Shower drain into bilge
- Thread starter Hugh4753
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you need a shower sump with a pump in it with a float switch. the water runs in the sump and is captured the float swith comes on and pumps the water overboard or into a holding tank depending on what the rules are where you live.
you need a shower sump with a pump in it with a float switch. the water runs in the sump and is captured the float swith comes on and pumps the water overboard or into a holding tank depending on what the rules are where you live.
Send them to the marina shower
We never use ours, since the head is hard enough already to keep clean.
We never use ours, since the head is hard enough already to keep clean.
Wanna know what would be great?
if the shower sump was removable. I'm a live-aboard and shower on the boat everyday (I don't like having to walk to the marina showers that early in the morning). The shower pump doesn't pump out all the water and after a week, it starts to smell so I have to get it dry with a sponge and let it air out for a day.
if the shower sump was removable. I'm a live-aboard and shower on the boat everyday (I don't like having to walk to the marina showers that early in the morning). The shower pump doesn't pump out all the water and after a week, it starts to smell so I have to get it dry with a sponge and let it air out for a day.
Direct discharge
I have the same problem as Franklin. Thought it was the holding tank but it turned out to be stale water in the shower sump. A good winter project or for a new install like Hgh, I'd do what some other mfgs do and direct discharge the shower drain through a pump overboard eliminating the sump/float switch combination completely. Any run-dry pump will work. Don
I have the same problem as Franklin. Thought it was the holding tank but it turned out to be stale water in the shower sump. A good winter project or for a new install like Hgh, I'd do what some other mfgs do and direct discharge the shower drain through a pump overboard eliminating the sump/float switch combination completely. Any run-dry pump will work. Don
There was a chain
a month or so ago where someone gave a good solution. Mount a draw type pump inside the vanity or somewhere with a pick-up hose down into the sump. Per the poster's info, that type pump would drain the sump almost completely, far more than the submersibile pump/float switch that is standard on most models. Like others, I stay/live aboard and the sump becomes a literal cesspol(sp?) if I don't clean it regularly. This setup is on my list of winter projects. As for going to the dockhouse, it's an option. But at 6am not a good one. Thats one of the reasons I bought my larger boat.
a month or so ago where someone gave a good solution. Mount a draw type pump inside the vanity or somewhere with a pick-up hose down into the sump. Per the poster's info, that type pump would drain the sump almost completely, far more than the submersibile pump/float switch that is standard on most models. Like others, I stay/live aboard and the sump becomes a literal cesspol(sp?) if I don't clean it regularly. This setup is on my list of winter projects. As for going to the dockhouse, it's an option. But at 6am not a good one. Thats one of the reasons I bought my larger boat.
We have a shower sump on our boat...
that never smells with daily or every other day use. We cruised for two months this past season and showered every other day and the sump never smelled. Now, if I were to let the shower water sit for a week allowing the soap residue to rot (fat rots), then things would really stink. I made it a point at the end of the cruise to sponge the sump dry. Terry
that never smells with daily or every other day use. We cruised for two months this past season and showered every other day and the sump never smelled. Now, if I were to let the shower water sit for a week allowing the soap residue to rot (fat rots), then things would really stink. I made it a point at the end of the cruise to sponge the sump dry. Terry
what about a shot of bilge cleaner?
What would be wrong with a shot of bilge cleaner, KO or mild bleach solution after your daily shower? These type of cleaners should keep it fresh for a few days at a time. When you leave the boat for several days, just be sure to uncover the sump and it should evaporate. Of course if you live in the Southeast or Gulf coast there is probably more water in the sump than when you left the boat. <g>
What would be wrong with a shot of bilge cleaner, KO or mild bleach solution after your daily shower? These type of cleaners should keep it fresh for a few days at a time. When you leave the boat for several days, just be sure to uncover the sump and it should evaporate. Of course if you live in the Southeast or Gulf coast there is probably more water in the sump than when you left the boat. <g>
Easy way to keep a sump clean and sweet smelling
Pouring some K.O. or bilge cleaner into the bilge won't do much unless you use a LOT of it, 'cuz the bilge is so much bigger than a sump...and K.O. is too expensive to use that much. Raritan C.P. Cleans Potties is marketed only as a toilet bowl cleaner, but is also the best sump and drain cleaner on the planet. It's a bio-enzymatic cleaner that not only destroys odor on contact, but the enzymes in it "eat" hair, soap scum, body oils, galley grease etc that clog up drains and sumps. All you need to do to keep a sump clean and sweet smelling--and the sump pump clean too--is put 2-3 oz down the shower drain once a week when it can stand at least overnight...make sure the sump is about 1/4-1/3 full of water. To clean sink drains, close the seacock, fill the drain line with clean water...add an ounce or two of C.P....also when it can stand at least overnight. Don't worry about leaving C.P. in the sump or drain TOO long....won't hurt a thing. This is the only maintenance job I know of that requires no manual labor.
