bilge pump

[irishfire]

happy thanks giving to the CDN boaters....

question for 240 SRV owners....does your bilge pump run off shore power or do you need to keep the battery on while docked at the marina? i thought it ran off shore power and went back after a week to find abunch of water in the engine compartment.....how much water is too much?

 

[Presentation]

happy thanks giving to the CDN boaters....

question for 240 SRV owners....does your bilge pump run off shore power or do you need to keep the battery on while docked at the marina? i thought it ran off shore power and went back after a week to find abunch of water in the engine compartment.....how much water is too much?

The bilge pump(s) should run off the battery even if the battery(s) switch is in the off position.

Test it out and see if this is how it works. Turn the battery off and lift the float switch. You may have a knob on the float switch if the float is enclosed.

When on shore power I leave the inverter (built in battery charger) on so it’s charging the batteries. Given a small to moderate water leek this would in theory add additional time for someone to notice the boat kicking water out.

Also if the higher float switch is activated a alarm sounds. It’s a sick sound and I am familiar with by frequently testing both of the float switches.

 

[irishfire]

thanks for the reply, i did test running the pump with battery off with no success...it only runs when battery is switched on....i also have the battery charger....the fridge and lights run off shower power, but the radio, blower and bilge apparently run only when battery is switched on....sound normal? as i thought it was bad to have the battery switched on while left at the marina?

 

[eauty]

Your bilge pumps should run regardless of the battery switch. They should be directly wired to the battery so they operate at any time. I would definitely have that checked out.

 

[JVM225]

All bilge pumps should be wired directly to the batteries so they work whether the switch is on or off. Cabin lights should also work off of the batteries, assuming of course they are 12 volt. Otherwise, how would you have lights inside the cabin when you pull away from the dock?

 

[irishfire]

OK thanks i better get it checked for sure....there was alot of water in the engine compartment when i went to the boat the other day.....i just figured it should pump out automatically....thanks again

 

[Presentation]

All bilge pumps should be wired directly to the batteries so they work whether the switch is on or off. Cabin lights should also work off of the batteries, assuming of course they are 12 volt. Otherwise, how would you have lights inside the cabin when you pull away from the dock?

I agree in concept.

We do have A/C lights only and DC lights.

Off the top of my head the one I’m thinking of is over the galley. One switch says “A/C lights” and one says “DC lights” or something similar.

 

[KRB64]

We have two batteries on ours. The bilge pump is straight to the battery.

When on shore power it's charging both batteries. And I leave that on all the time. Just be sure and check the acid levels ocassionally.

Everything OEM on yours should be 12 volt right? So its always running off the batteries (one for house one for engine). Except maybe the fridge? Which could be AC/DC?

Been using the 260 SD lately so I'm trying to remember the 240 WE's set up...

 

[irishfire]

thanks for that reply....all kind of confusing to me....but it will try and get it worked out
thanks

 

[stevea661]

Ok here is how mine is wired. I have 2 pumps and they are both wired the same way, although when I purchased my 23 year old boat they were wired wrong. The automatic float switch is wired directly through the battery, not through the battery switch, so with the battery switch in the off position, if the water level in the bilge becomes high enough to turn the float switch on, the pump will get 12 volt dc and pump the water out until the float switch goes down enough to be in the off position and turns off the 12 volt dc to the pump. The switch on the dash that manually turns the pump on and off is wired through the battery switch. The battery switch needs to be in the on position in order for the dash switch to turn the pump on. So the pumps actually have two circuts that get power to them. I hope this makes sense, I'm not allways that good at explaining my thoughts to others. Just ask my ex-wife.:huh:

 

[ghuskin]

Are we sure that irishfire has either an automatic float switch, or an automatic bilge pump?

 

[irishfire]

Hi Stevea, yeah that makes sense....i am terrible with mechanics and electronics...i know what am i doing with a boat...but all i know is my battery switch was in the "off" position and there was a foot of water in with the engine...so then i turned the baterry "on" and the on dash switch was in auto, the pump activated right away till the water dropped below the float level....there was still water so i put the on dash switch to on and pumped out the remaining water...the boat is now is storage and the mechanic is going to look at it...thanks everyone for their input...

 

[KRB64]

Are we sure that irishfire has either an automatic float switch, or an automatic bilge pump?

Good point. Needs to be one or the other. Your mechanic should get you straightened out right.