bilge pump

[hldurham]

Any recommendations on bilge pumps? 16 foot boat, cant decide on automatic pump or installing pump with switch. So many to choose from.

 

[bass or bass ?]

Re: bilge pump

I replaced the manual pump on my boat with an automatic one. One less thing to think about.

 

[agallant80]

Re: bilge pump

The only thing about the autos is some of them will cycle on every few minuets to see if anything is there. It can kill a battery if the boat is up in storage without the battery disconnected.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: bilge pump

buy the biggest pump that will fit.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: bilge pump

1000 - 1500 gpm auto.

 

[Grub54891]

Re: bilge pump

1000 - 1500 gpm auto.

I think its gallons per hour. @ 1000 gpm it would be a huge pump!

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: bilge pump

don't get auto, get a float switch or a water sensor (needs wiped off on occasion) and ALSO have a switch on the dash to turn on manually in case the float or sensor fails.

Get the biggest you can afford, less than 1000 is a jet ski pump.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Re: bilge pump

+1 float switch and check it a couple times per season by pressing on it with your hand. Rinse it out at the end of the season.

I had a manual switch in an old boat. During my honeymoon we hit a wave so hard that it put a two inch gash in the hull along the keel. I didn't notice until water was above the floor boards. I noticed almost in time but a float would have kept things from getting dicey.

Three years ago in my new boat, it rained 7 inches overnight according to my neighbors rain gauge. I still hadn't installed the float. The following morning there was 8" of water standing in my boat! It took 45 minutes to pump it out.

Float installed. Works like a champ

Just remember to match the flow of the pump with the size of the flexible pipe going from the pump out of the boat

 

[Fleetwin]

Re: bilge pump

You CANNOT have too big. 1000 minimum, 2000 great. Automatic or manual? In your case, I'd go manual.

What a lot of folks forget is the hose. The corrugated hose sold as "Bilge pump hose" robs a lot of the pumps ability by pumping through that corrugation. Bilge pumps are not solid displacement, so any backpresuure reduces efficiency.

Use a smooth inner wall hose. Clear plastic or automotive heater hose. Let the pump achieve it's maximum output.

 

[redneck joe]

Re: bilge pump

float switch. What I like about that is it can be an early warning system. If it kicks on too much while you are out you probably have something happening. If slow leak and you spend the day out on the water forgetting to hit the manual switch...

I had one of my shaft seal start to give way pretty quickly (moored boat) and when stepping on to it the pump would kick on every couple hours rather than once per weekend, on the first boarding. It was winter so we weren't out on the boat and as such I was not in the engine compartment as much as normal. It was my early warning.

 

[Fleetwin]

Re: bilge pump

I don't disagree with above. I have both.

However, we're talking about a 16' fishing boat. I don't think he moors it? Most likely-trailered?

If a boat is moored, it HAS TO HAVE an automatic.....

If the operator is in tune with his rig, he can "feel" heaviness in the boat. I've been in plenty of rainstorms when I felt the boat getting heavy. Flip on the bilge pump and all is right again. It is surprising how much rainwater a boat can collect.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: bilge pump

don't get auto, get a float switch or a water sensor (needs wiped off on occasion) and ALSO have a switch on the dash to turn on manually in case the float or sensor fails.

^^^ This...

I run dual 800 GPH pumps as I wanted redundancy, and I boat on waters where I know I'm going to need to pump the boat from stuffing the bow into a wave, have done it all ready. (What would happen if a single pump failed or the hose clogged?)

I prefer a separate float switch as it's less expensive in the long run; pump $30, switch $20 or auto pump $50-60. I'd rather replace a $20 switch or $30 pump, compared to a $50-60 auto pump.

Also, make sure to wire it up so that pump will turn on automatically (connected direct to battery) and also turn on manually through a switch at the helm,,, 2 separate circuits.

Also (also), cheap corrugated bilge pump hose restricts flow, whereas smooth bore hose will flow a lot more water. It's not cheap though.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: bilge pump

someone above mentioned garden hose or auto heater hose... those are not well suited to a bilge pump as they do not have anti kink anti crush properties

smooth bore bilge hose is expensive for a reason... it has a (plastic or stainless) spiral wrap molded into it to support the hose..... A kinked hose is just as bad as a failed pump.


Also your hose should ONLY rise all the way to the thru hull fitting.... rise fall rise can create a vapor lock and keep the pump from priming and looping above the thru hull to prevent water entry means you put your thru hull too low

Keep the hose as short as possible... every foot adds resistance and reduces flow

Bilge pumps only achieve rated flow without a hose on them and at no lift... IE setting in water achieving nothing

 

[tazrig]

Re: bilge pump

don't get auto, get a float switch or a water sensor (needs wiped off on occasion) and ALSO have a switch on the dash to turn on manually in case the float or sensor fails.

Get the biggest you can afford, less than 1000 is a jet ski pump.

+1^^^ pumps are cheap relatively speaking. Loosing an engine because the pump(s) couldn't keep up isn't. Neither is not making it back to shore because of a rock you didn't see.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: bilge pump

Neither is not making it back to shore because of a rock you didn't see.

HEY! I made it back to shore.... sadly it was a small island 6 miles from my ramp.... Was a DOOZEY of a rock tho.... :facepalm:

 

[tazrig]

Re: bilge pump

OUCH!! Glad you made it back in one piece!

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: bilge pump

OUCH!! Glad you made it back in one piece!

I thought you were razzing me on purpose there...LOL

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topics-questions-not-engine-topics/hit-rock-sank-619753.html

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: bilge pump

when you say "automatic" there could be two rigs. One is the float switch is built into the pump; the other is the switch is seperate, but hooked up, so it works "automatically."

To me, agreeing with many posts above, the seperate system is superior and the best way to go. Like having your DVD player seperate from the TV. If (when) one component breaks the other still works.

With either rig you want a manual switch as well at the dash. And you want it rigged directly to the battery so it works if you turn off the battery switch or have a short/failure in the wiring system.

The ones that some call "automatic" that come on and check for water every minute or so is about the dumbest idea ever patented, fo r obvious reasons.

I don't trust the water sensors. Keep it simple and prefer mechanical over electronic. Floats and merc switches are simple.

Like beer, the only thing better than a bilge pump is a second bilge pump. But for a 16' trailer boat one is fine.

 

[Maclin]

Re: bilge pump

I agree with separate float switch powered from battery full time and fused plus manual override switch at the panel. I read an article from an insurance investigator about why boats sink, and of course no bilge pump and sinking in shallow water at a slip was most common. The article recommended to NOT go small on a small boat. Smaller boats do not hold as much water as bigger boats and can swamp faster, and need a higher capacity pump than "conventional wisdom" might come up with.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: bilge pump

that's a very good point, especially for those using small boats in coastal or rough water.