Bilge pump operation

[Westcoaster888]

I'm new to power boating and am about to launch my 16-ft Fiberform this weekend for the 1st time. A mechanic has confirmed that the bilge pump works fine, but I forgot to ask him about the operation. There is a bilge switch on the dashboard, so should I turn it on when I set off or only occasionally? Thanks for any comments.

 

[Alumarine]

Ideally you would have an automatic/manual bilge pump with a switch for auto/manual operation.
When set to auto it would come on automatically when water came to a certain level or you could make it come on manually.

If it's just a manual one I would turn it on while launching and then periodically after that.
If wet people were getting in and out of the boat I would use it then as well.

When It's on I would check to see if water comes out the outlet.

 

[fhhuber]

Depends on how the pump is wired.

if direct switched on the panel... on or off. Those you leave off unless you have some water in the bilge. Usually this setup is in a boat where you can see the water at the pump without opening a cover.

It may have a 3 position switch, On, off, Float (or other marking indicating float controlled) Put that in the float position when the boat is in the water unless you know you have a problem and want to force the pump on.

Not common, some may just have the on/off switch but have the float switch. that may be a switch to force the pump on, bypassing the float switch (always able to turn the pump on if water in the bilge) or it may disable the pump completely.

**************

Main idea is... you don't want to run the pump a long time without it actually pumping water.

 

[Westcoaster888]

Thanks for the info. The switch is on-and-off switch, so I'll be doing some checking.

 

[JASinIL2006]

My boat is one that has the on-off switch, but it also has a float switch that operates the pump regardless of where the on-off switch is set.

Easy to check, especially on a trailered boat: just put in the garboard plug and slowly run water into the bilge. Once you have figured out how your pump works, pull the plug and drain the boat.

Not a bad idea to check the functioning of the pump every once in a while, anyway.