- Status
- Not open for further replies.
P
Pete
bilge pump hose
since no one else has written a reply I will try my hand at it!George, the hose should run from the pump to the hull side with as few turn or twist as possible (straight as possible)It should also exit the hull side above the water line when the boat is heeling! (mount high maybe just below the rubrail)It should also have a "loop" in the hose above the hull exit.If you have to install an new thur hull for the bilge hose drill a hole and seal it with a caulk (3M 5200)or I like to epoxy the new hole and use the caulk also. Be sure to get a large enough pump because they lose capacity as the head height is incresed(how high pump must pump the water) It is not a hard job just time consuming to remove things and install. I did not mention that it is best to keep the hose lenght as short as practical. (don't run it to the stern) Good Luck!
since no one else has written a reply I will try my hand at it!George, the hose should run from the pump to the hull side with as few turn or twist as possible (straight as possible)It should also exit the hull side above the water line when the boat is heeling! (mount high maybe just below the rubrail)It should also have a "loop" in the hose above the hull exit.If you have to install an new thur hull for the bilge hose drill a hole and seal it with a caulk (3M 5200)or I like to epoxy the new hole and use the caulk also. Be sure to get a large enough pump because they lose capacity as the head height is incresed(how high pump must pump the water) It is not a hard job just time consuming to remove things and install. I did not mention that it is best to keep the hose lenght as short as practical. (don't run it to the stern) Good Luck!
M
Michael Barry
check valve
add a check valve to keep the water in the hose from draining back. When the loop valve clogs and you heel water will siphon in sooooo keep an eye on it.
add a check valve to keep the water in the hose from draining back. When the loop valve clogs and you heel water will siphon in sooooo keep an eye on it.
D
Don Evans
Pete...Why Not To The Stern??
Pete, in your response you said to run the bilge hose to the hull sides, as high as possible, and not to the stern. I can certainly see why you want it high, to overcome heeling angles. But why not to the stern? By running it to the stern you get around the heel problem, thus you can mount it lower, thus getting around the bilge hose, "head" height problem, and the need for a higher capacity pump to overcome the height the hose must exit. My bilge hose exits my stern (25 ODay), a few inches above and to the right of my cockpit drain, which is about 1 foot above waterline, near to deadcentre. I have had no problems with this configuration. Don
Pete, in your response you said to run the bilge hose to the hull sides, as high as possible, and not to the stern. I can certainly see why you want it high, to overcome heeling angles. But why not to the stern? By running it to the stern you get around the heel problem, thus you can mount it lower, thus getting around the bilge hose, "head" height problem, and the need for a higher capacity pump to overcome the height the hose must exit. My bilge hose exits my stern (25 ODay), a few inches above and to the right of my cockpit drain, which is about 1 foot above waterline, near to deadcentre. I have had no problems with this configuration. Don
P
Pete
Don Evans
You could exit the stern depending on pump size and distance from pump to stern the key is to have the right size pump, you might have a problem in a large following sea if not mounted high enough to prevent backflow, using a check valve could stop this but then you have added more flow restriction to the pump, there are a lot of opions on using check valves if a bilge hose so I will let you decide what works best for you. I perfer a high exit ( if you would ever take on water would your bilge hose add more water ?) remember most bilge pumps are not direct drive and are not realy as powerful as the rating would seam to indicate. Read the mfg rating with head height (even small heights) and you will be surprised how low they are. They might be ok to remove shower and ice box drains but think about a couple of hundred gallons of water (due to a emergency) and do you have 20 minutes to wait for the bilge pump to work or will you emergency become another sunken boat! Alot of boat sink every year because of bilgle pump failue ! Remember that the hull exit being one foot above the water line and the bottom of the bilge being a least one foot below you have a two foot head height and this is compounded by the lenght of the hose as the pump has more weight (water) to move. I don't mean to sound like an alarmist but I do like to be prepared. Again this is all depending on pump size and head height and run lenght,so a properly designed system is really the answer an opposed to exits etc.!
You could exit the stern depending on pump size and distance from pump to stern the key is to have the right size pump, you might have a problem in a large following sea if not mounted high enough to prevent backflow, using a check valve could stop this but then you have added more flow restriction to the pump, there are a lot of opions on using check valves if a bilge hose so I will let you decide what works best for you. I perfer a high exit ( if you would ever take on water would your bilge hose add more water ?) remember most bilge pumps are not direct drive and are not realy as powerful as the rating would seam to indicate. Read the mfg rating with head height (even small heights) and you will be surprised how low they are. They might be ok to remove shower and ice box drains but think about a couple of hundred gallons of water (due to a emergency) and do you have 20 minutes to wait for the bilge pump to work or will you emergency become another sunken boat! Alot of boat sink every year because of bilgle pump failue ! Remember that the hull exit being one foot above the water line and the bottom of the bilge being a least one foot below you have a two foot head height and this is compounded by the lenght of the hose as the pump has more weight (water) to move. I don't mean to sound like an alarmist but I do like to be prepared. Again this is all depending on pump size and head height and run lenght,so a properly designed system is really the answer an opposed to exits etc.!
