[alberg30] bilge pumps

[Bob Johns]

From: Bob Johns <bobjns at nais.com>

I agree with Lee's comments.  I  have an Edson rated at 20 gallons per
minute installed inside the vertical bulkhead aft of the port sail locker.
The pump  handle plugs into the pump via a rubber bellows and metal cover
in the seat above the  pump. The hose seems to be steam hose that was
previously installed. The steam hose is very heavy and somewhat awkward to
remove from the pump when removing the pump, but the stiff hose lies down
in the sump under the engine and needs nothing to hold it in place in the
sump.

One thing I haven't seen emphasized in this discussion, although Lee
mentioned it, is the importance of being able to operate the pump with the
sail lockers closed. If you have to use the bilge pump while under way you
also may be in conditions that risk filling the cockpit. Operating a bilge
pump with the locker open is asking for trouble under severe conditions.
We've never had a wave break over the stern, but once we took water over
the coaming in a  knockdown that lasted for about a half a minute. Also it
is a lot easier to operate the bilge pump while sitting on the seat than
kneeling beside the sail locker.

I do find that I usually have to take the Edson apart in the spring to
reverse the flapper valves. They seem to take a set over the winter that
keeps them from sealing well enough to lift the water from the low sump. It
is a good idea to check the pump just before the boat is launched in the
spring by using a hose  to add  water to the bilge.

The idea of a check valve to  keep the pump primed seems like a good idea
except that it might reduce the capacity of the pump slightly. The other
problem is that it keeps the hose full and in the winter might freeze and
damage the hose.

Most test results that I've seen on bilge pumps indicate that the
manufacturers are overoptimistic about the capacity of their pumps. I did
empty our (presumably 30 gallon) water tank into the bilge and found that I
could empty it in a little over a minute and a half. (For what it is worth.)

Bob Johns, Wind Call #397



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