New joiner with a question about autobilge pumps!

[BananaBoat]

Hi all,

Finally went and bought myself a boyhood dream toy - Delta 7.5m with a 225hp on the back.

I would like your advice on a simple and cheap auto-bilge pump setup.

Also if anyone is in Cork, Ireland and see a yellow blur go passed - wave!

[Jon Tallis]

Welcome aboard - nice choice of boat [emoji846]
An auto bilge pump is fairly straightforward to set up so I'm guessing you might be after some specific info? If you can detail what it is you want to know, someone will be on here with an answer.
If your boat lives on a mooring and the question is "how do I install an auto bilge pump that doesn't kill my battery?", There's a recent thread on here entitled "adding a second battery" dealing with just that.

[BananaBoat]

Hi Jon,

Yup read that thread and have a spare battery and the space so will install a backup battery. I guess I'm just looking for a recommendation. Currently looking at this one:

https://www.svb24.com/en/whale-super...ump.html#14387

[Fergus3060]

I recently bought that Whale pump to replace a Rule auto pump that didn't work straight out of the box. Unfortunately that too failed in only a matter of weeks. I then fitted a Rule 500 pump with separate float switch - no issues over the last 6 months, but whilst it's longer than the other two, it isn't long enough to say if it's any good yet. Was I just unlucky?

[Jon Tallis]

As far as make goes, nothing wrong with Whale, Rule, Attwood, Johnson. As far as size (i.e. flowrate) goes, bigger is always better although I assume your Delta has a transom well and at least one self-draining trunk so you've already got some built-in capacity, at least when underway, I'd probably still opt for something around 1000gph capacity.
When you install, make sure all connections are made in waterproof junction boxes well above water-level, regardless of how well waterproofed they are. Ensure the pump is fused as per manufacturers recommendation - don't be tempted to fit a higher rated fuse.

[BananaBoat]

Awesome, I've gone for Whale auto-bilge and going to get a solar charger to keep the batteries topped up.

Does anyone every keep the spare outboard up in the bow to keep weight forward?

[tehguy]

Originally Posted by BananaBoat

Hi Jon,

Yup read that thread and have a spare battery and the space so will install a backup battery. I guess I'm just looking for a recommendation. Currently looking at this one:

https://www.svb24.com/en/whale-super...ump.html#14387

We have that exact pump on our Ribcraft 6.8

They recommend replacing the pump every 3 years I think. Ours is 12 years old and the auto function stopped working a long time ago, it's not a simple float switch but instead some clever solid state electronics. Thankfully it still works on manual

[tehguy]

Not ideal when it's installed in a deep transom well and the inlet gets blocked up, and you're in a heavy sea with 500 litres of water sloshing around the boat. The baling bucket gives a good workout

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by tehguy

Not ideal when it's installed in a deep transom well and the inlet gets blocked up, and you're in a heavy sea with 500 litres of water sloshing around the boat. The baling bucket gives a good workout

In that situation, forget the bilge pump. The only way to shift that amount of water is out of the bailers (elephants trunk).

[tehguy]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

In that situation, forget the bilge pump. The only way to shift that amount of water is out of the bailers (elephants trunk).

Admittedly nobody has ever educated me on the use of elephant trunks before and our boat is the only one I've ever skippered that has them. My understanding was that they were akin to a drain plug (which we do not have) and were only to be used when the boat is out of the water? Ours lives on a versadock and the trunks are always deployed when it's sitting on the dock and are raised before going to sea. It means we don't need to leave a bilge pump on auto and drain the battery when the boat doesn't get used for 8 weeks in a row...

I once accidentally left the trunks down overnight after I moved the boat off the dock and left it on a pontoon in preparation for an early morning departure. When we came to the boat in the morning it was full of water and it hadn't rained.

That said, I've never tried putting the trunks down while underway.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by tehguy

Admittedly nobody has ever educated me on the use of elephant trunks before and our boat is the only one I've ever skippered that has them. My understanding was that they were akin to a drain plug (which we do not have) and were only to be used when the boat is out of the water? Ours lives on a versadock and the trunks are always deployed when it's sitting on the dock and are raised before going to sea. It means we don't need to leave a bilge pump on auto and drain the battery when the boat doesn't get used for 8 weeks in a row...

I once accidentally left the trunks down overnight after I moved the boat off the dock and left it on a pontoon in preparation for an early morning departure. When we came to the boat in the morning it was full of water and it hadn't rained.

That said, I've never tried putting the trunks down while underway.

The trunks or “self bailers” are there to shift large amounts of water rapidly. They are very effective, especially after a stuffing. You do need some headway on the boat for them to work, but surprisingly little. As long as the boat is under power & moving forward, the trunks will shift a vast amount of water in a remarkably short time. The bilge pumps are only good for getting the last dregs, or the small accumulation you get in wet conditions, spray/rain etc. if it’s really rough or you’re in a following sea, deploy the trunks.

