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Bilge Pump Issues

J

jfogelso

New member
My bilge pump is not working. It appears to running, but it is not sucking up any water. The prop on the bilge appears to be spinning fine, and the hose going to the outlet does not appear to be clogged. I had looked at just picking up a new pump since they are pretty cheap, but the diameter of newer ones are smaller than the one i have; and there isn't much room to drill new holes. So, just making sure I really need to replace it, or if there is something else I could be overlooking.
 
you could have water in the outlet hose which could result in an air pocket that stops the pump from priming...the water will rise and activate the pump but there is air trapped and the pump impeller is just trying to pump air...the rising water does not have the pressure to force the air to break the water trapped in the hose...this usually occurs with a remote switch but can happen with a switch built into the motor assembly.....make sure there are no dips in the outlet hose that will trap water....if the hose is built into the boat where you cannot see it then take a very small drill and drill a hole in the outlet right at the edge of the attached hose....this will allow the air to escape with the rising water in the bilge and the pump to prime...i say small drill because water will be coming out when the pump is pumping water...if you can catch the pump failing you can run a wire or something down the outlet hose and the pump will start pumping water...what you have done is let the air escape when you disturb the trapped water in the hose...this problem will be intermittent.....the pump will work the first time for example...or it will all of a sudden work on a moving boat etc.....in the first example you have no water in the hose to start with to form the trap..in the moving boat example you have disturbed the water and let the air out...
 
if the outlet hose has any stiffness at all it will hold a bilge pump in place without the screws....i never screw a new bilge pump down.....makes them easier to pull out to clean if necc and rewire or whatever...especially important when the boat is in the water and its raining at night and something happens to them...btdt....makes a fellow think about taking up golf...
 
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