What electric bilge pump for central bilge in A25

[kerrye]

My boat came with a rectangular electric Atwood bilge pump in the forward cabin and a manual diaphragm bilge pump with a hose reaching down into the keel space for the central bilge. I want to add an electric pump in the central bilge so purchase a Rule 27d thinking it would drop down into the keel space in the central bilge but the pump is too fat to do that. What are people using as an electric pump in the central bilge under the stuffing box and where is it mounted?

[kerrye]

I think I've had a change of mind about how to install the pump. Instead of putting it permanently in the center bilge I think I'm going to put some clips on the end of some longer wires, attach a section of discharge hose and keep it in a locker. That way, if I ever need it I can just attach the clips and drop it in the bilge. But in addition, if there's a boater with a flooding problem I can also pass the pump over to them and they could do the same. We had this exact situation last year on our North Channel trip when a fellow boater broke a hose and could have used a second bilge pump to get him back to the marina and assistance.

[markdbecker]

Have the same problem.... can you show me a picture of what your talking about. Like the idea.

[kerrye]

Here's a photo of pump with wires and discharge hose. 27d pump and 1 1/8" hose. You see black electricians tape in the photo but rest assured the connectors are waterproof. I just doubled the wire back on itself and taped it up so there wouldn't ever be any stress on the connectors themselves.

[kerrye]

The hose is pretty flexible so I think the whole thing may actually fit for storage in the center bilge itself.

[Beta Don]

A small pump with a long hose won't move very much water - The higher the lift, the larger the diameter of the hose, the less water it will pump until you get to a point where it won't pump anything - The weight of the head of water cancels out the pumps power. I would give that one a try and see if it can pump anything at all with a lift as long as the hose you have on it.

If the plan is to have an 'emergency pump' which could keep a leak from becoming a major problem, I would suggest a larger pump, maybe something like a Rule 2000. With the lengthy hose you have, it won't move anything close to 2000 GPH either, but it would probably pump 10X as much water as the one you have

Don

[kerrye]

I experimented. It will pump as high as I can hold my hand (about 7 ft) without any noticeable reduction in flow. In most circumstances it wouldn't have to pump that much of a head. In an A25 it might be about 4'.

[kerrye]

By the way, Whale makes a compact electric bilge pump (Supersub) which I believe would fit in the keel space but they have very bad reviews as unreliable.

[kerrye]

A related question: After closer examination of the Attwood rectangular automatic bilge pump in the bow cabin I see I have a problem there. Again the pump does not fit down into the keel space and since the pump is rectangular, if left free it tends to turn at a 45 degree angle into the bilge space rendering the float switch inoperable. If I fix it flat high up in the bilge so the float switch will operate, a lot of water will have to accumulate in the bilge before the float activates the pump. So, what pump are people using in the bow bilge?

[kerrye]

Has anyone tried this one? Although it looks like it might be too wide to fit into the keel also.

https://www.amazon.com/Rule-LP900S-Auto ... bilge+pump

[DesertAlbin736]

Well, (yes I know, it's a deep subject,) FWIW here's what we have, which came with our boat, a PAR belt driven diaphragm pump with inlet strainer and suction hose that goes down into the keel sump, seen here at upper right. Has worked well for us. Strictly manual switch activated from the helm DC panel since we don't keep our boat in the water full time, but would be easy to add an electro-mechanical or electronic float switch in the circuit if needed. Pump discharge hose is routed to exit the starboard side near the helm, so one can look out the side window & see the water coming out to know when to turn it off. In this picture a fixed manual Whale emergency backup pump can partially seen in the lower left of the the photo, with suction line also in the keel sump and discharge on the side near the other pump. Actually I don't think a pump in the forward cabin is necessary, since that area drains under the engine bed (separate from the engine bed) back to the aft bilge keel sump.

http://www.downwindmarine.com/Jabsco-PA ... 01164.html

Sometimes I think we paid too much for our boat, but when I see what this type of pump sells for I'm all like OMG!

[kerrye]

Yes, I've thought about a system like that but I too looked at the price of the pump. It may be the only viable option though given the narrowness of the keels bilge. I assume the bilge pump in our forward cabin was put there due to problems in finding a good location for it in the center bilge.

[kerrye]

Another point worth noting (as I have believe I have done elsewhere) is that the engine compartment does not drain to the bilge so if it collects water, a pump for that compartment is necessary. I have tried to figure a way to drill a hole (which could then be plugged with a removable plug) from the engine compartment to the bilge but so far without success.

[DesertAlbin736]

Bear in mind the engine compartment is designed so that any oil leaks don't get into the main bilge. Gasoline spills tend to evaporate, but even a few drops of diesel or motor oil spreads a very obvious sheen. What's that placard say about $5,000 fines for getting caught spilling or pumping oily bilge water overboard?

The advantage of the diaphragm pump is that it's self priming & is not submerged all the time. An inlet strainer is essential with all the crud that can get into the bilge. At least it does on our boat.

[kerrye]

Yes. But by the same token you don't want your engine oil pan sitting in a pool of water either. I had assumed that with the bilge plug removed and the boat sitting on a trailer, that any water would run out. That was until I pulled back the cover on the engine after a snowstorm and melt.