnron POST #5 & #17 gave the best answers to your post title. IMHO
Jackdaw POST #13 is the reality check & #14 a cool tip of additional pumping power (gensets too!)

There are many more good thoughts, not meaning to leave them out.

Many times good info is part of a thread. It is all in humor and a sincere attempt to help others, not just the OP.
Enjoy the group!
Jim...

PS: I kinda thought my CPR 100 beats a minute was helpful too.;)
 
heritage

heritage

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Apr 22, 2011
922
Hunter 27 Pecan Grove, Oriental, NC
Your bilge pump will continue to work even when the pump, wiring, and battery are submerged in water. The fact that the pump allowed this to happen is the scary part.
 
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