Shower sump problem

b_arrington

Well-Known Member
GOLD Sponsor
Feb 21, 2007
3,469
Setauket, NY
Boat Info
Back Cove 37
AB Ventus 9VL
Engines
Cummins QSC 8.3 600
The shower sump pump in my 06 Amberjack has started to run continuously. The only way to turn it off is to trip the circuit breaker. Anyone else have this happen to them, and/or know what the fix is?

My dealer supposedly fixed this over the winter but the issue is back. Obviously this is a problem for a couple reasons: it will burnout the motor; and since the pump bypasses the battery switch it will drain the battery.

Interestingly, my father in-law bought a used '97 280 DA, and his sump pump started doing the same thing.
 
b_arrington,

I have this periodically. It happens when I hit some bigger wakes and the boat hits the water (not slams, but slightly hits). This makes the pump floating switch to trigger the pump. The switch gets stuck in this position and the pump just gets going. When I was purchaising the boat we had the issue after the ride. The owner took it to the dealer and they replaiced the pump (good for me, bad for them since the pump was fine anyway). After first season I decided to replace the floating switch and guess what, it wasn't too long before the new one had the same issue. So, my simple work around, since this is a rare occasion, open 4 screwses and move the switch few times to get it back in order. 3 min of work and I'm fine for a while. I don't feel like replacing switches every year since they all get stuck the same way.

Good luck,
Alex.
 
Thanks for the info Alex. I'll give that a try. I might look for a better pump / switch arrangement too. The annoying thing is that I've never used the shower and don't have an AC unit that drains into the sump.

Now that I'm thinking about it, my trouble last fall was slightly different. I poured some antifreeze down the drain to winterize the sump and discharge line. The float activated the pump, but it didn't pump out. I had to kill the power at the dist. panel. There's nothing like trying to work on a pump in a small space that's submerged in slippery antifreeze.

Shining - your brother's problem the type of thing I'm concerned about and the exact reason why I shut off the power to the pump. On my boat it's actually pretty difficult to manually trip the circuit breaker. You can't just flip the switch - you need an itty bitty pointed object to stick in a slot on the breaker. I suppose it prevents an accidental trip, but it's annoying.
 
This does not sound like the problem, but one think I learned from another boating site, is to only use the liquid soaps in the shower as bar soap contains paraffin which can lead to the type of build up that makes the float stick. I have always used liquid soap on all three of my cabin boats and never had a problem with the float. The pump is another issue :smt009 .
 
brimanst said:
This does not sound like the problem, but one think I learned from another boating site, is to only use the liquid soaps in the shower as bar soap contains paraffin which can lead to the type of build up that makes the float stick. I have always used liquid soap on all three of my cabin boats and never had a problem with the float. The pump is another issue :smt009 .

brimanst,
Are you suggesting that the reason for the switch getting stock is that I use regular soap? Interesting, sound too easy as for solution, but I'll give it a shot. Could you please list a site with the name of the product you're using (if it's something special).

Thx,
Alex.
 
b_arrington said:
Now that I'm thinking about it, my trouble last fall was slightly different. I poured some antifreeze down the drain to winterize the sump and discharge line. The float activated the pump, but it didn't pump out.

b_arrington,
This sounds to me like a problem with your pump not he switch. If the switch had activated the pump when the level of water or antifreez was riched, then the switch did it's job. The pump running but not pumping water out could be either hose disconnect issue or the pump itslef (seals or whattever makes it to create the suction). I would examine the hose and make sure all is good and if no problems with hose replace the pump.

Alex.
 
Alex F said:
Shining said:
My brother just had this problem and it turned out bad! Check out the pics.
http://www.byowneryachts.com/forums...0&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Shining,
Sorry to hear about your brother. What a painfull lesson. Could happen to anyone. If the pump issue could result in the fire like that they should install some kind of a heat relay/shutt off switch.

Alex.
I learned from this that I shut off power and the batteries when I leave for the week. It's just not worth the risk for me to leave the battery charger and refrig. on while I'm away from my boat for a week.
-Mike
 
Alex F said:
b_arrington,
This sounds to me like a problem with your pump not he switch. If the switch had activated the pump when the level of water or antifreez was riched, then the switch did it's job. The pump running but not pumping water out could be either hose disconnect issue or the pump itslef (seals or whattever makes it to create the suction). I would examine the hose and make sure all is good and if no problems with hose replace the pump.

Alex.

It's actually two separate instances. First (last fall) the pump didn't pump. The dealer worked on this. The current problem is the continual running.

While I have not pulled the cover off to verify, I don't believe there is enough fluid in the sump to lift the float. I checked the sump level before launch and it was dry, and I have not put any fluid down the sump drain since. I noticed the pump kick in as I was closing up the boat for the weekend, and I know for sure I had not run any water down the drain.

It's still under warranty, so I'm putting a call into the dealer. But I was wondering if anyone else had a similar issue and if it was a known problem with the standard equipment.
 
