[Rhodes22-list] Bilge Pump

[Bill Effros]

While I'm at it, let me tell you the story of pumping out the accumulated water in my cabin left behind by the snow storms.

There was enough water to justify the purchase of a bilge pump.  I bought a small "Piranha" pump from WM for around $20, hooked it up to the electrical system, and let it pump for an hour--until the bilge was finally empty.  The pump is rated at 300gph, but the pump rating systems don't adjust for the fact that most people have to pump up hill.  I pumped from the bilge, over the companionway, and down the drains.  

The pump used a minimal amount of power, (less than .5 amps per hour because it was sunny and the solar cells were putting power back into the batteries at the same time) and probably could have pumped for a week.  However, if even a small amount of water had been entering at the same time I was pumping, the pump never could have kept up with it.  Also, a larger pump would have faced a cavitation problem in the confined space of the bilge.

Bill Effros