mounting a bilge pump?

[wajajaja02]

need to mount a new bilge pump, but it is near imposable to access the bottom of the bilge, and I am fearful of putting a screw in my hull, any suggestions?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

Glue it down.

 

[wajajaja02]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

that was my thought, now to find a cement that will bond the plastic to the gel coat in the bilge

 

[bigskiohio]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

5200 is what most say to use mine is screwed down to aluminum rib on a aluminum plate

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

Ditto that, glue it down with 5200. Scuff up the fiberglass and the bottom of the pump first.

 

[Beefer]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

5200 is what most say to use mine is screwed down to aluminum rib on a aluminum plate

Yep, 3M 5200 will do you fine. Available here on iboats, or at your local big orange box for <$8. After you open it, put the remainder in the freezer. It'll keep for (at least) a year.

 

[Bob's Garage]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

If you glue it down with 5200 you may have a problem replacing it when the time comes.

Perhaps it could be mounted on a piece of aluminum plate and slid into place in the bilge. If so, then you could attach the plate to a location the was easier to reach when the time or circumstance requires replacement.

 

[Beefer]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

^ true. You could also use 4200, which is removable. I would wonder if there could be any problem with the aluminum in the bilge. I'm thinking from the 'anode' side of it.

 

[howlnmad]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

Mount it? Hell, mine just sits down in the bilge and doesn't move.

 

[Bob's Garage]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

^ true. You could also use 4200, which is removable. I would wonder if there could be any problem with the aluminum in the bilge. I'm thinking from the 'anode' side of it.

If this situation came into play, he has more problems than how to mount the pump. There would have to be standing water and a source of stray current. And if they are, then the regular anodes should be doing their jobs of protecting the other parts of the boat as well.

 

[ziggy]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

Mount it? Hell, mine just sits down in the bilge and doesn't move.

if it falls over, it may not work if you need it. least that's what happened when mine fell over. i had mine lightly siliconed to the bottom of the boat. i thought about using glue too. even went and looked at new boats to see how they were mounted. the two boats i looked at that were new for all practical purposs had a board glued to the bottom of the boat, the bilge pump screwed to the board.
myself. sufice it to say, i have a different bilge than most. like this.

i didn't want to glue it down for fear of wanting to service the pump. very hard access to get to my bilge. so.
it went from this.

to this..

a cup holder that my pump sits in w/ a custom bracket bolted to the inner transom shield. it sits just off the bottom of the boat. my engineering has been in place for a month or so now w/o issue... so far...
good luck in whatever ya decide to do..

 

[rwidman]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

There are several models of bilge pumps that use a replacable cartridge contailning the motor and pump. Buy this style and you can glue the base in place with 3M 4200 or 5200 and just replace the cartridge if you ever need to.

I was able to replace just the cartridge on my boat and it saved drilling new holes and sealing the old ones. All I had to do was pull the old one out, put the new one in and connect the wires.

As for aluminum, on most smaller boats there will always be some water in the bilge becuse the pump only pumps down to 1" or so. Alluminum will corrode. Plastic would be better but you would need a type of plastic that you can glue to fiberglass.

If you want to go way overboard, glass in a 1/2" thick pad for the pump and you can use 1/2" screws to mount the pump.

Me - I would glue it using a cartridge pump.

 

[380voltz]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

Im busy with this at the moment actually.

Drilling directly in the hull with no wood sandwiched in the fibre glass led to an unexplained leak in my buddies boat after time.
His solution ... tig weld a simple SS bracket on the hose SS jubilee clip and mount that clip/bracket assembly to something else
Ill post pics when i get to the job

 

[sasto]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

If possible try mounting a piece of L aluminium to a stringer or x-som then mount the pump to the _ part of the bracket. I glued a piece of mahogany to to the hull and screwed the pump to it. Many ways, find one that suits you. I have seen Ziggy's setup a couple times now and he has a great idea.

 

[redone4x4]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

If you glue it down with 5200 you may have a problem replacing it when the time comes.

Perhaps it could be mounted on a piece of aluminum plate and slid into place in the bilge. If so, then you could attach the plate to a location the was easier to reach when the time or circumstance requires replacement.

kinda what i did. I made a mounting rod that is attached next to the exhaust manifold/riser that goes down and is bent underneath the engine. the pump is mounted to the end of it. whenever i need to pull it or check it i undo 1 screw and pull the rod out and the pump comes up with it.

 

[sublauxation]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

If you use 5200 make sure to clean the everything really well, mine popped off after 2 weeks. I first tried hot glue but that didn't seem to work at all.

 

[380voltz]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

Im going to add a non-return valve to my pump.
This way, when the pump stops, the water in the pipe doesnt go back in the boat.

 

[wajajaja02]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

thanks for the replies, the reason for the replacement is that pump failed, the hose was off, the pump separated from the base and had a wire or twine wrapped around the impeller, so I bought a bigger cartridge pump with a check valve, as a upgrade.
Im going to go with the 5200 glue down, and will freeze the left overs, good tip,

 

[NYBo]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

I am just about finished installing a new bilge pump and float switch in my boat. Access to the area was horrible, so I cut an access hole at the aft end of the splashwell. Made the installation almost a snap. I will be installing a deck plate in the access hole.

Im going to add a non-return valve to my pump.
This way, when the pump stops, the water in the pipe doesnt go back in the boat.

Not a great idea. It will restrict the flow. Just run a bend in the line above the through-hull fitting and the amount of water falling back into the bilge will be minimal. You need to do that anyway to prevent water from coming in through the fitting from waves, etc.

 

[jonesg]

Re: mounting a bilge pump?

Not a great idea. It will restrict the flow. Just run a bend in the line above the through-hull fitting and the amount of water falling back into the bilge will be minimal. You need to do that anyway to prevent water from coming in through the fitting from waves, etc.

Some pumps warn against using checkvalves, the pump will lose prime and burn up. And yeh a riser water trap is a great idea.

I can only get one arm into my bilge so I made up a plywood mounting block, glass it and mounted the pump to the ply block with stainless screws.
I practiced to see if I can remove the pump from its base with one hand and found the trick.
Then just glued the block to the hull with PL. Simple.