View Full Version : should you leave the bilge pump on??
gerberman
10-19-2007, 06:50 PM
When a boat is parked in a slip in the ocean bay, should a battery be left in the #1 position and a bilge pump on in case of excess rain water? Shore power is available with a battery charger on board to keep the battery charged. Wondering about electrolysis with an aluminum boat. Gerberman
BARCHASER
10-19-2007, 07:33 PM
I bought a new North River in 2005. I have two bilge pumps, one manual connected to a toggle switch on the dash and the other on a float switch wired direct to the battery. I moored my boat for 3 months spring of 2006 at Freds on the Willy. I know the pump on the float switch worked cause it for sure rained now and then and there was no water in the bilge. Also I moored it for three weeks in Canada and two weeks over at Port Angeles and it rained, no water in the bilge, no battery issues, no evidence of electrolysis. The Perko switch is off since the float switch is wired direct. I never had a prob once the float switch was installed right.
There was a prob when the dealer installed the float switch that was fixed under the warranty. They installed the float switch at a location that was lower in the bilge than the pump. When water accumulated in the bilge the float switch would go on and stay on even though the pump itself was out of water, until eventually the battery will go dead. I found that out when it was new and I tested the float switch in my driveway.
Two pumps, one with the float switch, is the way to go when you moor, just install it right.
Thomas Gilg
10-19-2007, 08:17 PM
On my 21' 2007 NR Seahawk, I confirmed with the dealer that one of the pumps was tied directly to a battery. Switching it off is not an option.
--tg
Tacklebuster
10-22-2007, 04:55 AM
On my 21' 2007 NR Seahawk, I confirmed with the dealer that one of the pumps was tied directly to a battery. Switching it off is not an option.
--tg
Sure it is.... all you gotta do is not keep the connectors clean and let some salt do her damage. Pretty soon the wire completely falls out of the connector and thus off is the only option:wink:
gerberman
10-26-2007, 07:11 PM
Lots of rain on the Oregon coast in Charleston so last Wed I went down to my boat with the pumps left on, only to find the low pump not working, and the large second pump working. I worked with the pump that would not work, just could not get it going so I moved one of the spare pumps to the low position. So now I only have 3 working pumps on my 34 foot boat. I will be bringing it to my shop this winter and getting all four pumps working again. I leave the shore power on to charge the batteries.
There was a prob when the dealer installed the float switch that was fixed under the warranty. They installed the float switch at a location that was lower in the bilge than the pump. When water accumulated in the bilge the float switch would go on and stay on even though the pump itself was out of water, until eventually the battery will go dead. I found that out when it was new and I tested the float switch in my driveway.
Two pumps, one with the float switch, is the way to go when you moor, just install it right.
Same thing happens if a piece of debris lodges under the float. I had that happen to a customer's houseboat. The boat had a chronic small leak which he refused to have repaired, the battery went dead because the pump ran continuosly for a day or two with a small chunk of wood caught under the float, and the boat sank in the slip.