two bilge pump questions..

[craw_daddy]

I thought I recalled seeing a post (by Chief, or someone else) about adding another bilge pump to remove that little bit of water that seems to remain in the bilge. Searching on it hasn't been successful for me -does anyone else remember this post? A link would be appreciated!

Also, I just want to make sure my automatic switch has failed on the shower sump box -when I switch the shower sump breaker on, the pump runs continuously. Shouldn't it stop when the water has been pumped out? I bought two new water witch 101 float switches & intend to replace the sump switch (currently the original Johnson pump electronic switch), but I wanted a sanity check..

--Dave

[fuenstock]

Also, I just want to make sure my automatic switch has failed on the shower sump box -when I switch the shower sump breaker on, the pump runs continuously. Shouldn't it stop when the water has been pumped out? I bought two new water witch 101 float switches & intend to replace the sump switch (currently the original Johnson pump electronic switch), but I wanted a sanity check..

--Dave

I know my shower sump pump shuts off once the waters gone on my 28te.

[jcollins]

My shower sump does not shut off automatically. It did not on my last boat either. I just assumed that's the way it is. Speaking of pumps, is there a pump made that will shut off when it's run dry? Sharon used the last of the fresh water while under way the other day. Because of the engine running neither one of us heard the pump running dry for a least an hour. No damage but it can't be a good thing.

[craw_daddy]

The shower sump pump has a float switch, so I am pretty sure it should run automatically. I will probably replace the faulty one with this new one.

After some additional searching, I think this is the link I was remembering: http://albinowners.net/aog/viewtopic.php?t=785
I particularly liked the plumbing routing..

[N4QC]

My West Marine 750 shower sump system is designed to turn off automatically. There is a filter mesh which is removable for cleaning. I’ve had trouble with the float switch not shutting off. The system is use in a pool environment as a “pool dumper” (don’t have to worry about heavy rains overflowing the pool). As such, the pump and float switch are not subject to gray water and its particles.

The particles may be hanging up the float switch due to the tight space between the float unit and its housing. In my case, I attributed the hang up to the fact that the moving float is a plastic box moving within a plastic housing which after time had lost any lubrication, besides water – if any, and friction was the culprit – especially if the switch was not in a prefect vertical position.

Process: Remove the float switch unit from the sump; Remove the float stop screw from the float switch housing; Remove the plastic switch box unit (keep in mind the orientation); Clean and lubricate the switch box and inside the float switch housing; Reinstall.

I used a thin layer of petroleum jelly on the switch box unit and silicone spray for inside the housing. I don’t expect any problems with the thickening of the petroleum jelly due to temperature changes as I am in Florida. Float switch now working as expected…

Have fun,

[mackidaddy]

Craw Daddy,
In respone to your first question, I came up with a low cost solution that seems to work well (and not yet described on the site).
I ended up extending the manual bilge pump hose up into the forward compartment. Took out the orig and replaced with about 13 ft of pool vaccuum hose from home depot. Reused the one way value and SS clamps. 1/2 hr and 40 USD later, I can rid almost all the water out of the forward area. This is especially helpful when taking hard spray over the whole boat, leading to an inevitable accumulation of water in the forward compartment which then sloshes up thru the teak and holly making it appear like the boat is taking on water (pretty alarming the first couple of times it happened).
Less complexity and less electical, the better in my mind.
Do you have the stock manual bilge pump on the starboard side?

[craw_daddy]

Your idea would work fine for evacuation of standing water, but I am interested in an automatic solution. Water sloshing up through the floors would be a concern anytime!

[mhanna]

I thought I recalled seeing a post (by Chief, or someone else) about adding another bilge pump to remove that little bit of water that seems to remain in the bilge.
--Dave

Wow I had to look hard also, I though I did post it then not.. anyway I found the thread....

http://albinowners.net/aog/viewtopic.ph ... lit=shower

I know RobS put the same setup in his boat and that he is happy with the way it removes the water, but he has had some issues with the shower pump turning on.

Matt

[Saltdog]

macidaddy, I seem to have more water in my boat than I can get out too. I have been assuming that it is coming from spray (or washing down) that goes into the hatch channels that do not seem to drain very fast. When they overflow it goes right into the bildge. Is that what you meant when you said spray causes the problem? I have never had it come up over the floor of the front cabin though.. thank god. I have a forward bildge pump in the bow that I would hope would automatically drain that much water before it came over the floor boards. Doesn't your boat have a forward bildge pump?

My problem seems to be that neither the bow or the stern pumps are mounted low enough to get all of the water out.

When you ran the manual hose to the bow how did you secure it to the lowest spot? It seems to me that the only time I have water is the bow is at rest. When I am running it is at the stern. What would happen if I actually ever needed that manual pump? If the boat were sinking would the water still run to the bow? I am thinking of giving your manaul pump solution a try, but I would hate to give up the manual pump if I would ever need it.