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Bilge pump questions

vasuvius

Member II
Yesterday I went to the boat to tie everything down to prepare for the storm. The electric bilge pump was not working when I got there but luckily the water was still well under the floorboards. The fuse had blown. So I replaced it. We tried using the manual bilge from the cockpit but that didn't do much
The pump is a Seaflow 1100 gph with an 8amp rating. The blown fuse was 10A but I only had a 7.5A so I used that.
This is a float type pump.

I'm wondering why the fuse blow. We were on the boat for another couple hours and the pump worked just fine through that time. With the storm coming tomorrow we're expecting heavy winds and surge up the Hudson river. Should I play it safe and replace the pump?

My brother in law recommended that I install a Rule 800 submersible pump. I'm guessing I'll have to remove the floorboards to get access to where I need to install it.

Looking for advice.

Thanks
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Those Rule centrifugal pumps are not a 'best choice' IMHO inspire their persuasive advertising. Heck, they are not even a less-than-best choice.... :(
A lot of us here have documented their shortcomings, to state it tactfully.

Unless changed out by a prior owner or perhaps even the first owner, in the late 80's EY probably installed a Jabsco 37202-0000 (or equivalent) bilge pump. Our '88 came with two of them, factory installed (albeit one was designated as the shower sump pump).
They come with a cleanable strainer. Good design and well built.

The only remaining weak point in the setup is the float switch. The Rule switches work fine for us but seem to mysteriously die in 4 to 10 years... for no apparent reason. There are alternatives to those, also.

As for the spendy cockpit-operated manual pump, the rubber check valves inside have likely hardened with age and probably stopped working about ten years ago. Those pumps are rebuildable, altho I did end up replacing ours when I could not remove the ss screws that held the check valves to the alum. pump cast body. The OEM bilge pumping hoses are also at least a decade past their dependable years, and may have cracks in them. Replace them.

Your bro-in-law means well, but is misinformed on this vital issue. :)

Reminds me of an old quote from boat repair acquaintance, "no good comes of water inside a boat".
:rolleyes:
 

vasuvius

Member II
Thanks Loren.

The Sailflo pump in the boat was a recent install by the PO - likely 2 years ago. A very basic design with a built in float. Except, the float could get stuck I imagine.
The newer Rule pumps don't have a float - they just go off every couple minutes or so and detect if the pump is pulling up water. I'm not sure I like this either.

I'll look up the Jabsco pumps.
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Just a few things that I found on my boat that may or may not be relevant:

As my float switch was failing, a few years ago, I noted that it had gradually increasing internal resistance, which I interpreted as corrosion on the internal terminals. (IIRC, the old one was a mercury- type switch.) Didn't seem like something that could be fixed, but maybe I didn't get creative enough.

When wiring up the new switch, I replaced the snarl of taped junctions in the bilge with a terminal-block in the engine compartment. This makes diagnosing and fixing problems a lot easier.

When my bilge pump once blew a fuse (due to icing up, I think) I discovered that the fuse that came in the Rule switch panel was smaller than the specification for the Rule 2000 pump. I think I ordered a circuit breaker, to replace it, but it took a long time to arrive and is probably in the bottom of the project box somewhere.

My manual pump never really worked, so I ordered up a re-build kit. Only to discover that it had been installed such that the intake hose was pinched-off against the underside of the cockpit bench - it never had a chance to work properly. The end of the hose was also just dangling in the bilge with no strainer or strum box - it floated on top of the water and took in very little. I hope that wasn't a factory job.
 
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vasuvius

Member II
I looked up the Jabsco pumps. Looks like the pump is mounted someplace else and there's an intake hose from the lowest part of the bilge to the pump. I'm guessing that the float is somewhere near the lowest part of the bilge.

On my boat, the pump with internal float is in the lowest part of the bilge in the center of the boat. Access through a hatch in the floor. There is no intake hose as the pump sits on the water and just sucks up the water.

The forward most hatch : The brass looking fitting has a hose attached to it - I think this leads to the manual pump in the cockpit. Water seems to flow in slowly from the little hole in the bottom of the picture (closer to the bow)
IMG_0350.jpg

The middle hatch: This is the lowest part of the bilge. The pump just floats on the water in there. The black hose is connected to the brass fitting under the forward most hatch. There's usually about 3/8" of water above the white gel coated part in the middle. Pump goes off when water rises above. I sponged out a gallon of water today to test a theory.
IMG_0347.jpg

The aft most hatch : The water level here is constant. I've never seen it go up or down.
IMG_0351.jpg

I sponged out a lot of water today to test a theory. The forward most hatch has water flowing in from the little hole. All the thru hulls forward of that (the ones in the head and the ones in the V-berth) are all tight - No sign of any water there.

Somehow water is getting into the bilge. The drip from the shaft seal packing is too little to flow forwards to the bilge pump. I think that drip just dries up on its own over time.

The water tank is under the V-berth. I didn't see any water around it.

I wonder where the water is coming in from. I forgot to check whether it is fresh water or salty.
 
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