A28TE/A30FC Forward Bilge Pump

[johnmurray]

My boat appears to be designed so that bilge water runs forward and accumulates under the cabin sole below the shower sump. There is a big Johnson L2200 bilge pump in there, but it is mounted so high that about four or five inches of bilge water must accumulate before it reaches the bottom of the bilge pump and activates the float switch. The result is that there is always a smelly pool of bilge water in there unless I pump it out manually.
I am aware that one list member solved the problem by installing another smaller bilge pump forward of and considerably lower than the big Johnson pump, but I believe he did so by utilizing the shower sump and therefore disabling the shower.
I want to install a second, lower bilge pump so that it extracts most of the water automatically but does not interfere with the shower sump. I was thinks of plumbing it through a T (with a check valve) cut into the Johnson exhaust line and wiring it to the existing Johnson wiring. I believe that the Johnson already has a check valve so the outflow from the new pump would not flow back into the bilge through the Johnson pump. Would this work? Has anyone tried something like this?

[jcollins]

John,
That is design issue with these boats. My first question is the smell? I haven't noticed any oder. (could be my old nose)
Secondly, do you think it would overload the wiring when both pumps are running? Could blow a fuse? Or, would this be a manual switch?
I like the "T" idea for the discharge but I'm wondering about the current. Others with more knowledge than I will chime in.

Guys?

[Yearwood]

Whoa! I did not disable the shower pump at all. I had the stripper pump I installed discharge into the shower pump sump where the water level is controlled by an existing float switch. I energize the stripper pump with a push botton I mounted in the face of the cabinet under the sink in the head. This system has been working well for about five years.

[Tuxedo]

I did almost the same as Yearwood, except I just wired the little pump into the main pump, and I activate it by flipping the forward bilge pump switch on. (It doesn't hurt the big pump to be run dry for a little while.)

The shower sump has 3 inlets. Mine takes care of the shower, the A/C condensation, and the lower bilge pump.

[chiefrcd]

Yearwood, not to worry bro, I was the one who disabled the shower pump, in truth mother nature took care of it when I failed to pour antifreeze into the tank and it froze. My plan is to replace the shower sump and pump and do the same thing you did, run the forward bilge pump into that tank and let the shower sump pump it overboard. Since both of these pumps are fairly small, I can't imagine them not being able to run off the same switch and fuse. For now I just have the forward pump running and not using the inside shower.

[george]

My 28 has the same problem. This spring I installed




[/img]

[george]

Oops. Accidently hit Submit instead of Preview. As I was saying, this spring I installed a Rule 750 via the access under the table pedestal. This seems to be the low point in the forward bilge. I epoxied a couple of screws at the bottom and mounted the strainer. I like this because I can easily replace the pump when it fails. I ran the outflow (3/4 inch) to a new vented loop and then into the line after the shower sump vented loop (also 3/4 inch) using a Y fitting. The Y generates less turbulence than a T and does not reduce the flow rate so much. Water runs right out from here. I would not recommend cutting into the existing pump wiring. I'm sure this violates ABYC standards. I mounted a new on-off-auto switch on the console and powered it from the same buss bar as the existing 3 pumps. From here I can easily monitor pump activity and leave it on auto when docked.

[Pitou]

Nice install job George and thanks for the photos and info on how to access under the pedastal and get to the low spot. The standing water in the forward bilge is always a maintainance issue for me as well. Maybe next year.

[saltshaker28]

I like Georges idea of installing the pump under the table with a y fitting