Emergency Bilge Pump ?

[GreyLady]

I dont own a Boat just yet but i would like to be prepared for the worst for a major stern gland leak orif any other part of the boat sprung water our of the blue.

 

Can someone please recomend a decent 12v lph water pump that can hold its own and deal with a reasonable leak?

 

ive looked on Amazon.uk and their is one for £94 i think it was 1500 lph but i cant post the link at the moment.

 

 

[MtB]

The thing about bilge pumps is that the only work for as long as there is power to run them.

 

Ok so you have a 1499 lph leak while you are at work so the bilge pump copes admirably. How long will your batteries last?

 

Best to maintain the boat in the first place and not have the leak...

[GreyLady]

i get where you are coming from,

 

The thing about bilge pumps is that the only work for as long as there is power to run them.

 

Ok so you have a 1499 lph leak while you are at work so the bilge pump copes admirably. How long will your batteries last?

 

Best to maintain the boat in the first place and not have the leak...

 

I get that, but it would be nice to have something onboard even though i would have a newish Narrowboat and maintain it.

I guess its just the fear of having so much money into a one time dream

 

I found an old lister LR1 today on Ebay in a frame with an Alternator Bracket in place, i am tempted to buy it as a geny.

Maybe i need to get my prioriry's right and put the Narrowboat first.

 

Chug chug pop haha

Edited August 22, 2015 by grumpy146

[dmr]

A typical bilge pump draws a couple of amps, but in most cases will only run intermittently. Modern boats usually have about 400Ah of batteries so that's a fair bit of bilge pumping.

What surprises me is how often we moor next to boats where the bilge pump is kicking in every few minutes, really irritating at nighty night time!

 

................Dave

[GreyLady]

A typical bilge pump draws a couple of amps, but in most cases will only run intermittently. Modern boats usually have about 400Ah of batteries so that's a fair bit of bilge pumping.

What surprises me is how often we moor next to boats where the bilge pump is kicking in every few minutes, really irritating at nighty night time!

 

................Dave

 

Thanks Dave, does that mean their boats are sinking but they dont know what the clunking/ticking noise is on their stern.

[Arthur Brown]

The duty cycle of a bilge pump is set by the switch and the boat's roll stability. Most times the pump runs because the switch just caught a splash of water that is too shallow for it to pump out.

[dmr]

The worse one ever (neglected old wooden narrowboats excepted) was a hire boat, so yes, you are probably correct.

 

Often I suspect the owner is well aware of the problem but does not think it serious enough to attend to with any urgency.

 

In many boats there is a little "bulkhead" just forward of the stern gear so any water will quickly fill this and so the bilge pump will kick in and empty it, so its not like the whole boat is filling up.

 

.........Dave

[Phil Ambrose]

A typical bilge pump draws a couple of amps, but in most cases will only run intermittently. Modern boats usually have about 400Ah of batteries so that's a fair bit of bilge pumping.

What surprises me is how often we moor next to boats where the bilge pump is kicking in every few minutes, really irritating at nighty night time!

 

................Dave

Huh, our neighbour of 4 years has a bilge pump which runs for about 3 minutes ay a time and when I mentioned it he said " Oh it does that all the time, it's OK"

Twice he has called out an engineer because he couldn't start his engine and both times the pump had failed and the water in his engine 'ole was knee deep.

He still maintains this level of leakage is OK.

Phil

[Chewbacka]

Maybe better to have a normal bilge pump and a float alarm in case the pump can't cope or fails. But it is rare to hear of a looked after boat sinking, so maybe you are worrying too much.

[Paul C]

No harm in having a 2nd bilge pump, in case the first one fails or to double them up with a serious leak. Most boats which have serious issues with leaking are able to pump the water out sufficiently quickly via the bilge pump and make it to a dry dock/slipway/temporary/emergency dry dock in time.

 

Also worth pointing out that (well maintained) boats don't suddenly, randomly, spring a leak - something would need to fail (probably via impact) or be unmaintained, to start a leak of some kind.

[blackrose]

I have several different pumps on board: 3 fixed 12v automatic bilge pumps with float switches (stern, back of the cabin and bow section). Then a 12v whale gulper on a long lead with big croc clips and a mains submersible pump which I can run from shore power or generator. My wet vac is another useful way of getting water from where it's not wanted. Despite all those pumps I think the thing I use most is an old 5 litre plastic antifreeze container which I cut in half at an angle and use to bail out my dinghy by hand.

[John V]

I have always maintained that the finest bilge pump in the world is a terrified man and a bucket

[Sea Dog]

You're overthinking this Grumpy. When you buy your boat, I'll be surprised if you buy one that's leaking on your bugdet, and I'd be equally surprised if it doesn't have a bilge pump. That's the time to see what else you might need in the way of belts and braces! You should do a lot of thinking before you buy a boat though - I'm not suggesting you don't!

[Scholar Gypsy]

I find that if I give a twist on the greaser before leaving the boat, then no water at all comes in through the gland.

[dmr]

I have always maintained that the finest bilge pump in the world is a terrified man and a bucket

 

Been there and done that. You can shift a lot of water but not for very long, especially when waist deep in cold water. Electric pumps have more stamina!.

