Bilge pump

[Larry Rovin]

I’m planning on replacing the electric bilge pump.  I know that some have gone with a diaphragm pump mounted out of the bilge, but I am going to stick with the pump down low.  Has anyone gone the route of a small pump for day-to-day routine emptying, with a large capacity pump with the switch mounted higher for emergencies?

 

 

Lawrence D. Rovin

Cruden Bay Partners, LLC

410-745-2067 (office)

215-498-0366 (cell)

lro...@crudenbaypartners.com

 

[Brian Heineken]

Any reason to sink the pump down in the bilge? I'm very happy with EQ's setup and it has won the seaworthiness stamp of approval from our marine surveyor. Two electric pumps mounted at engine level, the first to trip (your day-to-day pump) runs through a filter to preserve the pump and the second, with a slightly higher pumping capacity to trip at a higher water level also attached to an alarm. For emergencies, as far as I understand, unless you have a crash pump none of the electric bilge pumps will keep up with a busted seacock or decent sized hole. For large leaks a high quality large volume hand pump is what will save you and will always work. (As long as you're there!) We have such a pump mounted and it's capacity is impressive. I do enjoy having the bilge pumps themselves up high and out of the mess that runs into the bilge. Those little buggers aren't cheap and I keep 'em shiny along with everything else in there that I can! They're also more accessible incase I need to access them at sea to troubleshoot or remove for other uses. 

Cheers,

Brian 

P51 Eagles Quest

Hong Kong 

Sent from my iPhone

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[Robert C. Young]

Since there is not much room at the bottom of the bilge, I elected to stick with a Rule 3700 GPH pump rather than the two pump rig you contemplate.

 

I also rigged a hose to the bottom of the bilge that is teed off the raw water intake. Close the raw water valve and open the bilge value and the engine would pump.

 

Finally, I put in a high water alarm-basically a bilge pump float that sets off an alarm rather than a pump.

 

A long time ago we debated the merits of the engine rig vs a big Edson manual pump. I voted for the engine rig for single handed operation and the practicality of being exhausted in 15 minutes with adrenaline fueled manual pump operation. Others voted for the Edson. Hopefully we all don’t find out the hard way which one is better.

 

Regards,

Bob

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[John Baudendistel]

Robert, 

I run a rule 3500 gph for day to day.  Mounted up one is a rule 4800 gph.  Both have separate pickups and outputs. Mounted in between is the high water alarm.  In the cockpit is the manual.  I use aqua alarm floats.  

Hoping I don't need all 3! 

Dream keeper

P42

John Baudendistel

Jo...@ets247.com

[Robert C. Young]

I would love that extra 4800GPH but maybe the 42 bilge is more roomy than the P40? I dread hauling up my 3700 pump about every 5 years to find the corroded wire or bilge pump switch that caused the pump to stop working! I cannot imagine another large pump and hoses in the bilge under the engine transmission. I literally have a line tied to my pump to haul it up and it is tight quarters.

Regards

[John Baudendistel]

Yup.  A p42 advantage or disadvantage depending on how you look at it.  All of my wiring comes up to the cabin sole level for connection.  Not to say I have not done the every 4-5 year pump replacement...mess

John Baudendistel

Jo...@ets247.com

[Don Fife]

John doesn't have the hell hole💀💀💀

Don Fife 

[Chris - Pelican]

I'm not sure I love the idea of having the pumps mounted at engine level, although perhaps the P51 engine is below the floor vs. ours on the P40 where it is above the floor. If the water reaches engine level for us, then the batteries will be shorted pretty quickly and we won't have ANY water pumped out. Plus, I would want to keep the water level below the engine for as long as possible so that, in an emergency, the engine is not submerged for as long as possible.

We have a pump at the bottom of our bilge (can't recall size offhand). Backups include an oversized pump for the shower sump (still below engine level), hand pump in the cockpit that leads down to the bilge (I think all P40's have this? We've replaced our diaphragm once as it dried out and cracked). We can also pull the through hull intake from our air conditioner off and that will suck water out through that system vs. pulling from a through hull. I like the idea of T-ing off the raw water intake of the engine too. That thing can pump a lot of water - but you'd have to be careful to strain it enough. Our float switch is integrated into the bilge pump, and if the pump is on for more than 30 seconds it triggers a buzzer.

