Should a bilge pump be able to empty the bilge??

[Waterski-Rebel]

My bilge pump wasn't working right, you could hear it pump, but nothing came out. So I bought a new pump, and swapped it out. After swapping it out, the pump only dribbled water out. I thought the tube was plugged, so I bought a plumbers snake, and pushed the snake all the way through. After doing so, it dribbled water out, I turned it off and on, and it seemed to work correctly. I was doing this in my garage, and pumping the water into a bucket. When we'd go to empty the bucket I would turn off the pump. After emptying a couple of buckets, it stopped pumping. The water was still at least an inch deep, but it wouldn't pump any more.

Am I missing something? Shouldn't the pump empty out more water? there was still a good 15-20 gallons of water in there after it stopped pumping.

[chpthril]

So, I'm gathering from this post that the plumbers snake didnt push out any kind of blockage? New pump, no restriction sound like a poor connection if all it does is dribble.

To your question about how much water the pump should pump out........the bilge pumps job is to keep excessive water from accumulating in the bilge, not to keep it dry. It will take more then an inch of water to reach the impeller

[Waterski-Rebel]

I was too busy pushing the snake through, and didn't keep a good eye on the other end to see if something came out. When I looked in the bilge, I didn't see anything laying there that would have clogged it.

My pump is mouted a little higher then the rest of the bilge. There is a rise in the bilge where the prop is, and the pump is on top of this rise. I would say it's an inch higher, so when I said 1" of water around the pump, there was actually 2 inches of water in the bilge.

I don't mind the pump not pumping it dry, I am afraid if I ever get stuck in a major rain storm. I also have a tsunami pump in my boat, but don't want that to be my only option.

[chpthril]

Leaving water in the bilge is normal, but your pump sounds like it just isn't getting it done, there should be a real nice stream with some force when the bilge is on.

I would pull it out, put a section of hose on the outlet, drop it in a bucket of water and straight wire it to a battery and see what kind of flow it has.

[Fast1911]

So, I'm gathering from this post that the plumbers snake didnt push out any kind of blockage? New pump, no restriction sound like a poor connection if all it does is dribble.

To your question about how much water the pump should pump out........the bilge pumps job is to keep excessive water from accumulating in the bilge, not to keep it dry. It will take more then an inch of water to reach the impeller

An inch of water in the bilge is normal, mine will not turn on with an inch in the bilge, it takes a little more than that. It doesn't dribble when it pumps though, blow an air hose through it also, you should be ok

[carlsberg365]

I had the same problem with the bilge pump. Lots of noise and no action. Dismantled the pump and took out all the junk that had found its way into the inlet. Then checked the outlet and tried pushing the plumbers wire down it. Didn’t go too far. On the inside of the boat (at the outlet connection) the hose runs up the back of the transom and then comes forward and turns to connect to the through hull fitting. These turns and twists in the hose caused it to “kink”. The constriction cut the flow considerably. In reality, the through hull fitting needs a right angle bend on the inside but if you twist the hose and then tighten it onto the fitting with the jubilee clip it holds its form and resists the kinking and should allow better flow. It worked for me

[laserfish]

What pump did you buy? What gph?

[Waterski-Rebel]

laserfish - I bought the sameone that was in there. I think it was a rulemate 500. They also had an 1100, but it took a different size hose.

carlsberg - I was able to push the plumbers snake all the way through the tubing, and have it come out on the other side. It wasn't very easy, but I made it all the way through.

[zad0030]

I would recommend taking the plugs out when on the trailer.

Also i would try putting it into a bucket like mentioned before.

[Waterski-Rebel]

I do pull the plugs, just worried about it not working during a large rain storm, with me in the middle of a lake.

I havn't had a chance to try the bucket thing. The boat is getting winterized right now, might be a good winter project?

[Jason B]

leave a ballast pump like the tsunami in the boat to use for emergencies
those things move more water than Noah's storm could ever dump into your boat
If I notice that much water in my bilge (very,very rare) I pull the plug and drive up the steepest road I can find, that seems to work well for me.

[Boyd Culp]

I remember working on an "Old Boat" that had a bilge pump installed in it. It ALWAYS left a small amount of water in it when it finished pumping. I think it was water that was up in the pipe to be pitched over-bord, that had not made it because the water into the pump ran out. The pumps will not pump air, and without a supply of water running into the pump, it just stops pumping. The bottom line, don't worry about it.