Pouring some K.O. or bilge cleaner into the bilge won't do much unless you use a LOT of it, 'cuz the bilge is so much bigger than a sump...and K.O. is too expensive to use that much. Raritan C.P. Cleans Potties is marketed only as a toilet bowl cleaner, but is also the best sump and drain cleaner on the planet. It's a bio-enzymatic cleaner that not only destroys odor on contact, but the enzymes in it "eat" hair, soap scum, body oils, galley grease etc that clog up drains and sumps. All you need to do to keep a sump clean and sweet smelling--and the sump pump clean too--is put 2-3 oz down the shower drain once a week when it can stand at least overnight...make sure the sump is about 1/4-1/3 full of water. To clean sink drains, close the seacock, fill the drain line with clean water...add an ounce or two of C.P....also when it can stand at least overnight. Don't worry about leaving C.P. in the sump or drain TOO long....won't hurt a thing. This is the only maintenance job I know of that requires no manual labor.
Sumps
I shower on the boat every day and clean the sump pump once a week. However, we're replacing our shower sumps with whale gulpers. I don't like the standing water full of goopy shower remains. Also, the hose from the shower drain to the sump is slow causing a pooling of water in the shower basin. Friends that have gulpers rave about them.T he C.P. down the drains sounds like a great idea.
I shower on the boat every day and clean the sump pump once a week. However, we're replacing our shower sumps with whale gulpers. I don't like the standing water full of goopy shower remains. Also, the hose from the shower drain to the sump is slow causing a pooling of water in the shower basin. Friends that have gulpers rave about them.T he C.P. down the drains sounds like a great idea.
pump
Installing a shower pump is on my list of projects. The pumps run about $100, and I'm still determining how they turn on/off. I thought of installing an electronic/water activated switch in line somehow rather than a manual switch. Either way, I don't want a sump because the float switch will leave behind a bit of water in the sump and because the sump doesn't fit in my bilge. A diaphragm pump @ 3 - 3.3 gpm is recommended. Jabsco makes one. Going to run the discharge into my sink trap.
Installing a shower pump is on my list of projects. The pumps run about $100, and I'm still determining how they turn on/off. I thought of installing an electronic/water activated switch in line somehow rather than a manual switch. Either way, I don't want a sump because the float switch will leave behind a bit of water in the sump and because the sump doesn't fit in my bilge. A diaphragm pump @ 3 - 3.3 gpm is recommended. Jabsco makes one. Going to run the discharge into my sink trap.
Thanks
Thanks for all the suggestions. Probably shower at the marina and when the wife uses the shower sponge out the bilge.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Probably shower at the marina and when the wife uses the shower sponge out the bilge.
Direct Pump Out
You could install a Jabsco Par Max 3 pump and inline filter connected directly to the hose that drains the shower into the bilge. The output of the pump is connected to an spare overboard hose that outputs on the port side. To control the power to the pump I installed a manual on/off switch in the head area. It works great and eliminates the shower draining into the bilge. Now if I could only find a way to replace the drain hose from the shower the project would be complete.
You could install a Jabsco Par Max 3 pump and inline filter connected directly to the hose that drains the shower into the bilge. The output of the pump is connected to an spare overboard hose that outputs on the port side. To control the power to the pump I installed a manual on/off switch in the head area. It works great and eliminates the shower draining into the bilge. Now if I could only find a way to replace the drain hose from the shower the project would be complete.
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