 

............Dave

[GreyLady]

You're overthinking this Grumpy. When you buy your boat, I'll be surprised if you buy one that's leaking on your bugdet, and I'd be equally surprised if it doesn't have a bilge pump. That's the time to see what else you might need in the way of belts and braces! You should do a lot of thinking before you buy a boat though - I'm not suggesting you don't!

 

Yer i get that overthinking thing, but for £80 i would rather pay for a piece of mind knowing i was not relying in some 2 bob bit of cut cost Bilge Pump fitted 8 years ago by the boat builder hoping to make an extra £10 ner.

 

The way i see an £80 water pump is its £80, if i can save someone elses boat while they are panicking about loosing their home then sure be it i will be their with my dodgy £80 Bilge Pump and knee hi in water passing Buckets with the rest of them.

 

I suppose its like carring a tool kit its not always their for your own boat but many for someone who may end up needing a lend.

 

i would really be upset seeing someone's boat sink and see them upsett. - i am a weirdo.

Edited August 23, 2015 by grumpy146

[PaulG]

 

Can someone please recomend a decent 12v lph water pump that can hold its own and deal with a reasonable leak?

 

Forget 12V.

The most efficient bilge pump in the world is a frightened man with a bucket.

[Jess--]

I find that if I give a twist on the greaser before leaving the boat, then no water at all comes in through the gland.

I was pleasantly surprised when I came back to my boat after a month the find the bilge 100% dry

 

this is on a boat with totally shot batteries and a bilge pump that the float switch may or may not work on

[tidal]

i don't know if this is any use to anyone but my friend with a motorboat on Thames has a device that texts him (and a couple of other phones) if the bilge pump operates. (Or if the batteries are running low and about 3 other things)
He's off gallivanting around the French system at the moment so I can't find out who makes it and knowing him it's not liable to have been cheap. (he's a rich gadget man)
Search engine tells me there are a few out there

 

Belt, braces, bit of string and a safety-pin perhaps but from an observers pov there's nothing worse than seeing a nice boat half-submerged
Unless it's being the owner of one

[Sea Dog]

I was pleasantly surprised when I came back to my boat after a month the find the bilge 100% dry

 

 

Tempting fate, I know, but I'd be unpleasantly surprised if my bilge wasn't 100% dry! The Volvo water lubricated stern seal was not on my list of requirements when I bought my boat, but it has been a very welcome bonus.

 

Now I've posted that, I await the horror stories and hope I haven't hexxed myself!

[Paul C]

i don't know if this is any use to anyone but my friend with a motorboat on Thames has a device that texts him (and a couple of other phones) if the bilge pump operates. (Or if the batteries are running low and about 3 other things)

He's off gallivanting around the French system at the moment so I can't find out who makes it and knowing him it's not liable to have been cheap. (he's a rich gadget man)

Search engine tells me there are a few out there

 

Belt, braces, bit of string and a safety-pin perhaps but from an observers pov there's nothing worse than seeing a nice boat half-submerged

Unless it's being the owner of one

 

There is a system available which will, in addition to operating as a "normal" alarm, alert any mobile number via SMS text messaging, of any events it can accept as inputs. There are a number (the different models vary, I think it was around 8) digital inputs and a number (4 IIRC) of analogue inputs. Also possible were outputs, which could be driven by logic from the inputs (for example if the alarm "armed" switch is on, and the door contact opens.....send an output signal to the siren) but also remotely via SMS. For example, it could be configured to turn on/off central heating, fridge on/off, bilge pump on/off. And of course one of the inputs could be a float switch.

 

However, having a bilge pump with a float switch effectively does the same, much more simply.

 

BUT you'd probably have that in your "system" already - in which case, a backup of float level warning (maybe a 2nd higher float switch, to avoid loads of texts if the auto switch and pump are doing their job) could be useful. Its also possible to report battery voltage, temperature, etc so if a boat were left unattended over winter, could be very useful.

[emlclcy]

Forget 12V.

The most efficient bilge pump in the world is a frightened man with a bucket.

It's looking like I need to remove my gearbox and I had visions of disconnecting the prop then whilst wrestling with the gearbox watching the prop shaft gently slide out of the boat with a poseidon adventure to follow ha ha!!!

[Brian422]

This sounds like a good idea but not sure that it's man enough.

 

http://www.unimer-marine.com/products/drainman-bilge-pump/?L=5

[DHutch]

If you want to talk backup pumps, find a wooden boat owner.

 

Most have various sets of batteries, counters for the number of times they have run, etc.

 

Daniel

[David Mack]

It's looking like I need to remove my gearbox and I had visions of disconnecting the prop then whilst wrestling with the gearbox watching the prop shaft gently slide out of the boat with a poseidon adventure to follow ha ha!!!

You can only slide the prop shaft back a few inches before it hits the rudder, so it isn't going to go flying out of the back of the boat.

 

But if it worries you, just make sure you have an appropriate sized cork to hand to hammer into the stern tube if the worst should happen!