sparklingwaterbubbles
Recruit
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2024
- Messages
- 5
I am worried that I abused my bilge pump “pad” when I put screws in it. As you can rightly guess, I am a rookie at all of this.
The old pump was shot, so I wired in a new one with the float switch in it. It was a serious ordeal to reach back there, using a mirror to see what I was doing. I mounted the new one on the same pad that the old one was on, reusing two of the three original screws. I got one in the old hole, and had to make a new hole for the second one. I drilled a pilot hole for it, no deeper than the length of the screw. I just couldn’t puncture the surface with the screw itself, or at least not at that awkward angle. With two screws in, I called it good and did not do a third.
How reckless was I to drill that pilot hole? I didn’t put much of any downward pressure as I drilled, and I stopped when I broke through and the bit sank about the depth of the screw. Did potentially hit something I shouldn’t have? And how bad was it to not use any sealer for the old holes or new ones? I could see that the pad was a designated spot for the pump to go, made thicker so I didn’t have to drill into the hull. But am I now looking at rot if I do not dry it out and redo this with sealer?
The new pump works like a charm, and I think in the future I will put the whole thing on a big 90 degree piece of stainless steel that I can attach on the side and easily remove.
The old pump was shot, so I wired in a new one with the float switch in it. It was a serious ordeal to reach back there, using a mirror to see what I was doing. I mounted the new one on the same pad that the old one was on, reusing two of the three original screws. I got one in the old hole, and had to make a new hole for the second one. I drilled a pilot hole for it, no deeper than the length of the screw. I just couldn’t puncture the surface with the screw itself, or at least not at that awkward angle. With two screws in, I called it good and did not do a third.
How reckless was I to drill that pilot hole? I didn’t put much of any downward pressure as I drilled, and I stopped when I broke through and the bit sank about the depth of the screw. Did potentially hit something I shouldn’t have? And how bad was it to not use any sealer for the old holes or new ones? I could see that the pad was a designated spot for the pump to go, made thicker so I didn’t have to drill into the hull. But am I now looking at rot if I do not dry it out and redo this with sealer?
The new pump works like a charm, and I think in the future I will put the whole thing on a big 90 degree piece of stainless steel that I can attach on the side and easily remove.
