Robert wrote:
How is this self priming pump activated? Float switch, timer etc?


wrote in message
ups.com...

Robert wrote:
The bilge pumps in my boat are mounted on some small "pads" that are
glassed
into the bottom of the hull. This pump mounting pad is about an inch
thick.
The forward bilge area always has some water in it because the air
conditioner drips in there and the shaft seals drip a bit. The problem
is
that the way the pumps are mounted, there is always about 3 inches of
water
in the forward bilge area, due to the fact that the pads elevate the
pumps
slightly and the pumps don't pump everything out anyway

I'm looking for an idea to remove all or almost all of the water from
the
bilge. I envision a pump that has a hose on it that will sit in the "V"
of
the hull and pump almost all of the water out. I've just never seen one
and
don't know if anyone has a better idea.


My bilge water collects in a hollow in the top couple of inches of the
molded keel.
There isn't enough width to set one of the common plastic bilge pumps
that sucks up the water it's sitting in. I use a remote mounted 12-volt
self priming pump and a hose that is laid into the keel. Very similar
to the idea you're considering. I think the pump is a lot sturdier than
the plastic disposables, and has proven more durable. I can compare
because I do use a big-box Marine submerged bilge pump to drain the
shower sump.
Every 3 years or so, that shower sump pump needs to be replaced. The
next time I replace it, I'm going to spend the extra dough to get
another remote pump. It has occured to me that if I ever needed to move
a lot more water out of the bilge I could just move the pickup hose
from the shower sump into the bilge.


The self priming pump is normally activated by a float switch. It can
also be turned on with a switch at the helm. Next to disposable plastic
bilge pumps, the float switch tends to be the weakest link in the
system. The manual switch allows you to start the pump should you
discover that you're making a lot of water down in the bilge and the
float switch isn't working. It's the unwritten rule of systems failures
that things will crap out at the very worst possible moments.

A useful device (that I don't have installed on my system) is a bilge
pump cycle counter.
If you leave your boat in the water between uses, it would be very
instructive to know whether the float switch activated the bilge pump
twice in the week since you were last aboard, or whether it has had to
start up thrity-seven times. :-)