Cost of fitting a Bilge Pump

finn mccool · 24 September 2018, 11:40

I'm looking for a bit of advice about Bilge Pumps.....

I am keeping my Brig 500 on a swinging mooring in Poole Harbour. Obviously we've had a pretty good summer and the boat has generally been very dry when I have gone out to it. After a few downpours, however, the transom area fills and pulls the back end down a little into the water.

I have been advised to fit a Bilge Pump and, after perusing these forums, have concluded that a RuleMate 500 would do the trick

The Boatyard associated with the Marina has quoted me around £550 to fit one (including three way switch and materials). The labour aspect is around £300. Does this seem fair or should I just wait a few weeks until I take it out of the water for winter and do it myself?

Thanks in advance for any advice

F

Xk59D · 24 September 2018, 12:02

That is way ott, a good pump is like 60 quid plus bits like switch, wire etc, call it 100 max. I'd be fitting that myself.

69cmw · 24 September 2018, 12:08

Bent over and Roger spring to mind [emoji848][emoji848]

jeffstevens763@g · 24 September 2018, 12:21

i bought a rule auto pump off fleabay for £20 easy to fit you could set it up a temp with wires external and pack away when you use the boat if you dont want to thread wires etc the pump comes off its base plate for cleaning so easy to disassemble.

Last Tango · 24 September 2018, 12:43

Put politely.... The boat yard would rather not do the job. ��

The Black Pig · 24 September 2018, 12:54

Have a go yourself

An easy fit

I fitted a rule 500 myself that’s 500 gallons an hour which is plenty for rain/ splash cover, seems man/women/ trans gender enough for the job given the size of boat

Pikey Dave · 24 September 2018, 13:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Black Pig

Have a go yourself

An easy fit

I fitted a rule 500 myself that’s 500 gallons an hour which is plenty for rain/ splash cover, seems man/women/ trans gender enough for the job given the size of boat

You missed out “non-binary”, someone will be offended [emoji57]

finn mccool · 24 September 2018, 13:55

Thanks for the advice everyone....

The weather seems set fair for the next week or more so I will get down there tomorrow and bail out after the weekend rain……. and you have helped me make the decision. I'll bring it back to the garage for winter and do it myself. There seem to be a lot of useful videos on youtube, and I have no doubt that I'll be able to get on here for more help if I get myself in a pickle.

cheers

F

jeffstevens763@g · 24 September 2018, 15:02

easy to fit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvWQA5sYSmg

Phil M · 24 September 2018, 15:29

I've decided to try one of the Ebay/Amazon Chinese pumps (Sailflo I think its called). I don't need it to operate on a mooring so no real issue if it fails as I have the elephants trunk so thought it worth a punt at £16 for a 600gph auto pump. Will see how it holds up but it looks and feels quite sturdy.

Phil M

boristhebold · 24 September 2018, 15:39

wow that is alot, having a boat is like having a hacker get into your bank account. I don't understand how my car service is usually x amount and my boat engine service is x times 4.

If I could find some decent outboard serving course I would do my own. enouth winging.

Bilge pumps, fairly easy to fit, at that price my advice would be to do it yourself, get hold of appropriate switches and marine grade wiring and connectors. I say switches as in plural as dependant upon the pump you may want it ON in auto mode while on the mooring and to be able to actually switch it on if needed.

Also if you have battery isolation switches that you turn off when the boat is on mooring and not in use then wire switch direct to battery (via fuse bank) or perm on supply independant of batt switches. That way you can just have the bilge pump on in auto mode and all other electrics etc off when away from boat. (auto mode meaning when water in bilge gets to a certain point it switches the pump on) Not trying to teach anyone to suck eggs or anything and hope that makes sense.

charliee · 24 September 2018, 16:06

Does anyone want a bilge pump fitted - just bring me your boat and £500 - Job done!
I'd call that extortionate. Its an easy job to do and you will have the benefit of knowing how it works and what to look out for. there are plenty of tutorials on line. my advice is to DIY

HDAV · 24 September 2018, 16:27

I would think under £100 worth of bits
https://www.marinescene.co.uk/produc...mp-500-gph-12v

https://www.marinescene.co.uk/produc...ll-round-pumps

https://www.marinescene.co.uk/produc...quot;-hose-kit

And possibly a switch and some wire and a fuse/ fuse holder....

breezeblock · 24 September 2018, 16:37

on the other side of the coin I can see why its quite expensive on the face of it maybe they don't fit cheap pumps is the wiring route to the back awkward is the wiring on the boat a disaster also does the boat yard charge a reasonable hourly rate are they subbing the job out folk are too quick to jump on people running a business just my thoughts

GuyC · 24 September 2018, 18:14

I think I'd wait until you get it out of the water and do it yourself. The automatic Rule pump that you've identified seems quite good. take the power from the battery side of the isolator through a fuse to the pump.

Do you run it through a switch? My initial thought would have been yes but reading posts on here, I'm no longer sure. It's another failure mode plus you've got to remember to turn it on. You could always pull the fuse out if you are storing the boat ashore with the bung out.

Last Tango · 24 September 2018, 18:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by breezeblock

on the other side of the coin I can see why its quite expensive on the face of it maybe they don't fit cheap pumps is the wiring route to the back awkward is the wiring on the boat a disaster also does the boat yard charge a reasonable hourly rate are they subbing the job out folk are too quick to jump on people running a business just my thoughts

I think the term is an "FO" quote

willk · 24 September 2018, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by breezeblock

... folk are too quick to jump on people running a business just my thoughts

God forbid we would pay someone a decent wage to do something we could do ourselves for half the money in twice the time!

Last Tango · 24 September 2018, 19:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

God forbid we would pay someone a decent wage to do something we could do ourselves for half the money in twice the time!

But seriously.....

Three hours tops, 500gph pump and a "centre off switch".£100 tops.
They're wanting over a hundred pound an hour for labour.......try working for the NHS.

Sutty · 24 September 2018, 19:52

It’s an hours job, but in their quote have they included a solar panel to recharge the battery?

willk · 24 September 2018, 19:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Last Tango

But seriously.....

Three hours tops, 500gph pump and a "centre off switch".£100 tops.
They're wanting over a hundred pound an hour for labour.......try working for the NHS.

I won't attempt to justify £550, but equally you clearly have no idea how to cost a job. Working for the NHS might not have helped!

3 hours "might" sort this one or it might not. I absolutely, without any doubt or uncertainty, bet you anything that the OP won't do the job in under 3 hours. In fact, once procurement is included, I bet he spends an entire day at it. And even then it might not work....