Bilge pump plumbing warning.

[RHenegar]

I had an incident happen to me several years ago that I thought I would share. Sailing my E32-3 in the Gulf of Mexico, I was close hauled on starboard tack in a fair amount of wind, so the boat was heeled over pretty good. After about 30 minutes on that tack I notice the bilge covers popping up in the cabin. Went down below and the bilge was full. After a few minutes of trouble shooting I figure out that the bilge pump was not working, but what was really strange was I could feel a strong continuous flow of water flowing out of the pump. It didn't take me too long to realize that water was siphoning back into the boat. I released the sails, the boat flattened out, the siphon broke and the water stopped flowing.

I have had the boat for a number of years and obviously people had been sailing the boat before me, so I can only assume that the siphon problem was always there and being covered up by a working bilge pump. If the pump hadn't quit, I would probably have never known of the problem. That was probably OK except it was likely taking a toll on the batteries. Looking at how the bilge was plumbed, there were no anti-siphon loops in the system (at least not on my boat). There are now. I just thought I wold share.

 

[Loren Beach]

Unwanted Water

I had an incident happen to me several years ago that I thought I would share. Sailing my E32-3 in the Gulf of Mexico, I was close hauled on starboard tack in a fair amount of wind, so the boat was heeled over pretty good. After about 30 minutes on that tack I notice the bilge covers popping up in the cabin. Went down below and the bilge was full. After a few minutes of trouble shooting I figure out that the bilge pump was not working, but what was really strange was I could feel a strong continuous flow of water flowing out of the pump. It didn't take me too long to realize that water was siphoning back into the boat. I released the sails, the boat flattened out, the siphon broke and the water stopped flowing.

I have had the boat for a number of years and obviously people had been sailing the boat before me, so I can only assume that the siphon problem was always there and being covered up by a working bilge pump. If the pump hadn't quit, I would probably have never known of the problem. That was probably OK except it was likely taking a toll on the batteries. Looking at how the bilge was plumbed, there were no anti-siphon loops in the system (at least not on my boat). There are now. I just thought I wold share.

I would hazard a guess that a prior owner replaced one of the expensive factory Jabsco pumps with a centrifugal ("Rule") pump. These will back-syphon.
Stick to the Jabsco pump; they use check valves as a part of the pumping mechanism and will not do this.
Also check your hose runs aft to see if a high loop has fallen down and no longer protects against back flooding.

Confession: in our early days of ownership we fell for the "enthusiastic" claims of water movement for centrifugal pumps and installed one. After a blustery day of sailing we also had some loose water in the bilge from that pump, altho not up to the sole level. Lesson learned.

 

[Christian Williams]

I have been told that an antisiphon loop in a bilge pump hose is not traditional practice. Neither of my Ericsons had one. I put one in the 32-3.

May I ask what was wrong with the pump? Did it hum but not function? (or not turn on at all).

Some-- many--models of Rule submersible pumps aren't self-priming, and if they lose their prime can "hum" but not move water. The solution is to shake them, prod them, etc. If operating but not pumping, a fine stream of bubbles rises from the pump. It would fool anybody into thinking pumping was taking place. And the hose outlet is usually hidden from view at sea, so there is no obvious confirmation.

 

[toddster]

In the ain't broke don't fix it category, my Rule pump was installed with a check valve downstream. Not recommended practice but seems to work? Although there were one or two incidents with unexplained bilge water after a spirited sail...