Here’s an interesting dilemma for you readers who are mechanically inclined…or even if you’re not.
Last week my bilge pump just stopped draining the bilge. I say it like that because the pump didn’t stop working, it just stopped pushing water from the bilge.
I went to check on things and to get some much-needed sailing time in, so as part of my routine I checked the bilge and bilge pump. I was delighted there wasn’t much more than the normal amount of water present. That’s a relief…I think most of my leaks have been diagnosed and corrected.
So I flip the switch to activate the bilge pump. I hear it running, but there’s no water coming out the port side discharge hole.
I turn it off and back on and still the same nothingness happening. Immediately I thought there was something blocking the discharge tube [such as spiders, dirt daubers, or some other insect since I hadn’t been to the boat in several weeks], so I used a wire hanger to reach as far as I could into the tube [from outside the boat], but nothing was dislodged and still no water being pushed out. I didn’t want to spend my entire afternoon diagnosing that problem instead of sailing, so I went sailing instead. I knew I was coming back a few days later, so I’d tackle it then.
Fast forward a few days [during which we went to the annual Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland….post will be coming soon]. I considered that maybe the impeller was bad on the pump. I don’t know how old the pump is, so I figured it’d be a good investment to just replace it anyway.
Before removing the old pump, I simply disconnected the hose and activated the pump. It pushed water just fine from it’s discharge hole. So I knew the impeller was fine and I resumed my thinking that there’s some blockage in the hose. I used a garden hose and pushed water both ways [from inside the boat out and from outside the boat in] through my bilge pump discharge hose and water flowed freely, so I’m certain now there’s nothing blocking the hose.
My dock friend mentioned that maybe the bilge pump is just old and not working as efficiently as it should be. Good thing I bought a replacement, huh? 🙂 So I removed the old pump, a Rule 500 gph and replaced it with a Rule 800 gph pump. All the while thinking what a relief it was that I’d have a brand new bilge pump installed and working within no time.
Well, the installed part was correct….and working was correct as well…to an extent. The new pump turned on, but I still had NO WATER being discharged out the side of the boat. I even considered that maybe I had switched the wires and the pump was running backwards, so I tried reversing the wires [at the bus bar] and that didn’t solve the problem. I removed the hose from the pump and confirmed that it was pushing water, but just not through the discharge hose.
There’s about a 3.5 to 4 foot rise from the bilge to the discharge thru-hull. The 500 gph bilge pump never had any issues pushing water out the side, so I know the 800 gph pump is plenty of power to do the job.
So now I’m completely befuddled as to what the cause of the problem might be. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Dealt with this issue before? I’m all ears!
Thanks!
Are you sure there isn’t trash around the house in the bilge? Hook another house up to the intake and see if it will pull water out of a bucket.
When I disconnected the hose, it pushed water just fine. I let it just run in the bilge, basically recirculating the water in the bilge. The pump and hose are both clear of any debris. Are you thinking something differently?
Boat Demons….. You’re screwed
How about a leak or a hole in the hose that’s small enough that the garden hose was able to push water at a high enough volume to bypass it, however the pumps are not pushing a large enough volume to get past it?
That’s an interesting thought, Justin. It might be possible that’s it, but I can see/feel probably 95+% of the discharge hose and I didn’t detect any water at all on or around the hose while I was running the pump.
My brother mentioned trying to prime the discharge hose, basically filling the discharge hose up with water after it’s all connected. I don’t think that’s going to be the issue, since the 500 gph pump I previously had installed always drained the discharge hose after emptying the bilge. So it always started with an empty discharge tube.
Well, from the sounds of it, you have a blockage in the hose. How far did you try poking in from the outside? possible to get a full length snake through the hose? Another option that comes to mind is looking on Amazon and finding USB cameras that can go through pipes. I’m looking at getting one sometime to look at the inside of my mast.
this is what I had in mind. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JERRES6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=FHY76QVUNZJE&coliid=I11V6NPH9ZVP8C
Other than a blockage, nothing is coming to mind at the moment. Hope you can figure it out.
Daniel, that camera is SUPER cool! I might get one just for the odd times it might come in handy. But to answer your question, I’ve pretty much ruled out any obstruction in the discharge tube. I’ve run water both ways through the tube and have clear discharge both ways.
The comment Justin mentioned above sounds likely. I think I’m stumped on that too.
I would take a small guess and say that there is a hole in your hose some where along the line to the thru hull. A small hole could relieve enough pressure that it doesn’t make it all the way out but attached to the pressure of a garden hose it does.
looked it up. garden hose = 40-70 psi and a Rule pump = about 13-16 psi. I think this might be your problem. I replaced my hoses a year ago and also have about a 4′ incline and 8′ of hose with the same 500gpm pump. A hole in the hose or bad hose to hose connection can really kill your pressure.
You may be right, Noel. Although I can see and feel almost the entire run of the hose and didn’t see or feel any water when I was running the pump. The hose is definitely my next troubleshooting point.
Good news is if it’s the hose then I have a perfectly good pump that didn’t need replacing after all. Guess it’s good to have a backup anyway…lol
Hi Mike,
I have three thoughts.
You didn’t mention if there was a check valve in the line. Rule pumps are not supposed to be installed with check valves but it happens all the time. What might be going on is the check valve is failing and that the 40-70 psi flow from the garden hose is enough to activate the check valve but the 20-30 psi that the pump generates can’t activate the check valve. If you have a check valve, remove it. They don’t belong on boats.
The second thought is the hose type. From what I can see in the picture you have clear vinyl hose on the bilge pump. This is the incorrect material as it could become soft and collapse. Again, the garden hose has more pressure so it can open the hose but the pump can’t. You want a harder vinyl hose with some kind of reinforcement. I typically use Trident hose and they make a bilge hose that sells for about $2 per foot. http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|2243574|2243575&id=106883
My last thought is what is the charge state of your batteries? You are dealing with a 12 volt system and it is way different from the power in your house. If your batteries are low the pump will still work but not have the power to overcome the head. The way you check out charge state is to let the battery rest for 12 hours and then connect a multimeter to read the voltage. A fully charged battery should read 12.7V. A dead battery reads 11.9 volts. You should only discharge your battery by 50% and that would read 12.2 volts. If batteries have been discharged too low for too long they build up sulfate on the lead plates and are essentially no good.
If you need more info on batteries, let me know.
Hope this helps.
Good luck and fair winds,
Jesse
s/v Smitty
Some good points Jesse! Thanks for the input. There is no check valve, so that’s definitely not the issue. The hose type….now that’s a good question. It appears to be vinyl, but it’s also very rigid. It’s hardly flexible at all, so doubtful it’s collapsed, but it’s a possibility.
As far as the battery, you bring up a very good point. I’ve been wondering lately if my battery is still any good. I’ve had the boat a couple years and now and don’t know how old the battery was when I purchased the boat. I’ll definitely be checking that out. Thanks for the info and suggestions!
Mike
Sorry for the delay in getting back on this thread, but Jesse, you were right. It was the battery. I replaced the battery and the bilge water started pumping out just like it was supposed to!
I’ve since sold that boat and have a different one now.
Mike