reason h260 bilge pump is NOT in lowest point?

[Davenport]

Am trying to figure out h260 bilge pump and electronics. On my boat it is installed about 6 inches to rear of what seems lowest point of bilge well, and sorta is on a little inch raised bulge in fiberglass. Did someone install in wrong spot? The current spot will leave 2 inches in well.

I have a loose pump so can hook this up to power and hose and get these 2 inches, which I will do before leaving boat for month. I took photo of this with thumbs up. This loose pump is newer, it probably has own float switch so maybe I will switch to this and abandon the old gear. What glue will hold this down in standing water for years?

But is there a logic to this I am missing. See pics. Also my water in bilge and wherever water leaks in is VERY BROWN, like under sinks. Is this normal, brown leaching from rusty bits and paint in fiberglass. This bilge issue is my last issue for while.

P.S. My float switch is in a "Sure Ball" box installed next to normal pump. Not sure it's working it never turns off the pump. Maybe my switch at the circuit board is wonky, it feels weird when flip it. I think there is a "automatic" setting to this flip switch, but it feels broken when flipped. It still flips on the pump, but again the Sure Ball never goes

 

[dlochner]

Bilge pumps, like the one you have, are centrifugal vane pumps. They work well at pumping water, not so well at pumping air. For this reason the pump might be located above the lowest point to prevent pump cycling, especially by pumps with integral switches. By placing the pump above the lowest part of the bilge water that is in the hose that drains back into the bilge will not start the pump again. Centrifugal pumps push water up the hose once the bilge is empty there is only air to push and the pump isn't able to push the air to continue pushing water out of the hose. The pump stops because the bilge is empty, but the water in the hose drains back into the bilge, triggering the pump again and the cycle is repeated.

 

[rgranger]

Keep a sponge on the boat to get the last little bit of water out of the bilge before you close up the boat.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

You have a dual switch. Manual should turn it on. Bilge is automatic. Otherwise it will need looking at it. The Ball is not original gear. Your bilge pump is in the correct placement area

 

[patbratton]

My Hunter 240 is the same way. The bilge pump is about two inches higher than the low point. I think this is because the water ballast tank is just forward of the pump. To avoid drilling holes into the top of the tank, the pump was positioned aft of the tank. I have considered moving the pump forward and caulking in in place as an alternative to screws. Here is a photo of the H260 Baumsrush where the owner appears to have mounted a second pump forward of the first.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@patbratton

Hello Pat. The water ballast tank lid is higher than the bottom of the hull where the bilge pump is located under the rear berth.and screwing into the water ballast tank lid is highly not recommended.

The hull to deck joint is where your rub rail sits high up except where it dips down at the transom which a big consideration to think about. Anyone sitting in the cockpit along with a motor on the outboard motor bracket, then the lowest point or close to it is where the bilge pump is located. Most thru hull pipes are located in the stern as well to include options head toilet versus a porta poti.

If anyone wants to place a bilge pump on the hunter 260 in a different location versus where it was designed for under the rear berth, then that’s an owner’s choice.

 

[Davenport]

""My Hunter 240 is the same way. The bilge pump is about two inches higher than the low point."

Even a good company can lock in a mistake. Hunters are above average in design and construction, but sometimes a weird thing is just a mistake some planner let pass in the hundreds of redesigns to get to final plan. Earlier years also had less good glues and pumps, maybe a flat surface was wanted over low curved hull. For now this seems a mystery.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I said in earlier post your current bilge pump was not original equipment. As for the location, that was determined by well respected naval architects and Warren Luhrs, owner and founder of Hunter Marine.

Did you mean 260 vs 240?

 

[dlochner]

""My Hunter 240 is the same way. The bilge pump is about two inches higher than the low point."

Even a good company can lock in a mistake. Hunters are above average in design and construction, but sometimes a weird thing is just a mistake some planner let pass in the hundreds of redesigns to get to final plan. Earlier years also had less good glues and pumps, maybe a flat surface was wanted over low curved hull. For now this seems a mystery.

Your question was answered in post #2.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Your question was answered in post #2.

I’m not so sure, or at least I don’t understand completely. I agree the centrifugal pump won’t pump air, and is subject to cycling from backflow. But even with the pump mounted on an elevated surface it’ll just stop pumping when it pulls air, then let water backflow to the same level again. I don’t see how those dynamics are different with the pump being 2” up or at the very bottom.

 

[dlochner]

I’m not so sure, or at least I don’t understand completely. I agree the centrifugal pump won’t pump air, and is subject to cycling from backflow. But even with the pump mounted on an elevated surface it’ll just stop pumping when it pulls air, then let water backflow to the same level again. I don’t see how those dynamics are different with the pump being 2” up or at the very bottom.

It really depends on where the water level sensor is located. The sensor should be located above the lowest point. If the pump had an integral sensor, then the pump should be above the lowest level. If the pump and the sensor are at the same level and there is no check valve then the pump I subject to cycling because of the water draining back into the bilge.

An alternative explanation might be the hull thickness at mounting point. If it is too thin or flexible to securely attach the pump, then a reasonable work around would be to glass in a piece of wood on which to mount the pump.