auto-bilge, battery and charger options/recomendations

[Adam and Hayley]

I fitted a "Rule" mini auto bilge pump back in September. Having left the bilge pump and boat alone in the boat yard until yesterday (it lives in a yard 150 miles from where I live) you won't be surprised that the battery's flat!.. Not so flat that I couldn't raise and lower the motor but flat enough not to start.

So the question is what best setup to keep the auto bilge pumping in my absense?

I'm thinking a separate battery just for the bilge and attached to some sort of charger BUT... solar pad or wind charger? .. or both?

Any thoughts?

It will be left unattended for long periods of time so it needs to be reliable.


.. the rule bilge pump is the one that spins every 2 minutes or so just for half a second. The boat lives on a trailer.

[neil.mccrirrick]

If the boat is on a trailer why is the bilge pump on?

[Adam and Hayley]

Originally Posted by neil.mccrirrick

If the boat is on a trailer why is the bilge pump on?

In a word: Rainwater

We’ve previously come back to find literally gallons of water in there

[Adam and Hayley]

Originally Posted by Adam and Hayley

In a word: Rainwater

We’ve previously come back to find literally gallons of water in there

At one time we left it in a beautiful place beneath an oak tree and found it full of acorns. (But thankfully no squirrels)

[jeffstevens763@g]

Proper cover so rain doesn’t become a problem I also tilt mine so rain runs out of the drain

[paintman]

M boat lives on a trailer.
Has a cover.
Tilted up so any water runs out of the drain.
Just don't forget to put the plugs back in before you launch it

[Ferryman]

Originally Posted by paintman

M boat lives on a trailer.
Has a cover.
Tilted up so any water runs out of the drain.
Just don't forget to put the plugs back in before you launch it

Everyone must have done that once! Mine was when I was about 16, launching our SR4 at Hayling Island Sailing Club - very busy day [emoji849]

[GARYSHORT]

You want a bilge pump that has a built in float to turn it on/off. No need to have it cycle every 2 minutes. Get a 3 wire pump so that you have a constant hot. Wire that constant hot directly to the battery. Add a marine battery cutoff switch so that nothing else is energized, including the power tilt.

Add a second battery tied into your first. Get a Marine specific AGM deep cycle. It can be smaller than your starting battery. Yes, you CAN tie together an AGM and lead battery. Been doing it for years with no problems. Then add solar panel and charger to the battery. A battery that goes dead loses 10% of its life every time it drops below 10 volts. And, it generally cannot start a motor with that either.

[Adam and Hayley]

Thank you for your replies. I think Paintman and Ferryman may have hit the nail on the head!

I bought the boat 12 years ago from a plumber and the drain plug is, to say the least, unconventional. it's not a standard "garboard" drainplug- It's a 8mm piece of copper pipe that I have to push a rubber bung into....

Handy if I forget to put the bung in as it only lets the water in slowly but, when it's been standing under, say, an ok tree and the sump is full of leaves and acorns it readily blocks and thus fills the boat. In heavy downpours or even when I'm washing the boat down it doesn't keep up with the hosepipe.




.... Only taken me 12 years to work it out!


So I'm going to bore a new hole to take a 1" (25mm) drain plug .


I'm guessing a nice sharp drill so I don't crack the gap and a good dousing of sikaflex to make it watertight and rot proof.

I'll see if I can find some pics of the existing setup

[Adam and Hayley]

pics

[lakelandterrier]

Originally Posted by Adam and Hayley

At one time we left it in a beautiful place beneath an oak tree and found it full of acorns. (But thankfully no squirrels)

Don't give Treerat the grid

[lakelandterrier]

I've had the same problems over the years - with bilge pump on auto flattening the battery, boat filling with water from old / leaking cover, and the rear / sump being blocked with debris from trees as to old cover did not fit well rounds the A-frame.

Solutions I found:
I now have a made to measure cover that keeps most of the water & muck out.
I fabricated a plate from acetate to fit the top of the sump to stop the bilge pump being clogged with debris
I have elephant trunks which I leave down to drain any water more than the sump holds.
I never leave the the bilge pump on auto to prevent the flat battery.
I carry in my car a battery starter pack in case of the dreaded flat battery
I have very limited space in my console so don't want the lose space for a 2nd battery.
I've considered a solar battery charging panel, but never got round to really examining it.
TBH, a good fitting cover, and keeping the trunks down have been the most effective. don't know if any of that helps you.