Bilge pump attachment to base of boat

[clendee]

Hi,

 

I need to a attach a bilge pump to the bottom of my boat but I dont want to drill any holes in the base of the boat.

There is always an inch or so of water in the stern area of our cruiser stern type narrowboat.

 

Do you have any suggestions on how I can weigh down the bilge pump on the base of the boat without screwing into the hull?

 

Thanks for your time,

[PaulJ]

You shouldnt need to if you carefully route the outlet pipe and clip it where appropriate.

If you have a float switch that needs holding in place then attach it to a small piece of metal plate

[Athy]

Welcome to CWDF. I have amended your thread title so that it does not look like a reference to a WW2 air ace.

As far as I'm aware, many bilge pumps are free-standing rather than bolted down, but I'm sure that someone with more technical knowledge than me will be able toadvise you. We have plenty of them on here.

 

[clendee]

Thanks for your comments, (and for adjusting the title).  Pretty new to narrowboating, much to learn.

 

This is the pump that I have.  It floats about in the water and needs to be weighed down somehow.

 

Also Ive read that its best to just wire it directly to the leisure batter, is it ok just the strip the wire and screw it in with the existing terminal connectors that connect the batteries?

 

Apologies for the multiple questions, hoping to solve this issue this weekend.

 

Thanks.

 

Edited November 6, 2019 by clendee
Smaller image uploaded

[Victor Vectis]

Yes, wot Athy says.

 

The bilge pump on our boat sits on it's inlet so never sucks up all the water there.

If you are fussy about this, like I am, you can use a disposable nappy to dry up what the pump leaves behind.

 

(And no, drilling holes in the baseplate is not to be recommended!)

[clendee]

10 minutes ago, PaulJ said:

You shouldnt need to if you carefully route the outlet pipe and clip it where appropriate.

If you have a float switch that needs holding in place then attach it to a small piece of metal plate

So you mean that the outlet pipe clipped in the hull in various places holds down the bilge pump to the base of the hull.  [Apologies if my terminology is off].

[pig]

I mounted my bilge pump on a perspex sheet, which is held to the baseplate by two strong magnets from eBay. Works well.

Edited November 6, 2019 by pig
spilling

[clendee]

1 minute ago, pig said:

I mounted my bilge pump on a perspex sheet, which is held to the baseplate by two strong magnets from eBay. Works well.

Interesting, that seems quite creative.

[PaulJ]

6 minutes ago, clendee said:

So you mean that the outlet pipe clipped in the hull in various places holds down the bilge pump to the base of the hull.  [Apologies if my terminology is off].

Yep-if you are fighting the hose warm it up and it will 'set' to shape.

If you are collecting mainly stern tube drips put a container with the pump in under the  drippy bit:-)

[pig]

7 minutes ago, clendee said:

Interesting, that seems quite creative.

Thankyou. In my case the float switch is mounted on the same perspex strip as well.

[Clodi]

I have a pump similar to yours, the base of the pump clips off (for cleaning etc). On my boat there is a glass fiber 'box' directly under the stern gland and the bilge-pump Base is stuck down using Sikaflex, or similar. The pump should be wired directly to the battery using an appropriate fuse so it is always on. Hope this helps.

[pete.i]

3 minutes ago, Clodi said:

I have a pump similar to yours, the base of the pump clips off (for cleaning etc). On my boat there is a glass fiber 'box' directly under the stern gland and the bilge-pump Base is stuck down using Sikaflex, or similar. The pump should be wired directly to the battery using an appropriate fuse so it is always on. Hope this helps.

Same here, this is the way to go. Only problem I found was that because the outlet is straight and the area to put the pump is a small triangle with high sides I couldn't get enough bend in the pipe without kinking it. I eventually found a 90 degree plastic elbow that fitted the diameter of the outlet. Why manufacturers of bilge pumps do not add some sort of fitment to accommodate awkward places that bilge pumps usually have to be installed in I do not know.

[Tony Brooks]

No, do not wire it directly to the battery but a fuse close to the battery area is essential. Wire it to the battery side of your master switch (assuming the switch is in the positive).

 

Then fit a switch so you can turn the pump off if, for whatever reason it decides to run 24/7 or you need to preserve battery charge.

 

Many bilge pumps have the facility to bypass the  level switch (even if its electronic) and in that case fit an on, off, on switch so you can select auto, off, or permanent run.

[robtheplod]

1 hour ago, PaulJ said:

Yep-if you are fighting the hose warm it up and it will 'set' to shape.

If you are collecting mainly stern tube drips put a container with the pump in under the  drippy bit:-)

I've often wondered about this but decided against as if water comes into the bilge from elsewhere there's nothing to remove it - assuming the container floats up with the water coming in? I put a container under the stern gland to collect water and just empty it when checking the oil etc....

[mrsmelly]

Mine is on a small sheet of scrap steel about 1 mil thick or a bit more. This simply keeps it flat on the baseplate and in place. Simple and easy to do. The plastic base that detaches from the pump is bolted to the sheet of steel so I can still lift entire thing out and unclip the base to clear of crap if ever needed. Simples. Been doing it this way on boats for many years.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

16 minutes ago, Clodi said:

I have a pump similar to yours, the base of the pump clips off (for cleaning etc). On my boat there is a glass fiber 'box' directly under the stern gland and the bilge-pump Base is stuck down using Sikaflex, or similar. The pump should be wired directly to the battery using an appropriate fuse so it is always on. Hope this helps.

Something like this seems to be a common solution. Put a tray, or bowl of some sort under the stern gland, so that drips go in there first. On some boats, a section of bilge under the stern gland is walled off in steel and the bilge pump usually lives in there. Only being moved to the main bilge should that get wet. The small area means the water level builds up quicker, with less water needed to trip the auto switch. The half inch or so left when the pump turns off is only a few litres. The rest of the bilge mostly  stays dry. I've seen people hang a fine mesh sieve under the stern gland, which seems to trap a lot of the grease from conventional stern glands, leaving slightly pure water to drip through. This reduces the amount of grease in the bilge and lessens the chance of the pump float switch getting gummed up and stuck.

 

As others have mentioned, there needs to be a fuse in the circuit to protect the wiring. It will be a Boat Safety SCheme fail, if the inspector spots that there isn't one.

Jen

[Mac of Cygnet]

48 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Mine is on a small sheet of scrap steel about 1 mil thick or a bit more. This simply keeps it flat on the baseplate and in place. Simple and easy to do. The plastic base that detaches from the pump is bolted to the sheet of steel so I can still lift entire thing out and unclip the base to clear of crap if ever needed. Simples. Been doing it this way on boats for many years.

 

I have done exactly this.  Seemed logical.

[clendee]

2 hours ago, Clodi said:

I have a pump similar to yours, the base of the pump clips off (for cleaning etc). On my boat there is a glass fiber 'box' directly under the stern gland and the bilge-pump Base is stuck down using Sikaflex, or similar. The pump should be wired directly to the battery using an appropriate fuse so it is always on. Hope this helps.

Those suggestions really helps folks, thanks.

Edited November 6, 2019 by clendee

[Tonka]

Mine is screwed to the side of an ice cream tub which is full of divers weight's 

[Slim]

2 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

 

I have done exactly this.  Seemed logical.

Ditto