Not a good idea.
Really do not like the idea of a check valve in a bilge pump line. If you suck up anything in the line or you get some critters comming in the line from outside this could be a real problem. It also restrict the flow and puts more pressure on these pumps (most of which are NOT the best quality anyway). If the line is on a manual bilge pump it is not as big a deal. If it is on a automatic pump you may have a false sense of security. You may think that the pump is going to pump and it could be plugged. It is really best to use a vented loop in the line to prevent water from coming in either from healing over or from a following sea. Another option is to just put a loop in the line which causes the water to go over the loop before it is pumped out.
Really do not like the idea of a check valve in a bilge pump line. If you suck up anything in the line or you get some critters comming in the line from outside this could be a real problem. It also restrict the flow and puts more pressure on these pumps (most of which are NOT the best quality anyway). If the line is on a manual bilge pump it is not as big a deal. If it is on a automatic pump you may have a false sense of security. You may think that the pump is going to pump and it could be plugged. It is really best to use a vented loop in the line to prevent water from coming in either from healing over or from a following sea. Another option is to just put a loop in the line which causes the water to go over the loop before it is pumped out.
D
Don Evans
Bilge Limits
On my boat I have the largest set (2) of pumps that will physically fit in my bilge. There are much larger 12 V pumps out there, but will not fit my narrow bilge. I tried lifting the bilge hose higher, and the pumps couldn't do it. I agree that a sinking boat may take on more water through a low exit hose. A check valve would help, but could be problematic of its own nature. I also agree that some boats sink at the dock, due to their pumps size or just quitting. I think more sink due to a run down battery, and not because the bilge pump was rated too low. Bilge pumps are not going to help much in a holeing. At 40 gallons a minute (1" hole at 3 ft depth), your 1000 gallons an hour pump (tested at 0 ft. lift and no hose) will not keep up. It may buy you minutes, not hours. For this, of course, a much higher capacity pump is required, such as a manual diaphragm pump. But thats another discussion. Don
On my boat I have the largest set (2) of pumps that will physically fit in my bilge. There are much larger 12 V pumps out there, but will not fit my narrow bilge. I tried lifting the bilge hose higher, and the pumps couldn't do it. I agree that a sinking boat may take on more water through a low exit hose. A check valve would help, but could be problematic of its own nature. I also agree that some boats sink at the dock, due to their pumps size or just quitting. I think more sink due to a run down battery, and not because the bilge pump was rated too low. Bilge pumps are not going to help much in a holeing. At 40 gallons a minute (1" hole at 3 ft depth), your 1000 gallons an hour pump (tested at 0 ft. lift and no hose) will not keep up. It may buy you minutes, not hours. For this, of course, a much higher capacity pump is required, such as a manual diaphragm pump. But thats another discussion. Don
P
Pete
Don and bilge limets
Let me say that I agree there are limits to what one can expect from a bilge pump and yes dead batteries are a factor in boat sinking. so are the reason that the batteries went dead ! Don- have you ever been or have you ever seen a boat get swamped by a wave? Have you ever had a hose break and leak water into the bilge? Minutes are valuable if all you need to do is shut a thur hull off or plug it with a bung! Not all emergencies are a holeing!My point is to error on the side of saftey!Don- you sound as if you are prepared as posssible with two bilge pumps and that they will do the job!Hopefully they never get tested to capacity but it is a nice feeling to know that if you ever needed them they are there for you!
Let me say that I agree there are limits to what one can expect from a bilge pump and yes dead batteries are a factor in boat sinking. so are the reason that the batteries went dead ! Don- have you ever been or have you ever seen a boat get swamped by a wave? Have you ever had a hose break and leak water into the bilge? Minutes are valuable if all you need to do is shut a thur hull off or plug it with a bung! Not all emergencies are a holeing!My point is to error on the side of saftey!Don- you sound as if you are prepared as posssible with two bilge pumps and that they will do the job!Hopefully they never get tested to capacity but it is a nice feeling to know that if you ever needed them they are there for you!
- Status
- Not open for further replies.