light24bulbs
E30+ 1984, San Juan Island, Wa
My E30 Plus has a remotely mounted suction bilge pump, located under the quarter birth. It can pull from either the bilge or the shower sump based on a selector. I believe this slightly unusual setup was factory standard.
It stopped working, I replaced it, and the placement isn't working very well either. I believe the line is collapsing and need tips how to pull a proper line. Here's the story:
My bilge pump was working fine but after cleaning the bilge and going for my first sail, a rock got stuck in the end of the line and since I removed it I still couldn't get the pump to work right. It would either work intermittently or just not work, I figured I accidentally ran it dry. I blew out the hoses in both directions using the crazy strong marina hose water pressure, it was fine. Impeller pump is a bit weird to have pumping bilge water anyway. I took it apart and couldn't see what was wrong with it so I decided to replace it with a gulper 320 by whale which is a diaphragm pump, also designed to be remote mounted just like the factory pump. Still weird but it's specifically designed for bilges and tolerates debris and can run dry. Very well reviewed pump and it cost me $200. Fitting it into that hole was not fun, it took all day. Very bad spot for maintenance if it needs it.
So I dumped a bunch of water into the bilge and gave it a try. Here's the flow rate https://v.redd.it/hfy7gz8y7lha1
Choppy, and slow. This is a 5gpm pump, probably 4x the rate that I'm getting.
While I was doing the replacement I noticed that the hose that runs unseen through the bilge all the way to the bathroom... Is really soft. It's not a vac rated hose and I think it's actually only gotten softer over time since the boat was built. It kinks incredibly easily if there's any bend. I think it's collapsing somewhere I can't see it. Has anybody managed to pull a new one of these hoses through the bilge. Seems like the bilges on these boats are really tricky what with the honeycomb structure. I got some new 3/4 hose which is rated for bilge vacuum duty, got a good deal at go2marine from Bellingham WA. I just need to figure out how to pull it. I also got a male to male barb union, so I was thinking of using that with some glue/tape and pulling a new line with the old one. Does that sound remotely possible? Has anyone managed to replace this line? Is it fixed in place somewhere impossible? Is there some way to get at the middle under the salon?
Another option would be to turn this into a pusher setup by putting a standard centrifuge pump in the bilge. I'd be giving up the shower sump. I don't even have a shower anyway (I got rid of the water heater aka giant lazarette obstruction). It did come in handy when my toilet had to be pulled apart (gross water everywhere) but..that's life.
Anyway, just looking for advice. I'm sure one of you somewhere has been through this on the 30+. Thanks!
It stopped working, I replaced it, and the placement isn't working very well either. I believe the line is collapsing and need tips how to pull a proper line. Here's the story:
My bilge pump was working fine but after cleaning the bilge and going for my first sail, a rock got stuck in the end of the line and since I removed it I still couldn't get the pump to work right. It would either work intermittently or just not work, I figured I accidentally ran it dry. I blew out the hoses in both directions using the crazy strong marina hose water pressure, it was fine. Impeller pump is a bit weird to have pumping bilge water anyway. I took it apart and couldn't see what was wrong with it so I decided to replace it with a gulper 320 by whale which is a diaphragm pump, also designed to be remote mounted just like the factory pump. Still weird but it's specifically designed for bilges and tolerates debris and can run dry. Very well reviewed pump and it cost me $200. Fitting it into that hole was not fun, it took all day. Very bad spot for maintenance if it needs it.
So I dumped a bunch of water into the bilge and gave it a try. Here's the flow rate https://v.redd.it/hfy7gz8y7lha1
Choppy, and slow. This is a 5gpm pump, probably 4x the rate that I'm getting.
While I was doing the replacement I noticed that the hose that runs unseen through the bilge all the way to the bathroom... Is really soft. It's not a vac rated hose and I think it's actually only gotten softer over time since the boat was built. It kinks incredibly easily if there's any bend. I think it's collapsing somewhere I can't see it. Has anybody managed to pull a new one of these hoses through the bilge. Seems like the bilges on these boats are really tricky what with the honeycomb structure. I got some new 3/4 hose which is rated for bilge vacuum duty, got a good deal at go2marine from Bellingham WA. I just need to figure out how to pull it. I also got a male to male barb union, so I was thinking of using that with some glue/tape and pulling a new line with the old one. Does that sound remotely possible? Has anyone managed to replace this line? Is it fixed in place somewhere impossible? Is there some way to get at the middle under the salon?
Another option would be to turn this into a pusher setup by putting a standard centrifuge pump in the bilge. I'd be giving up the shower sump. I don't even have a shower anyway (I got rid of the water heater aka giant lazarette obstruction). It did come in handy when my toilet had to be pulled apart (gross water everywhere) but..that's life.
Anyway, just looking for advice. I'm sure one of you somewhere has been through this on the 30+. Thanks!