I am definitely not the expert here, but I gleened the information from a boater EDucation site under the sanitation section. I just use liquid soap, not any particular brand. I can tell you that it is much nicer to clean the sump now that I switched. I can't tell you for sure that it unsticks the float. Hope this helps.

briman
 
Shining said:
Alex F said:
Shining said:
My brother just had this problem and it turned out bad! Check out the pics.
http://www.byowneryachts.com/forums...0&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Shining,
Sorry to hear about your brother. What a painfull lesson. Could happen to anyone. If the pump issue could result in the fire like that they should install some kind of a heat relay/shutt off switch.

Alex.
I learned from this that I shut off power and the batteries when I leave for the week. It's just not worth the risk for me to leave the battery charger and refrig. on while I'm away from my boat for a week.
-Mike

For me, leaving my boat in the water without the battery charger being on would be more of a risk.
How long do you think your bilge pumps will operate before your battery goes dead?
 
Use any of the liquid soaps that are known as "body wash". I was amazed at the difference in the home shower too compared to bar soap. You get virtually no scum or messy build up with a body wash soap.
 
tobnpr said:
Shining said:
Alex F said:
Shining said:
My brother just had this problem and it turned out bad! Check out the pics.
http://www.byowneryachts.com/forums...0&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Shining,
Sorry to hear about your brother. What a painfull lesson. Could happen to anyone. If the pump issue could result in the fire like that they should install some kind of a heat relay/shutt off switch.

Alex.
I learned from this that I shut off power and the batteries when I leave for the week. It's just not worth the risk for me to leave the battery charger and refrig. on while I'm away from my boat for a week.
-Mike

For me, leaving my boat in the water without the battery charger being on would be more of a risk.
How long do you think your bilge pumps will operate before your battery goes dead?
And what about the smaller boats that have No power and leave their boat slipped? Also, after seeing what happened to my brother, who's to say how long the bilge pump will stay on before that burns out? Just my $.02
 
Geez, every time I come to this website I find something new to worry about. :smt101


Chazaroo
 
I read on this site that you can use bilge cleaner in the sump to help keep it clean. Mine smelled bad, so I used bilge cleaner and now it smells fine. (I thought the stink was from the head, but it was clean and held water, so, I used my God-given sniffer to find that the smell was the drain).

Also, coincidentally, we use liquid soap. My boat came with a dispenser glued to the counter top. I like the royal cashmere by liquid soap - it smells nice. We have never had a sticky float switch. Also, the manual says to run 1 gallon of water through the sump after using soap. I tell my family not to use a whole gallon while showering, let alone at the end of the shower.
 
My sump is also giving me a bit of a problem and I was hoping someone could offer help from their experience. My pump seems to be "short" cycling. It will go on, pump out, but I think that the water in the line drips back into the sump and refills it high enough for the sump to go on again. This will go on through the night.

I have the setup with seperate pump and float. I removed everything in the sump and cleaned it out to look like new.

It doesn't seem like there is any adjustment on the float to determine when it goes on or off. I though of check valve, but then I might be trapping "crude" water in the line.

Anyone advise would be appreciated.....

thanks,
 
Well, I found my problem. It was the check valve that overly restricted the flow.

In the standard sump-box setup (it's a complete unit OEMed by Rule), there is a short hose which connects the pump outlet to the hose barb on the inside of the box. Inside this hose is a rubber check. For some reason, the check valve is too stiff for for the pump to push any water through it. I took out the check valve and it worked fine, except that some water drains back in (like osd9's problem above).

This was a strange one. If the blew through the valve, it seemed to open. The pump seemed to have lots of pressure - certainly enough to overcome a rubber flapper. But it just couldn't get any water past the valve.

I ordered another type of valve from my local store, and I'm going to install it in the hose just outside the sump box. There's not enough space inside the box.
 
b_arrington said:
Well, I found my problem. It was the check valve that overly restricted the flow.

Glad to hear you solved your problem.....!!!!!


b_arrington said:
In the standard sump-box setup (it's a complete unit OEMed by Rule), there is a short hose which connects the pump outlet to the hose barb on the inside of the box. Inside this hose is a rubber check. For some reason, the check valve is too stiff for for the pump to push any water through it. I took out the check valve and it worked fine, except that some water drains back in (like osd9's problem above).

Thanks for that info.....I was concerned about adding a check valve, but now I guess I'm concerned that my check valve may be stuck open.....I'll check it out...thanks again...
 
Dom,

I installed a brand new Rule sump box system in my boat two years ago and sure enough it started acting up this weekend. I cleaned it out (including the check valve mentioned above) and all is well again. I hate these things as I have had problems with them on every boat I have owned. Even when it is workign it does not drain the shower very quickly.

Of course I have also drilled out the restricter plate in the shower so I can get some decent flow.... 2.0 GPM just didn't get it.
 

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