Bilge pump Puns

Hey guys I'm an engine cadet. While tracing the bilge system I came across a direct sea water suction for the engine room bilge pump. What could be the reason this connection is provided?

Hi

I have a boat that is moored and has developed a slow leak. I can only go and bail out the water by hand every few weeks and thats not enough for the problem.

I propose using a 20Watt solar panel, a 12V bilge pump (1.6 AMP draw) and float switch (max 14 AMP) in the hull.
Simply connect the solar panel to the bilge pump with a float switch in the circuit so it only pumps when there is enough water in the hull.

I dont need anything else?

I want to avoid using a battery

Am I overlooking anything?

Was talking about this yesterday with a teammate. How would y’all feel about being able to build underwater (without water all up in the base)? Points of entry either have to have a “flood room” type airlock or a moon pool to maintain oxygen. Could have craftable bilge pumps to remove water from the airlock (as well as remove water from the base once it’s initially built and sealed). Possibly have a new deployable that generates oxygen from water… maybe a new mechanic that generates electricity underwater from the ocean current. Maybe a new building plan/structural build style altogether that’s more tubular/purposeful like we see in Underwater Labs… kinda like Subnautica.

Thoughts?

I've got a small rowing boat which I'd like to leave moored at a jetty or beached for longish time and would like to install a solar powered bilge pump to keep it from sinking. I am considering an installation which includes a battery to keep the boat dry on rainy days while charging during sunny days. Do people have experience with them?

I ALSO consider an electric outboard engine (1hp - 2hp) for the boat. Would it be a good or bad idea to integrate both the pump system with the outboard system?

A couple months ago I got my first ever sit-in kayak. I've only had sit-on-top. I saw lots of people with a pump strapped to the front on this subreddit and thought that was a great idea. So I bought one. Fast forward to this past Monday and my wife and I went out on a lake here in Eastern PA. While loading the kayaks my wife asked me what the pump was for.

We were about a mile away from the launch point when we were just slowly making our way when suddenly about 100 yards in front of us a man flipped his kayak. He and his friend were able to right it but it was full of water. I sprinted (fast paddled) over and found out they had no pump, 50s degree water and a long way from shore. They were so thankful we were near by because there were very very few people on the lake. A few minutes later and they were on their way.

So on my very first trip, my bilge pump was needed and I don't think I will ever forget mine, nor will the two men that we helped!

My forward bilge pump failed and I'm 90% sure it's because the hose developed a blockage and the pump burnt out. I rigged a temporary bilge pump from the shower drain when soon after, I found my engine compartment partially flooded. My aft bilge pump had failed as well.

I plan on installing double redundant pumps fore and aft but I'm curious if there could be some underlying issue that I've overlooked. Thanks.

I'll try to be brief and detailed seeking advice. I'm not a mechanic or DIYer.

1998 Regal Destiny 200 (deck boat) 3.4L i/o Merc.

I got our family boat out for the first time this year on Saturday. Everything was great, which is always a plus. Nothing unusual about the lake and coving out. Same cruise distance as usual and with the same number of passengers.

What I did notice while on anchor was that the bilge was pumping a pretty decent amount of water about every half hour for the 5 hours on anchor. I'm curious what people's opinions could be (narrowed down hopefully haha) before I discuss with the mechanic. Also, due to service repair time, I'm curious what others think in terms of how quickly I should remedy this.

PS: always nice knowing the bilge is working.

Hi everyone,

We have a 2014 Bayliner E16 which we are putting on a river slip next week.

I'm overly paranoid about my boat sinking and would like to test my automatic bilge pump.

The boat is currently on the trailer in my yard.

Anything wrong with putting the drain plug in and sticking a garden hose into the bilge to make sure it pumps?

I just noticed on my Antares 9 that the bilge will not run when the battery power is switched off. My past boats linked to the battery. Do you all have the same? This is a bit concerning when I usually switch off the batteries when not onboard.

I currently have a high debit “Rule” pump in the bilge. It works fine, but has no alarm. Moreover, the large drain pipe, and the relative long run makes the pump “backfeed” when the pump stops. For a while, the pump was also caught in an endless cycling cycle. (The level caused by the back flow was enough to activate the float switch…) So I raised the float. It does not cycle anymore, but the bilge is always wet.

Long story short, I want to improve the setup. Also, I’d like to avoid one-way check-valves on the pumps discharge.

What I have in mind is to have two bilge pumps;

Pump#1: Low capacity, super low profile, small pipe diameter, super-low float switch. Visual alarm only. Only kicks in to keep the bilge dry.

Pump #2: High capacity, large pipe, high float switch, connected to a visual and loud audible alarm. Its purpose is to alarm us and keep us afloat in case of a serious water leak if pump #2 can’t keep up.

This setup has the benefits of keeping the nuisance alarms to a minimum, keeps the bilge dry.

I plan on keeping my current setup for #2, and add pump #1. Do you think it’s a valid setup? Which model of pump / float would you recommend for the low profile “maintenance” bilge pump?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boatownersunited/permalink/4046022388824968/

fb story, I thought worth a read....