[Poly]

There are essentially two approaches to auto bilge pumps. 1. A float switch which when there is enough water floats, closes the switch and turns on a mechanical pump. 2. A pump that senses if it is pumping water or air and switches off if its air and then periodically tries again to see if there is water now. The later are sometimes called "intelligent".

The float switch is simple, mechanical, easy to replace separately from the pump, but takes up physical space and may require more water to trigger it than the sensor type. If used in places where leaves or other debris (e.g. fishing line, maybe even sand) can get in the mechanism they can jam on (or off). If stuck on they will burn the pump out. They only use power when switched on so may be more suitable for boats left afloat. If you want an alarm to tell you there is water in the bilge (probably not a major concern for most RIB owners) then a float switch is easier to wire in to achieve this.

The intelligent sensor type use power every time they try to activate to see if there is water to be pumped, so use some power just on standby doing nothing. If you are on board with the engines running this is irrelevant. If you've left your boat afloat it may not be. They are a neater install than a float switch, and seem to be less likely to jam on - but when they break (which pumps do on open decked boats) you need to replace everything. They may be better at getting the last of the water out.

If you are not leaving the boat afloat then you probably don't need auto - your feet will remind you to switch it on!

[tehguy]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

The trunks or “self bailers” are there to shift large amounts of water rapidly. They are very effective, especially after a stuffing. You do need some headway on the boat for them to work, but surprisingly little. As long as the boat is under power & moving forward, the trunks will shift a vast amount of water in a remarkably short time. The bilge pumps are only good for getting the last dregs, or the small accumulation you get in wet conditions, spray/rain etc. if it’s really rough or you’re in a following sea, deploy the trunks.

Noted, thanks

[tehguy]

Originally Posted by Poly

There are essentially two approaches to auto bilge pumps. 1. A float switch which when there is enough water floats, closes the switch and turns on a mechanical pump. 2. A pump that senses if it is pumping water or air and switches off if its air and then periodically tries again to see if there is water now. The later are sometimes called "intelligent".

The float switch is simple, mechanical, easy to replace separately from the pump, but takes up physical space and may require more water to trigger it than the sensor type. If used in places where leaves or other debris (e.g. fishing line, maybe even sand) can get in the mechanism they can jam on (or off). If stuck on they will burn the pump out. They only use power when switched on so may be more suitable for boats left afloat. If you want an alarm to tell you there is water in the bilge (probably not a major concern for most RIB owners) then a float switch is easier to wire in to achieve this.

The intelligent sensor type use power every time they try to activate to see if there is water to be pumped, so use some power just on standby doing nothing. If you are on board with the engines running this is irrelevant. If you've left your boat afloat it may not be. They are a neater install than a float switch, and seem to be less likely to jam on - but when they break (which pumps do on open decked boats) you need to replace everything. They may be better at getting the last of the water out.

If you are not leaving the boat afloat then you probably don't need auto - your feet will remind you to switch it on!

The SuperSub "smart" pumps do not use either of these methods, they have some sort of solid state sensor which can supposedly detect when it's surrounded by water. In the manual it says you can test it by just closing your hand around it (it's not pressure based, as it's solid plastic).

Either way this has failed on ours. I left it switched to "auto" for 12 hours with the transom well (about 30cm deep) full of water and it didn't pump anything. Testing it the way the manual says also achieved nothing. I will get around to replacing the pump eventually.

To be fair as I mentioned the manual also says the pump is expected to have a useful life of about 3 years and ours is over 10 years old and still works on manual, just not auto, so I can't really complain. They're only about £60 I think

[neil.mccrirrick]

Try cleaning it. Mine is the same and can get gunk on it which stops the sensor. A wipe with a rag is usually enough

[Iankristy]

Originally Posted by tehguy

The SuperSub "smart" pumps do not use either of these methods, they have some sort of solid state sensor which can supposedly detect when it's surrounded by water. In the manual it says you can test it by just closing your hand around it (it's not pressure based, as it's solid plastic).



Either way this has failed on ours. I left it switched to "auto" for 12 hours with the transom well (about 30cm deep) full of water and it didn't pump anything. Testing it the way the manual says also achieved nothing. I will get around to replacing the pump eventually.



To be fair as I mentioned the manual also says the pump is expected to have a useful life of about 3 years and ours is over 10 years old and still works on manual, just not auto, so I can't really complain. They're only about £60 I think

Yeah had one of these too very sensitive to dirt I found needed cleaned regularly. I prob wouldn’t go there again. To OP a point worth noting with the trunks is they don’t just drain as you increase speed with water on board they will start sucking the water out and move huge amounts of water. Personally if rough conditions meant I was taking a lot of water on board I would lower and run with them down. As you’ve found out need to remember to raise when stopped!