Automatic Bilge Pump issues

Ya I have replaced two on my boat for the same reason. I’ve tried cleaning them. It doesn’t make a difference.
 
Yes, they seem designed to last only a few years, once water seeps into the sensor circuit, it seems to sense water all the time, or has an internal short (don't know which). At that point they are worthless as an automatic pump. I have gone to manuals (submersible) and use a separate float switch. The only problem I have encountered with these is after a while the float seems to stick in the up position and won't go down everytime. Easily cured by gluing a small weight onto the switch before installation.
 
I have a Johnson 750 bilge pump and I'm on the third one in almost 5 years so I think most brand have similar issues. The auto sensor is a separate piece on mine but when it fails the sensor and the pump are both shot. On my last installation I installed an indicator light where it's easily visible when running or trolling. That way I know when the pump kicks in and if it runs for more than 5 to 10 sec I know something is wrong and pull the inline fuse to investigate before they both melt again.
 
On my Rule pumps when they stay stuck on I pull the fuse and put it back in. Then they are ok again for a while
 
I think it is a wiring issue. You almost need to keep an extra foot of wire on install and trim back the wiring a bit each year. The wiring see's the corrosion the most.
 
I had replaced a Johnson pump where the impeller had slid up the shaft and would not spin. Maybe something jammed it up, but when I had it off the boat and
moved the impeller down it worked fine.
Now have a spare. :)
 
i went to the internal diaphragm type and doesnt happen now.. the arm or float switch type seemed to get sticky after a couple years even with a spotless bilge.
 
In my mind bilge pumps are pretty much a consumable item, there's too much crap and crud in the bilge no matter how clean you think it is. I have two pumps, one manually controlled from the helm, the other has a separate float switch for auto operation. Separate circuit for each pump to reduce likelihood of both crapping out at the same time, also no other other devices on either of these circuits. Very careful attention paid to wiring connections as they see a lot of moisture: crimp, solder, double shrink tubing. I pull the pumps and float switch out every month or two for inspection, plus test fire them whenever I think of it. About every second year one pump will fail so off I go and get another one. The hull is nice and dry after the big rebuild four years back so the pumps don't work much but still they fail. It's just a tough environment for light electrical equipment.
 
In my mind bilge pumps are pretty much a consumable item, there's too much crap and crud in the bilge no matter how clean you think it is. I have two pumps, one manually controlled from the helm, the other has a separate float switch for auto operation. Separate circuit for each pump to reduce likelihood of both crapping out at the same time, also no other other devices on either of these circuits. Very careful attention paid to wiring connections as they see a lot of moisture: crimp, solder, double shrink tubing. I pull the pumps and float switch out every month or two for inspection, plus test fire them whenever I think of it. About every second year one pump will fail so off I go and get another one. The hull is nice and dry after the big rebuild four years back so the pumps don't work much but still they fail. It's just a tough environment for light electrical equipment.

Exactly. Given the amount of money spent on other things required to own, operate and maintain a boat, the cost of a bilge pump every 3 years or so is pretty negligible. But, touch wood, my Rule automatics (like in the first link) have lasted a lot longer than 3 years.
 
Exactly. Given the amount of money spent on other things required to own, operate and maintain a boat, the cost of a bilge pump every 3 years or so is pretty negligible. But, touch wood, my Rule automatics (like in the first link) have lasted a lot longer than 3 years.

My Rule, built in float, auto start, 750 gph rainwater bilge pump has lasted about 12 years as has the much larger manual start Rule main pump. That is with annual cleaning of the pumps and the bilge, and actual testing at the start of the season. I am wondering if the 750 has finally packed it in as there was a fair bit of winter rain water in the bilge (pumped out with the main pump) as we began the annual mini refit and the batteries did not take as much of a top up charge as I have come to expect if they have been pumping out rain water all winter during dry land storage. With the canvas cover and amount of winter rain variance and the variation in frequency with which we check it over the winter and pump it out before the level gets to the point that the auto pump activates, it is hard to be sure it is toast without actual testing. We have cleaned and serviced it and once we launch the boat and get it in the slip we will flood the boat with the dock hose and see if it auto starts. If not I have a new spare we have been holding onto for about 5 years waiting for it to fail. If it has not failed this year, I think we will swap it out before the start of next season anyway to be proactive and keep the old one as a spare.
 
