E38 shower drain sump?

Hello All,
My '83 E38 shower drains into the forward most bilge well/sump as I assume all other E38's do? This forward bilge well/sump has a small @1" limber hole fairly close to the bottom of the well. This allows shower gray water to drain back into what I assume is the interior of the TAFG grid. I am thinking that this is not intended to be this way and not a good thing? Does anyone see any problem in draining this area and then plugging that limber hole with a rubber transom plug like used on dingys?

The reason I'm asking is I installed a remote mounted Jabsco ParMax shower drain pump under the port bench seat right in front of the nav station. The pump is triggered by one of those "field effect" all electronic bilge switches Ziptied to the pickup hose in the sump. The setup works really well but I would rather not be filling the TAFG with crud if I don't have to....

Thanks, RT

I don't recall seeing any holes in mine. I'll check this weekend and let you know.

I think the TAFG is filled with foam or something faily impervious to water, but 23 years is a long time to have to hold up to water immersion without it separating from the layup.

Shower Bilge Scum

I would do more than that - I would suggest getting rid of the shower sump all together - and put an in-line pump in. This is what I posted on in another thread, regarding what I did in my 35-3 to get rid of it:

I know on my 86' 35-3 the shower pan had a small 'bilge' that drained into the shower bilge - where a sump pump spat it out once in a while.... Sounds like what you're describing..

In my case, the bottom of the shower pan bilge was about 1/2" (or perhaps a little less) below the drain to the main shower bilge - leaving some amount of scummy shower water in it after people used it (very gross). I also hated the shower bilge itself - as some amount of scum was left there as well - a source of odor and moisture.

Between the pan and the shower bilge was (originally) a small section of pvc. Perhaps your stuff is running around that piece, and down below/around the grid. If you look with a mirror by the shower bilge - under the cabin sole, you should see an outlet (if yours was set up like mine).

I solved the entire problem by first glassing in the base of the shower pan bilge so that the drain hole was lower than the rest of it (leaves nothing behind). I then ran it into a 1" pvc pipe (which was itself was set by epoxy into the pan - then glassed in) through a check valve and then to a Water Wolf pump which I placed in the (now dried out and repainted) shower bilge. A pull switch in the shower stall completed the job.

Operation; told the guests to - use the shower until the small pan bilge fills, and you see water around your feet - then pull the switch and wait to hear that 'sucking sound' - turn off the switch. When finished showering, run some extra fresh through the line to clear it.

• No water in the shower pan.
• No water in the shower bilge.
• Clean water in the line, combined with check valve ensures priming.
• ZERO smell.
• ZERO scum.

Click to expand...

Anyhow - I always mention this whenever I hear anything about that shower bilge...


//sse

Getting rid of the shower sump is a good idea simply to do away with the little bit of standing water that is always left over. I considered it but did it my way for a few reasons:

-Although the shower pump manufacturers all claim the pumps can run dry without damage I don't believe it. Someone will invariably leave it on and possibly kill it at an inopportune time.

-Mine is wired so that it may be set on "automatic" or "manual" On auto it will drain the sump to about 1" deep, once you step out of the shower triggering it manually will drain it to about 1/4". I set the pump switch at this height deliberately to keep it from running the pump if for some reason the switch was sensitive to heeling, etc.

-The shower bilge hose in my boat is completely captive. It looks like I would have to remove the sole to replace it. Consequently I am very gentle with it and not inclined to cut any extra off to make the hookup to the shower drain directly.

-There is no way the shower pump, strainer, etc. I am using would have fit in the shower sump. It looks like a standard water system pump. Either using a small Rule pump or remote mounting like I did was the only solution.

-The added benefit of a shower pump on "automatic" is that I can leave it on auto and it will function as a secondary bilge pump in an emergency. Granted the water would have to be up to the sole but it still would be helpful if this happened.

There are probably more ways to do this but after careful consideration this was the best solution for me. It works very well. The main point here is that if you have a "bilge pump" style shower sump pump you should consider a remote mounted unit either directly connected or with a switch. A positive displacement pump makes a world of difference!

RT

Rob,

My shower sump has a hole in the aft wall about an inch in diameter. It is plugged with a stopper. It's down low in the sump.

Thanks Craig,
I plugged the hole in my shower sump and the new pump works great! Runs maybe 5 seconds at time easily keeping up with the grey water inflow. I highly recommend the ParMax shower sump pump, used it today for the first time and couldn't be happier. Thanks, RT