What is this????

gofish103 · Post by **gofish103** » Wed May 13, 2009 9:22 pm

Was cleaning up the front bilges this past weekend, the previous owner disconnected the shower pump. and looks like an after market bilge pump was added. if you look at the picture there is a black hose coming underneath the shower pump that is capped off. couldnt chase it any futher because my holding tank is behind the bulk head.
Does anybody know what it is????

wet wonder · Post by **wet wonder** » Wed May 13, 2009 10:18 pm

It's capped, which leads me to believe that it runs to an outlet in the hull, and is capped to keep lake water from running back in. Maybe it was for a second bilge pump.

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Wed May 13, 2009 11:03 pm

well u could always take it out and see if water comes out...i assume ur in the water...just be ready to put it back in...while ur in there u should change out any steel hose clamps and screws with stainless...is ur bilge pump always like that?

wet wonder · Post by **wet wonder** » Thu May 14, 2009 12:15 am

Yeah, I agree, pull the cap off. If water doesn't start running into the bilge, then pour water into the end of the hose and have someone watch the hull above the water line to see if the water drains out of an above fitting, like for a bilge pump.

Mac32 · Post by **Mac32** » Thu May 14, 2009 1:15 pm

Do you have air conditioning with a condenser up in the front v-berth bulk head?

I have seen drain lines coming off the air conditioner units that drain into the bilge? or on other manufacturer boats a chain locker drain.

The other one I have seen is (I know its the wrong size ) a second bilge pump hose going to a thru hull fitting next to the primary. Possibly for a manual bilge pump that got removed?

gofish103 · Post by **gofish103** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:32 pm

Bilge pump discharge was my first guess also, but the pump that is in it now, has a clear discharge hose that appears to run up the port side, thru the closet and discharges out the side.

after seeing the hose clamps, I did buy stainless to replace.

and yes the bilge sets just like it is, No good??

this other pictures shows a bracket that may have held the original bildge pump??? not sure.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:45 pm

Your pump should sit level to work correctly that bracket would be a good place . Also wire Nuts ? tape wires ? all where they could be under water I would redo the wiring

gofish103 · Post by **gofish103** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:47 pm

Since there are no clamps, could I zip tie it to the bracket??

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:51 pm

Screw it or bolt it to the bracket ( the base comes off ) would be the best and right way . wire ties ,well its better then what you have now.

gofish103 · Post by **gofish103** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:52 pm

got it, will remove strainer and screw to the base.. thanks

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:54 pm

i dont want to knit-pick ..hey if it aint broke..etc but wire nuts are considered a no-no..i hope those r speaker wires taped up.. i use regular butt connectors and put silcone to cover the ends thena after it dries i tape them....i like the zip ties with the hole for screws....alot of times i leave the zip ties loose and screwed in like a hanger...i give people the option of shrink wrap if they want it...i have one of those little snap on butane heaters for it...but like i said i like silicone myself...the bilge pump should be level..also if u take the 2 screws off the bottom u can clean the inside with soap and water to get the slug out of the float..if its sluggy

kevin babineau · Post by **kevin babineau** » Thu May 14, 2009 10:58 pm

for the bracket the blue part of the bilge pump come off and u screw the base right to the bracket..then u snap the white part of the pump to it....if its a metal bracket u might have to remove it to drill it...dont drill through the boat...sounds silly but i knew i guy that did that....and no mike it wasnt me

gofish103 · Post by **gofish103** » Sun May 17, 2009 9:43 pm

No those arent speaker wires, they are the wires for the bilge pump, after I took those pictures I did remove the wire caps and put in crimp connectors and coated them with liquid tape.
The previous owner really took some short cuts on things that were replaced or added.

I couldnt understand disconnecting the shower pump....I understand that it could be used as an emergency bilge if needed. So why in the world would you disconnect it. I doubt that we will ever use the shower since we have a shower house at the marina, but I will be reconnecting it to have it if needed.

Still havent figured out what the line is for. Dont have central air or heat.

pnmudge · Post by **pnmudge** » Tue May 19, 2009 1:10 am

I just got our "new" 76 28 trojan this weekend....noticed a pull switch in the head below the counter that doesn't work...assuming this is for the shower pump? But i also have a "forward bilge" switch that runs through the hanging locker and out the port side....

When i first ran it, some water came out. I left it for a few hours, and tried it again while playing around with some switches... more water. Not a lot. but there shouldn't be any in there if i just pumped it out...

I'll pull the floor up this weekend and see what's going on... maybe my original shower pump was disconnected too, but not capped off like yours?

captainmaniac · Post by **captainmaniac** » Thu May 21, 2009 2:09 am

pnmudge - water moves.... You can pump until you are dry. Then 2 people move more forward than they were before, you fill or empty a water or gas tank that wasn't before, load a bunch of crap or tools or whatever... the bow may have only dropped by 1/4" relative to where it was before, but that could be enough to move another 5-10 gallons of water to where the pump can do something with it. Don't sweat it.
Now... if you have an automatic bilge switch on that pump, and it kicks in every few hours, THEN get worried!