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I change mine every 2 years. A maintenance issue in my mind

This discussion has got me thinking about changing them out more frequently to be sure they are strong and fresh. even if the existing ones are working great. When you hear about all the problems people have with the newer ones and their early failure rates it is hard to give up on older, possibly better built models that have been problem free for many years. I have been thinking about an idea for an emergency pumping option for the boat and perhaps I will start a new thread on it and see what people think.
 
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This discussion has got me thinking about changing them out more frequently to be sure they are strong and fresh. even if the existing ones are working great. When you hear about all the problems people have with the newer ones and their early failure rates it is hard to give up on older, possibly better built models that have been problem free for many years. I have been thinking about an idea for an emergency pumping option for the boat and perhaps I will start a new thread on it and see what people think.

I test mine regularly and I’m prepared to wait until it fails when I test it rather than replace a working pump. That said, unexpected random failure is why I put a second bilge pump in my boat (18 foot Hourston). Redundancy is important, but it’s also nice to have more than double the pumping capacity (750 GPH with the first pump, plus an additional 900 GPH) if it’s needed.
 
This discussion has got me thinking about changing them out more frequently to be sure they are strong and fresh. even if the existing ones are working great. When you hear about all the problems people have with the newer ones and their early failure rates it is hard to give up on older, possibly better built models that have been problem free for many years. I have been thinking about an idea for an emergency pumping option for the boat and perhaps I will start a new thread on it and see what people think.

I also agree with Sculpin as i cut and re do the wiring connection in the bilge every spring before i put it in the water as that is a real weak link.

I have 2 in my 26 Hourston, one is a 1500 GPH auto and a 1000 GPH on an auto/manual switch. Of course i have the mandatory hand pump (which is useless) plus i pack a 750 GPH portable with long wires and big alligator clips to attach to the battery posts for emergencies or pump failure.

That plus my large ping pong ball scuppers came in handy several years ago when i was hit by a 25+ ft rogue wave that shattered my windshield and put 3 ft of water in my boat. I was fortunate enough to be able to stay under power so the scuppers could do their thing and the water was gone in 3 mins.
 
I have a 1000GPH on a switch for clean-up and a 3500GPH automatic for back-up mounted a little higher up. I also had both my freshwater and raw water wash down pumps rigged with gate values for when the **** hits the fan.
A good article on bilge pumps. http://www.yachtsurvey.com/bilge_pumps.htm
 
We have only redone the wiring at the pumps once about 5 years ago and really have had no problems with it. We did use marine rated shrink tube crimp connectors and injected it with dielectric grease and then crimped it with a proper crimping tool. Then you put the heat gun on the shrink connector and if you want you can also have put on standard tube type shrink wrap, which you then pull down over the the already shrink wrapped connector so that it is double water tight shrink wrapped. Even if salt air or water were to get past both barriers there is no room for it to get by and displace the electricity conducting corrosion preventing grease in the metal part of the connector. So far it seems to be holding up despite the very hostile environment of being suspended above an often slightly wet salt water bilge.

Great idea Casper on using the wash down pump in an emergency for extra pumping. We replaced the wash down pump through hull fitting with new and then decommissioned the raw water wash down system, by removing the sea **** and capping the bronze through hull.
I found we were not using it and spraying salt water around the boat just caused extra corrosion and we have fresh water wash down capability at the marina slip. Not to mention one less hose and sea **** failure to worry about sinking the boat.
We left everything else in place in case the next owner wants it working so it would only take a few minutes to hook up. However the intake hose is just sitting in the bottom of the bilge. Nice to know that all I need to do is turn it on and it also is now available to augment bilge pumping.
 
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Yes just a T fitting and 2 shutoffs. Open one and shut the other. I left a plastic hose fitting on one of them and have about 8' of hose that I can use to suck from anywhere in the boat. The wash downs don't have a high GPH rating but as long as I have power there is a lot of GPH sucking water out in a emergency, and that is the name of the game.
People fail to realize that if you take a wave over the side the amount of water that is. Example say you take 40 gallons of water over the side. Your little 750 bilge pump is going to take about 20-30 minutes to pump it out, and there is a good chance that in those 20-30 minutes yo are going to take another one over the side too. You start doing the math and that's a lot of water to move very quickly.
The other thing is a pump that is rated for whatever, is rated pumping on a flat surface not for pumping it uphill and over the side. The higher it has to pump the lower the GPH will be
.
 
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