Replace Bilge Pump or Not?

[MALI-MONSTER]

Late last night we got home from our weekend trip to the cottage in northern MI. As I was unpacking the car, I noticed the boat (97 Echelon) was making a buzzing (bilge pump) type of sound from underneath the cover. I thought that I must be an idiot and left the bilge pump switched on, which would be unlikely because I tend to always triple-check things (OCD).

After unpacking the car, I took the cover off the boat and found that all switches were off but the bilge was running. I took off the cover/divider that separates the motor section of the bilge from the pump section of the bilge and found that the bilge float switch was stuck on due to there being a TON of gunk in that section of the bilge. I don’t think that anybody has pulled that divider cover off the boat and cleaned in there for 14 years. I didn’t even know that my bilge pump had a float switch. When I got the boat (2 months ago) I filled the bilge with a LOT of water to test the bilge pump, and it never turned on automatically, so I switched it on at the dash. I now assume that the float switch was so gunked up that it would not float.

So the bilge pump is completely caked in gunk and ran continuously for maybe as long as 4 hours. Am I good to clean the bilge really well, clean the pump really well, and reassemble everything, or do I need to replace the pump because it ran continuously for so long? It looks like a replacement pump is ~$50 w/o shipping, which isn’t going to break the bank, but (according to my wife), we don’t need to be spending any more money on the boat this year. I am leaning towards just replacing it, but don’t want to do so without good cause.

[Levi900RR]

A $50 bilge pump may save your $15K boat. Is that cause enough?

I have thought about putting in 2 my boat. I have an external tsunami 1200GPH ballast pump that I have under the front of my boat that I could use if my bilge ever died.

[Bill_AirJunky]

My 94 MC had a separate pump & float switch.... which was easy to diagnose problems. But the 05 has a pump with integrated float switch....... Not quite as easy to get to.

Sounds like a good bilge cleaning might be in order for you. Even a new pump might have problems with debris floating into the pickup. While your at it, clean & test the pump. Might be just in need of cleaning the gunk out.

[Michigan boarder]

but (according to my wife), we don't need to be spending any more money on the boat this year.

Don't you just love that? She might as well point at you and say "You need to stop having fun".

Replace the pump for sure if it ran dry that long. I would guess that bearing has been compromised, and I'd hate to find out the hard way.

BTW, I didn't know my Echelon had a float switch either....'till I started surfing (about a month ago).

[Levi900RR]

Don't you just love that? She might as well point at you and say "You need to stop having fun".

Replace the pump for sure if it ran dry that long. I would guess that bearing has been compromised, and I'd hate to find out the hard way.

BTW, I didn't know my Echelon had a float switch either....'till I started surfing (about a month ago).

I gotta agree, I have given my bilge pump a workout since I started surfing...

[Bozboat]

....but (according to my wife), we don’t need to be spending any more money on the boat this year. I am leaning towards just replacing it, but don’t want to do so without good cause.

Hope your tank of gas lasts the rest of the season.

[99response]

If you clean out the gunk and the thing still works, I'd leave it alone.

[MALI-MONSTER]

Thanks for the gentle ribbing about my wife controlling the boating budget! I would expect nothing less out of this crew. I think that it was the gas that set her off this weekend. I filled up the boat from nearly empty for the first time since we got it. 38 gallons of gas @ $4/gallon made her cringe. I have to remember to only get 10 gallons or so at a time, so it flies under the radar.

I think that my plan is going to be to clean up the bilge and bilge pump and give it a shot. If it seems to work, I will keep my hand operated bilge pump that I use on my kayak on the Bu for an emergency. Then when I summerize next year, a new bilge pump will have to accidentally end up in my shopping cart along with all of the other summerization supplies ... under the radar ...

[Bozboat]

PM an address and I will send you my old pump that works, maybe you can pay the shipping.

[MALI-MONSTER]

PM an address and I will send you my old pump that works, maybe you can pay the shipping.

That's extremely genorous of you. This weekend I am going to clean out my bilge and reassemble the pump. If that does work, I will certainly PM you.

Incidentally, I called the pump manufacturer (Atwood) directly and asked their technical support engineer his thoughts on whether I should replace it or not. He said that the pump does not use water to lubricate or cool it in any way. In fact Atwood used the exact same motors in both their bilge pumps and blowers. He said that Atwood designs their pumps/blowers to be able to run continuosly for 1,000 hours with or without water. So he said leaving it running dry for 3-4 hours should do nothing to the pump.

[bretski75]

I think mine is going bad too. How are they attached to the bilge?

[Pistol Pete]

I think mine is going bad too. How are they attached to the bilge?

Usually screwed down but, with very shallow screws.