QUOTE:

"So I’m posting this as part of my healing, and honestly hope that if it keeps just one person from becoming a statistic, well it’s worth it.As you can see from the pictures my boat capsized, 22.2 miles offshore of Sebastian inlet, and if you were fishing on the inlet at around 5:45 on Friday evening, you saw us coming in being towed. So at the end I didn’t become a statistic and here is some of the things I did and some of the things I wish I had.I will start by saying that I am thorough when it comes to prepping to go out. I have a checklist which includes radio, bilge pump, water pumps, plugs, ports, safety equipment, every time I go out.

1. The boat had taken on water, noticed back of the boat low while trolling. Pulled in lines stopped boat and check bilge.
2. Pulled bilge up, noticed bilge pump was not working, at this point my motor shut off, ignition shorted
3. Asked the boys with me to use the hand pump to try to get water out of the bilge, I immediately contacted sea tow, no response, contacted coast guard.
4. Informed that we were taking in water, requested that they ping sea tow. They did and capt James was on his way.
5. They relayed the signal back and forth proving updates every few minutes, the hand pump wasn’t working so I asked the boys to get in the front of the boat to counter the weight.
6. At this point we continued to take on water I asked my son to grab all wallets and cell phones and put them in the “dry box”, along with flares. Except mine, as I wanted it handy (now looking back I have no idea why). We all had our life jackets on and knew sea tow was within one mile.
7. Capt James pulled up just in time. Threw a bilge pump at us and as I moved to the back of the pump to plug it in, a wave came up the stern and capsized the boat.
8. We all swam over to the sea tow boat which we were incredibly lucky to have there when we did.

Now here is what saved my butt

1. I called for help within minutes of realizing I had an issue. It wasn’t a prude thing about we got this. It was a I have 3 boys on the boat depending on my decision thing.
2. When Sea tow could not get my signal, I immediately requested coast guard support. I knew they could at least ping the signal.
3. We kept calm the entire time. Had we freaked out and any time gone all

My uncle wants to install an electric bilge pump in his MacGregor 25. He is thinking of running the hose to the cockpit so that he doesn't have to put a hole on the outside of the hull.

I gave him the usual arguments against doing this, primarily:

• If the cockpit has water in it, too, then the small cockpit drain won't be able to handle the volume of water.
• The hose run to the cockpit will be higher than it would be to the outside of the hull, which will reduce the efficiency of the pump.

Am I being too harsh, or too much of a traditionalist? It's not like he's crossing oceans or living aboard. And the efficiency differences are probably slight. So maybe if running it to the cockpit makes him feel better then I should get off his case.

What do you all think? Thanks!

Hello everyone,

So I'm almost done restoring my 1996 ZXI 900 and had wondered if anyone had installed a secondary bilge pump. It comes stock with a bildge pump that only works while the jet is running and I really don't like that. I've been seeing the float style bildge pumps with the custom outlet ( kinda like the wave runner water stream ) has anyone had any luck with these? It requires drilling a 5/8 hole in the hull that I'm not thrilled about but if it's efficient Then I'll do it

I have a pretty basic deck boat, one battery, some fuses right off the battery, a thermal kill switch in the compartment.

Then I have a main power on/off rocker, and a small fuse box with about 6 fuses in it under the steering wheel.

My main electronics are a radio, interior lights, nav lights, bilge pump. None of that is working. Sometimes my thermal kill switch trips, but it is reset. All of my fuses seem to be okay.

Where do I start troubleshooting? I have a multimeter and some basic knowledge I just don’t know where to start on a boat. Thanks!!

Just picked up a replacement pump. It looked as simple as unhooking/hooking up the tubing and the wiring. But all the "how to" videos I see, they cut the wiring and then reconnect/heat shrink it. Cannot I not just unplug it and plug it into the new unit? Surprised that I may have to cut it and rewire.

Thanks,

Does anyone have experience / recommendations on installing a secondary bilge pump? I have water that sits in my engine compartment below the raised platform of the current bilge. Initial thought is to mount with suction cups vs. screws and connect to the current hose. TIA

I'm a bit stuck so any electrical help is welcomed. My wager pump randomly stopped working and I noticed that the light for the aft bilge is on, even though switch for the aft bilge pump isn't on.

When I checked the aft bilge pump, it wasn't pumping but when I lifted the float switch it pumped just fine. I'm a little lost here...why would my water pump stop working entirely (doesn't seem to be getting power) and the light for my aft bilge pump turn on even when the pulp isn't running?

I’m writing a novel currently, and am trying to puzzle out how exactly bilge pumps worked during the Pre-Industrial Era. I know that it was commonplace to use a hollowed out tree running vertically from the bilge to the main deck as a pump, with stoppers intermittent between the top and the bottom, and I know that it worked on a pulley system that was manned by the crew at a windlass, but I’m confused as to where the water was siphoned from as well; is it siphoned from within the bilge? Is it siphoned from outside of the ship? How did they remove the water that got in the bilge, then? With water buckets? Please help educate me on the matter.