[Public-List] Automatic bilge pumps

[Michael Grosh via Public-List]

 not sure
where, but rain gets in when it rains.

The drain tubes on the cockpit sail lockers get plugged easily. That's
where almost all my rain water to bilge originates.
Then there is the toerail degrading. I solved that problem on Checkmate,
but it's a whole 'nother issue.
Michael Grosh
#220

On May 9, 2017 4:26 PM, "Stephen Gwyn via Public-List" <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

>
> Having an automatic bilge pump means there is a window, possibly
> quite a long window, between the first indications of a problem
> and when the floor boards float. The only time I've ever had
> anything close to a real problem was when I didn't have the
> automatic bilge pump switched on.
>
> I have two electric bilge pumps, plus the manual.  I have a small
> electric Johnson 450gph (or smaller) pump connected to a float
> switch with a debris cover, something like the Rule-A-matic.
> It's connected to quite a narrow hose, so that the back flow when
> it turns off is minimized. I tried the field-effect type of automatic
> switch but if they don't always turn off when the water level
> drops.
>
> I have a second pump, a Johnson 2200 (or maybe bigger) gph pump
> connected to a much larger hose. Its switch is the "stay-on" kind
> not the usual kind of bilge pump switch that is only on if you
> are holding it.  If the water is up to the floor boards, it will
> drain the bilge in less than a minute.
>
> On my boat at least, a dry bilge is quixotic. There is a very
> slow drip from the rudder stuffing box. When the engine is
> running there are drips from the prop stuffing box. I'm not sure
> where, but rain gets in when it rains. There's condensation. The
> ice box drains into the bilge.  In summer, when it's dry the
> bilge pump goes off once a week.  In winter, when it's very wet
> it goes off 2-3 times a week.  When I'm cruising, the ice box
> sets off the bilge pump every 6 hours or so.
>
> What happens if there's a problem? If you're on the boat and
> sailing, the noise of the bilge pump going off will alert you to
> the problem before the floor boards start to float (which is
> after the water is over the batteries).  So you won't flatten
> your batteries, because you'll notice in minutes that there is a
> problem. If you're motoring, you may or may not notice the noise
> and the indicator light, but you won't flatten your batteries,
> because you're draining them at 2.5A and charging them at 15A.
>
> If the boat is sitting at the dock and you visit it only
> occasionally, there is theoretically a size of leak that is slow
> enough that it doesn't set the bilge pump while you are visiting,
> but is fast enough to flatten the battery between
> visits. However, more likely it will keep the water down until to
> visit, hear the bilge pump and solve the problem.
>
> I had one case where (ironically) the bilge pump outlet hose
> disconnected itself from the not-really-a-thru-hull on the
> starboard stern quarter. No water came in at the dock or on
> starboard tack, but it did on port tack, setting off the bilge
> pump. I heard it and sorted out the problem. Otherwise I wouldn't
> have been aware of the problem until I got back to the dock when
> the floor boards would have been floating.
>
> But the worst case was the automatic bilge pump was switched off
> for some reason and the head wasn't set to dry bowl.  I woke up
> in the middle of the night and stepped down into wet. The floor
> boards were just starting to float. The batteries were under
> water and the terminals were busy disassociating the water into
> hydrogen and oxygen. Half-awake, I threw the switch on the big
> pump, which rapidly emptied the bilge. If I had had the small
> pump set to automatic, the noise would have woken me up.  Even if
> it hadn't woken me, I would have noticed it at breakfast and it
> would have kept the water from getting over the batteries.
>
> In the past, I've made bilge pump counters out of cheap
> step-counters and relays, but they don't last. The commercially
> available pump counters either glow in the dark, keeping you
> awake at night and sucking electricity, or can't be reset to zero.
>
> SG
>
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