grahamdouglass
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2012
- Messages
- 422
- Location
- Canada
- Vessel Name
- Summer Wind 1
- Vessel Make
- Marine Trader 41
My two cents on shaft seals and bilge pumps
Bilge pumps
In 2016 I bought a brand new Rule float switch for my 3500 gph bilge pump. The switch was faulty from the manufacturer. It wasn't faulty on install, but because this was my secondary pump and the switch only activated if the 500 gph failed, I didn't notice it until my 500 gph bilge pump was accidently turned off and my high water alarm came on. I learned later, while talking to the Xylem representitive at the January 2017 boat show there was a bad batch of float switches produced in 2016 that failed and that Xylem was aware of this problem and knew the manufacture dates and lot numbers.
Shaft seals
I have a traditional packing shaft seal. What I noticed during my last haul out, when I removed and replaced all my old packing is that repcacking your shaft seal is an excelant way to see if your propeller shaft is properly alligned and to inspect your engine mounts for sagging.
Clean bilge
A dirty bilge can cause problems with pump action. This is not only debris. In my case I noticed in the spring my 500 gph pump was cycling a lot. On inspection I noticed a weird algie/gunky like growth. Something in the water? I don't know. I bought a commercial bilge cleaner used for fish boats to clean my bilge.
Bilge pumps
In 2016 I bought a brand new Rule float switch for my 3500 gph bilge pump. The switch was faulty from the manufacturer. It wasn't faulty on install, but because this was my secondary pump and the switch only activated if the 500 gph failed, I didn't notice it until my 500 gph bilge pump was accidently turned off and my high water alarm came on. I learned later, while talking to the Xylem representitive at the January 2017 boat show there was a bad batch of float switches produced in 2016 that failed and that Xylem was aware of this problem and knew the manufacture dates and lot numbers.
Shaft seals
I have a traditional packing shaft seal. What I noticed during my last haul out, when I removed and replaced all my old packing is that repcacking your shaft seal is an excelant way to see if your propeller shaft is properly alligned and to inspect your engine mounts for sagging.
Clean bilge
A dirty bilge can cause problems with pump action. This is not only debris. In my case I noticed in the spring my 500 gph pump was cycling a lot. On inspection I noticed a weird algie/gunky like growth. Something in the water? I don't know. I bought a commercial bilge cleaner used for fish boats to clean my bilge.