185 Sport - Second Bilge Pump Selection

MarkD

MarkD

Member
Oct 5, 2006
355
Hudson River
Boat Info
1990 35' Sundancer
Engines
twin 454 inboards
I am definately adding a second bilge pump in my boat for obvious safely reasons. Can someone advise as to:

1) Recommended size (gph) and model #.

2) Recommended location (assuming slightly higher than existing primary one which is just under front of the engine)

3) Proper wiring of the pump (should it be directly wired to the battery and fully automatic, or should it be auto with a manual switch like the existing one etc...)

Thanks for the help!!!
 
I'm not sure what size your original pump is - but a recent article in one of the boating mags scared me too. It showed a 3" hole and the amount of water which could flow - the deeper the hole the greater the pressure and the flow. Since you already have one connected to a manual switch - I would get one which was fully automatic and wire to the battery. I think the size of the pump depends on the amount of room you have to work with and how much battery capacity you have. The small 500gph from Rule seem to be good size and it is fully automatic.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...L=true&storeNum=11&subdeptNum=75&classNum=304
 
Last edited:
Travis,
Thanks for the reply. I am not totally sure of how large (gph) my existing pump is. If I had to guess, I would say 1000gph. I have it in storage and wont be seeing it for a few more months. :( I was also amazed as to how much water can get into the boat from even a small hole. it opens your eyes!!!!

My current pump in the 185 sport definately has the manual switch but I also believe it is automatic in operation as well. I was thinking about a pump with an internal float so I would not need a separate float switch and pump. its just more stuff in the bilge.

Since I plan on upgrading my battery setup along with the second pump, I think I will go on the larger side (i.e. 1500-2000 gph) and add the appropriate hose and thru hull. I have yet to determine what size thru hull I will need.
 
Keep in mind the GPH ratings on pumps are based on how much water they move with zero head pressure. The ratings are usually 30% lower in real world applications where the thru-hull will be 3 feet higher than the pump.
 
Travis.... Thanks for the link. Looks like decent info. I think the Rule-Mate pump is the way to go for my application. I started to think about the primary pump size and I could swear that the thruhull could not have been 1 1/8" I am now doubting my memory (senior moment) and it may just be a 3/4" outlet. That would make the stock pump a 500 gph unit. Talk about under powered!!!!

Fossil... understood. Good point. I also read that they test/rate them at 13.7 volts and not the typical 12.2 or thereabouts. Performance drops off at that lower voltage.
 
I would love see some pictures of this after its done :)
 
Bigger is better applies here. You can never pump too much water in an emergency situation....I will be adding at least two bilge pumps this year: 1 for the deck and 1 back-up for the bilge.
 
2845360.jpg
 
LOL Ron.... but as you well know, I dont drive anything that does not have a motor nor would I voluntarily use one of those manual pumps. That is unless my big huge secondary pump failed or wasnt keeping up. :) can you say lazy. I even bought on of those Attwood pumps (battery operated) to bail my dink when it fills up in a rain storm. hehehehehe....

Your suggestion is right though on the siphon. it is cheap and will dump out quite a volume of water.
 
I seriously have one of those blue things on my boat. Just in case.
 
OK, I now have the pump in my possession. I am reading the diagram and the pump comes with 3 wires. One black for the ground. The second is a brown wire for the "Automatic" lead. The third is a brown/white wire for the "manual" lead.

2 Questions:
1) if I choose to operate this pump in fully automatic mode only, would I simply use the black and brown wires and seal off the third brown/white wire? I really dont need to have this pump manually operated since it is a backup unit.

2) Would I mount this second pump on a piece of fiberglass or starboard about 1" higher than the primary pump or is there an alternate mounting method I am not aware of?

Thanks all.
 
If you ended up buying the Rule, I know they offer a side mount bracket that would allow you to mount the pump higher in the bilge on the side wall. That's what I'm considering doing.
 
Just an FYI, my 2005 185 has an 1100GPH pump in it...I would assume yours is the same. I do have the outboard version of the boat though...not sure if that matters.

Be sure to post some pics of the install, I'm considering this as well since my boat see's some time in the Great Lakes.
 
MarkD said:
1) if I choose to operate this pump in fully automatic mode only, would I simply use the black and brown wires and seal off the third brown/white wire? I really dont need to have this pump manually operated since it is a backup unit.
Click to expand...

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you really need that emergency pump, you’ll feel better knowing you can override the float switch and turn the pump on manually. Float switches are notorious for getting stuck, and with Murphy’s Law and all…
 
Quick update. I sent an email to Rule and they confirmed what I thought. To make the pump fully automatic, just seal off the manual wire and connect the brown and black wires.

Actually, I think the side mount bracket would probably be TOO high up in the bilge, but I will recheck to see how it would fare. I was thinking about mounting the pump further forward of the primary one (which is just under the crank pulley), and just behind the fuel tank itself. There is about 8" of space there. My issue would be getting the pump up a little higher (about an inch) than the existing pump. I am not sure what material to use. I could use starboard, but 5200 wont stick to it well. I could also screw in the starboard into the hull, but am afraid of the depth of the holes. The only other option would be to laminate a piece of pressure treated wood and mount that. I really dont want to take that approach though.... anybody have other ideas?
 
so I rechecked that side mounted bracket... it does look like it has the capability to drop the pump down a few inches. That might work. So I ended up ordering it. The price was less than $5, so what the heck, how could I go wrong...even if it doensnt work. Thanks for the suggestion. It would make my life alot easier if it works!!!
 
Thats the one I bought. The actual part # for the side mount is Model 99.

From all I have heard about the volume of water from even the smallest of holes...I really dont think that this pump would even be enough for a larger size hole (i.e. 1-2"). However, I still think 2 is better than one for the following reasons 1) Augment the capacity of the primary pump if I "hole" the bottom to keep me up long enough to get the life jackets on and send out a distress call and 2) to be a spare in case the primary fails.

For those uses, I think the 1100 plus the primary one are sufficient. If not, then you could go with one of those humungous 4000gph units. But in that case, I personally would try to figure out how to to implement a crash pump from the engine water intake (if possible). They suck up alot more water than any bilge pump....
 
Quick note on the Rule pumps. They don't have a float, they cycle on every one minute and check for resistance or something like that. So I would consider wiring it up for manual operation also. If water started coming in right after the pump cycled then the bilge would fill up for one minute before it cycled back on to find that there is water to be pumped out. I stand corrected...it's 2.5 minutes:

"Rule Automatic bilge pumps eliminate the need
for a separate float switch to activate the pump.
Once power is supplied, starting and stopping is
completely automatic. The pump checks for water
every 2 ½ minutes by turning on for a second and
measuring load against the impeller. If water is
present, the pump remains on until the water is
removed. Thereafter the pump resumes its 2 ½
minute check cycle. The automatic pumps feature
two positive leads: an automatic (brown) and a
manual override (brown with a white stripe)."
 
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