[C320-list] Electric Bilge Pump Inline Filter - Good Idea?

[danny jensen]

Abe,

Karl got me thinking about this subject when he posted is aft locker bilge
alarm. His ideas are really good.

Here is my alarm system:

http://www.catalina320.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20141020141554767&i=20151118132738479&p=1

Here is my bilge pump project and it is comprehensive.

http://www.catalina320.com/mediagallery/download.php?mid=20141021083025421


 The only reason I spent so much time on this was because I single hand
offshore 30 miles sometimes and I spook easy. The other day I was 15 miles
off shore in good weather sailing and my radio weather alert when off and I
thought it was my bilge alarm. Wow. It spooked me.


Here is the projects I would consider in order of importance / bang for the
buck assuming you don’t sail single handed and close to shore most of the
time.


1. Rig an alarm so you know if your bilge is running or better yet an
independent switch. This one is $73.00.
http://aqualarm.net/bilge-alarms-switches-c-6/20240-bilge-high-water-warning-with-detector-p-71.html

2.      2. Carry spare parts for your primary pump

3.     3. Upgrade your manual pump to a 28GPM whale. Look at Catalina
direct of for the pump.  Your electric primary is 5GPM.  It believe the
pump you want is a Titan. It is higher capacity but it has the same screw
holes.

4.      4. Put a counter on your primary pump. Most if the leaking we find
are old leaks that are leaking but we don’t know about them. I have a
counter so I know how many cycles my pump has had. The counter is made by
aqua alarm. This counter is $69.00.
http://aqualarm.net/bilge-alarms-switches-c-6/20045-bilge-pump-counter-12v-24v-32v-p-83.html

5.      5. Next as Warren states you can put your high water pump almost
anywhere. I have a rule 3700 $150.00 mounted in a deep bilge but you could
just have it ready to deploy manually if need be. I spend money drilling
hole in my boat for the output but I sail alone quite a bit and don’t have
time to fix a leak and get the pump going.

Danny

#972



On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 1:01 PM, Warren Updike <wupdike at hotmail.com> wrote:

> I can think of two reasons for installing a second bilge pump: 1) as a
> backup in case of failure of the primary; 2) to provide a greater capacity
> in case of hull breech. Here, I address the case with the (older) shallow
> bilge as that is the only configuration with which I am familiar.
>
> As a backup, it might not matter where it is placed. It might even be
> accommodated in the space where the primary is located with its own switch.
> As a second pump, it would operate in tandem with the primary. I have heard
> it said that having the switch located higher would allow the primary to
> run
> alone until the water level were high enough to activate the secondary
> pump.
> I am not addressing the matter of how to direct the outflow of the
> secondary
> pump.
>
> For the second reason, it might not matter where the secondary pump is
> located as the purpose is mainly to apply a much greater capacity for
> emergency situations. It probably should be located, or at least the input
> end of the hose and switch located, at a point where it would be activated
> well before a critical point would be reached. For that matter, if
> self-priming, the pump motor could be located in the most convenient place
> for power and discharge. In this application, the total pumping capacity of
> both should be greater than the inflow occasioned by the breech of one
> thru-hull, allowing that the priming head were not exceeded.
>
> It seems to me that an emergent situation of flooding has, as does the crew
> overboard situation, so many variables in circumstance that to cover all
> with a single solution would be daunting to impossible. Consideration must
> be given to the situation where people are on board or not, trained to
> respond or not, and what is the nature of the cause.
>
> In summary, know the condition of your boat, and keep thru-hull closed when
> not aboard.
>
> Warren and Pattie Updike
> 1994 C320 "Warr de Mar" #62
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ade Bateman [mailto:lists at adrianba.net]
> Sent: Monday, November 16, 2015 9:09 PM
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Electric Bilge Pump Inline Filter - Good Idea?
>
> On Friday, November 6, 2015 8:17 AM, Warren Updike wrote:
> > Note for the older models: in 1995, the bilge design was changed from
> > "shallow" to "deep." As I understand it, the "deep" bilges have the pump
> > sited outside of the actual bilge in which case a filter would make some
> > sense. Even just some screening secured with a wire tie would suffice. In
> > the earlier "shallow" bilge, the pump is in the bilge mounted on the
> hull.
> > Even here some screening around the pump intake could help prevent stuff
> > getting to the impeller. That said, we have the "shallow" bilge with no
> > screen/filer and have had no problem with the impeller fouling.
>
> Has anybody fitted a secondary bilge pump in a shallow bilge boat? This
> thread and some of the other recent bilge pump threads has got me
> thinking but I'm not sure where to mount a secondary and where it would
> draw from.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Ade.
>
>
>
>