We also carry a Honda EU1000 portable generator (in addition to our Northern Lights 5kw genset). I was thinking of getting a spare pump and pre-wiring it to hook into the Honda - once again, for emergencies. I'm a firm believer in having as many ways as possible to get water off the boat and increase survival time during a serious incident. I might go a bit overboard with safety, carrying 2 EPIRB's (one mounted by the companionway and one in a ditch bag) + a PLB in the ditch bag, plus the life raft, plus a GPS in the ditch bag, plus a satellite phone, plus a SPOT, plus a portable solar charger, plus plus plus :) Think adding a 4G hotspot into the ditch bag would be too much? I'd be lost without Internet during a stay in the life raft. "Dear Passport Mailing List - I have a 3 foot hole in the side of my P40 and am looking for suggestions on the best approach to fix it, and to get rid of the tea stains coming from the chocks at the same time. I have good access to the hull right now from my life raft so the timing seems right. Any thoughts?"

I don't know about everyone else, but we definitely have a wet bilge that empties at least once a day. I think it's due to some old cracked welds in our fresh water tanks. We'll be replacing those before we move back on board in a few years.

Chris

s/v/ Pelican

Passport 40 #76

[John Baudendistel]

The P51 is Stan Huntingford design.  And yes engine is below the cabin sole.  

John Baudendistel

Jo...@ets247.com

[Bill Schmidt]

A long time ago, I got fed up with the float switch/bilge pump arrangement of the P40, not because it didn't work, but because the float switch was always corroding/sticking/no longer floating and the screen of the pump was occasionally clogging with debris. The job to correct whatever the problem was is, of course, legionary and the most God awful task on the boat. The problem has been permanently solved -and I do mean permanent - by mounting the pump forward and above the engine in the engine compartment where it is always accessible, but with the pickup (screened) in the bilge. I got rid of the float switch in the bilge and substituted a Groco diving bell mounted on a rod which is at the bottom of the bilge. A small polyethylene tube leads up out of the bilge to a Groco  pressure diaphragm switch in the engine compartment. The pump is a Water Puppy impeller pump....you can mount bigger/faster/more expensive if you want. Whatever. The point is, all the wiring and servicing sites are up way away from salt water except for the intake screen (which is easily pulled up out of the bilge to clean or, most commonly, to inspect) and the plastic diving bell which is also easy to pull up out of the bilge to inspect (never have had it clog/fail). I have a home made engine hour type unit which triggers an alarm if the bilge pump runs for more than 3 minutes at a time such that, if there was a lot of water coming in, it would only have a 3 minute head start before I was alerted to a new situation.
    I also have an Edson 1 gallon per stroke pump mounted on a board with screened intake and all the hosing for intake and exit preattached, ready for use. Fortunately, except to use it for emptying a hot tub and, once to use on someone else's boat, I've never had to use it. The Henderson manual pump mounted in the cockpit on all P40s is ok, but very difficult to prime. I flush it/test it once a year, but would hate to have to rely on it to dewater the boat under way.
Billy Manana

[ddockrat]

Ahoy: all great ideas. I would only add that I've added a small red light on the engine control panel in the cockpit that lights when the pump cycles. Reassuring on a night watch to see the occasional run and if a problem is afoot you will see the steady glow right away. I also mounted a bilge cycle counter/reset gizmo next to the battery switch. this provides info on leaks etc when I'm away from boat or even from watch to watch. 

Fair Winds 

Jon ash

S/V Caribbean Soul

Freezing in the dark in Rhode Island 

Sent from my iPhone

<bill.vcf>

[ddockrat]

Sent from my iPhone

[Eric Schnabel]

 Hi Every one I use a  Whale pump mounted under the sink with just a hose running down into the bilge that way i can maintain the pump or replace no filthy parts 

  and easy to get to works great  

   Eric  p40 shadowfax