Agree with the 2 pump philosophy with only one caveat from my almost disastrous
experience many years ago which only involved 1 pump.
I made the mistake of having shore power hooked up and bilge pump powered on
when my float switch failed while at my dock. The bilge pump dutifully ran in
response to the failed switch (it failed in the ‘run pump’ position), the
battery sagged, the charger kicked on and ultimately stayed on at its maximum
current.
This evidently happened over a week or more while the boat was unattended.
When I discovered the problem, of course the batteries were dead. As I traced
it, I couldn’t understand why the charger was not on and charging. Closer
inspection found a blown resistor inside the Xantex charger.
Whether by charger design or accident, this blown resistor likely saved my boat
from a fire as the charger overheated trying to keep the batteries charged.
While probably preventable by a more robust on board circuit design, my
takeaway from this event was to NEVER leave shore power/battery charger on
unless I am on board.
As Bill mentioned, better to have a dead battery than the boat at the bottom—or
in my case burned to the water line!
Charlie NelsonWater Phantom1995 C&C 36 XL/kcb
Sent from the all new Aol app for iOS
On Monday, March 1, 2021, 5:01 PM, Bill Coleman via CnC-List
<cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote:
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I agree with the two pumps, with the primary a smallish diaphragm,can be above
the waterline, (mine was in the head, under the sink)with a hoseand a flat
strainer at the lowest part of the bilge, on an electronic switch.
Then a larger centrifugal pump, maybe you could even run aseparate hose out
where the hand/Whale pumps exit. This also on an electronicswitch. You have to
wipe the lens on the switches occasionally to keep themclean.
I would rather find my battery dead, than my boat on the bottomof the slip.
Bill Coleman
Entrada, Erie, PA
From: David Knecht viaCnC-List [mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com]
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2021 11:42 AM
To: CnC CnC discussion list
Cc: David Knecht
Subject: Stus-List Bilge pumps
Practical Sailor had an article recently about bilge pumpsand I have three
questions.
1. They recommended two electric pumps: a lowercapacity automatic as deep in
bilge as possible and a second higher capacitywired to a switch higher up. I
am unconvinced by the logic. I havehad an automatic pump get stuck on, so it
ran until the battery ran out ofjuice. I worry that will happen more
frequently with a deep automatic inthe part of the bilge that will most
frequently have water and crud. Iwould argue for the opposite setup so I can
pump out incidental rain water etc.at my discretion but the automatic will kick
in when there is high water.
2. On my boat, I have a small floor panel I can removeto access the bilge and
my current pump (Whale super-sub which is the only pumpI found that fits) is
deep in the narrow bilge there. If I were to try toput a second pump in, I
think it would have to be somewhere else which meansunder the flooring and
inaccessible which seems like a bad idea. Thatflooring is a PITA to remove,
since it is screwed down and to remove theflooring adjacent to the small panel,
where a pump would make sense, I have tounbolt and support the table because
the mast runs through it and the tablebolts to the flooring. That takes about
30 min minimum so I don’t thinkthat is a good place for a pump one wants to
access with some ease. Icould put it further back under the rear flooring
which is more easily removed,but it would have to be a pump that sits low to
fit. Have others modifiedthe floor attachment to make access to the space
underneath easier?
3. If one has two pumps, it is OK to tie the outletstogether through a Y valve
with check valves?
David Knecht
S/V Aries
1990 C&C 34+
New London, CT
Dr. David Knecht
Professor, Department of Molecularand Cell Biology
University of Connecticut
91 N. Eagleville Rd.
U-3125
Storrs, CT 06269-3125
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the
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send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the
costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to
send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
