bilge pump

voguey · 03 September 2009, 08:13

anyone out there recommend a good and reliable bilge pump ?

JSP · 03 September 2009, 08:18

I've always found Rule to be a good make.

mdt · 03 September 2009, 08:29

I would second that… But you need to keep in mind the sort of work these bits of kit do, it is not clean water they pump it is the water with sand, stones, seaweed and god only knows what else. As a result I view these as expendable bits of kit and would be happy to get 2 years out of one.

SPR · 03 September 2009, 10:50

The pump I have fitted to my RIb that spends its time on Mooring is:

http://www.rule-industries.com/produ..._239/index.htm

or older model, I get about two/three years from it.

I have started my boat after 2/3 weeks on mooring this, and look at the rain we had this year. So civilised to find boat dry! A tender in the Harbour had over 9 inches of water in it, when i emptied it for the owner.

This pump has 3 wires and easy to rig with auto switch.

Been using same type for last 8 years, i used with mecury switches before but these failed one after 1 month!

S.

voguey · 03 September 2009, 12:21

thanks guys

alystra · 03 September 2009, 12:41

There's been a lot of talk on here in the past about Rule pumps, mostly derogatory, I remember - though that was mainly concerning the automatic ones.

There was a Rule 1100 fitted to my boat from new (like the one in the botton picture on the link above). It worked well for many years until I left it in the bilge well (it unclips easily) over one winter and it got frozen in. Toast after that. It's identical replacement is still going strong after five years.

The boat's kept on a mooring all season and was often a swimming pool when I boarded. The Rule 1100 coped with that no trouble. This year I got fed up with swimming, so fitted a Whale 3000 as well, with a float switch. The pump is 30 years old, bought for my ketch and never fitted. The float has a rolling ball inside held at each end by a magnet (I think). This stops the pump cycling too frequently - usually has about 8 seconds worth of water in before activating.

So far it's worked a treat. Dry boat. The battery copes without problem - after all, it shouldn't use any more power than the Rule does.

jyasaki · 03 September 2009, 16:01

This, I believe, is a bit dated (I first ran across it a few years ago), but a decent article nonetheless:

http://www.powerboat-reports.com/sample/bilge.html

jky

Rodan · 03 September 2009, 17:03

4 rule broke on me - they are bad quality from what i have seen - 3 of one model then switched to a bigger which also broke within weeks. current one (it is an auto switched on and off by a sensor in the housing rather than a float or the rule load sensor system - which was the problem with 2 of the rules) has performed faultlessly in exactly the same situation for 3 years. A johnson Ultima 600gph i think - built in switch, it is excellent.

Jizm · 03 September 2009, 17:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodan

4 rule broke on me - they are bad quality from what i have seen - 3 of one model then switched to a bigger which also broke within weeks. current one (it is an auto switched on and off by a sensor in the housing rather than a float or the rule load sensor system - which was the problem with 2 of the rules) has performed faultlessly in exactly the same situation for 3 years. A johnson Ultima 600gph i think - built in switch, it is excellent.

I've had 2 johnson ones fail on me so tried the whale ones, no probs so far as far as I know...

chewy · 03 September 2009, 20:27

Only ever used Rule pumps and not had a problem with them. Can't comment on others?

codprawn · 04 September 2009, 00:33

I have gone through 3 or 4 Rule 500 autos - it's the auto side that seems to pack up. Just keep fitting them cos it's easier.

In fairness mine has to work harder than almost anyone's!!!

Tim M · 04 September 2009, 00:41

I have extensive experience in this matter! I have literally been through dozens of the bloody things over the last few years on various RIBs. Auto ones are a joke, they break very easily. Like Codders I used to go for the Rule autos cos they were easy to change but at £59 a pop its an expensive hobby. I put a Rule auto in about 3 weeks ago, this one has a proper float thing inside it. The boat has been in the water for those three weeks, and we've had quite a bit of rain down here. So far seems to be working ok, although another RIB I work on has the same pump and we've had problems with that.

So, in conclusion, based on my experience, they're all as crap as each other. The worst one I had was a 1100GPH Rule auto which cost me a small fortune that lasted about 20 minutes before the auto packed up. No joke!

martini · 07 January 2011, 23:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by schlamphure

Rule pumps are definitely the way to go. They have always served me well.

Too late, the boat sank about a year ago, along with this thread