Timed bilge pump on 2000 310 Sundancer?

P

Pakmule

Member
Mar 18, 2007
674
St. Albans, VT
Boat Info
310 Sundancer 2000
Engines
350 Mercruiser w/V-Drives
I have tried searching with no luck.

The bilge pump under the floor of the cabin comes on about every minute for a couple of seconds. I have pulled up the hatch and it is bone dry in there so it must be on some sort of timer.

Is this related to something being turned on on the power panel? I would like some way to disable it at night as, when I am sleeping in the aft cabin, it is a few feet from my head and kind of annoying.

Thanks in advance,
Kurt
 
I don't think there's a timer there; I would guess your float switch is faulty.
Not sure you can disable it, someone may know better than me.
 
Are you sure it's not your sump pump with a worn check valve?

Water from the hose seeps back into the box, at which point it lifts the float and is sent back up the hose. That's classic sump behavior.
 
RollerCoastr said:
Are you sure it's not your sump pump with a worn check valve?

Water from the hose seeps back into the box, at which point it lifts the float and is sent back up the hose. That's classic sump behavior.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll check it out in more detail this afternoon.
 
The sump pump on my 260DA does this occasionally. On mine its a Mercury switch, and sometimes it settles wrong if I've gone through some wakes and had a bumpy ride. The remedy is to take another hard ride of course, or better yet - gently slap the side of the box holding the switch to resettle it. Works for me.
 
Some bilge pumps are made to operate without a float switch. They will turn on every few minutes and if no water resistance is felt, they will turn back off. These have been around for 10-15 years now. I ha done in the sump in Chris Craft Roamer, and hated it. Went to a float model.
 
Alrighty.

I tore apart the shower sump assembly today to see what was going on. The first thing I noticed was lots of slime built up on the pump and the float. I watched it cycle for a while and basically it would run for 2-3 seconds, stop and then all the water that it pumped up the tube would simply come right back into the sump box.

I lifted the float by hand and held it up until the box was completely empty of water and let it go. Some of the water that was in the pipe flowed back but not enough to actuate the pump again.

So it looks like the slime was affecting the buoyancy of the float and causing it to run in cycles too short to actually do anything. I am going to go down with a small brush and some cleaner tomorrow and get it cleaned up. That should solve that annoying problem.
 
The problem has returned. I am guessing the sump box is filling up with condensation from the AC unit to the point where it is kicking on again. The pump does not run long enough to get the water out of the through hull fitting so it just comes right back into the box lifts the float valve and starts running again.

Would there be a problem if I put a check valve just outside of the box? I am guessing that would leave water in the line which would probably not be a good thing. Would replacing the float be a solution?
 
My buddy just installed a RULE 500 in his boat that has a built in float switch. It has a little timer in it that makes it run for about 30 seconds after the float switch turns it off. This may help you pump that extra little bit out of the sump. West Marine sells it, the RM500
 
Last edited:
berth control said:
My buddy just installed a RULE 500 in his boat that has a built in float switch. It has a little timer in it that makes it run for about 30 seconds after the float switch turns it off. This may help you pump that extra little bit out of the sump.
Click to expand...

That may do the trick. I will look into that.

Thanks
 
The sump on my 2008 310 DA arrived from the factory without a check valve. Because I'm in South Florida and the AC is on all the time, I thought the thing was supposed to cycle every few seconds, but the AC condensate shouldn't be enough to make that happen.

Anyway Marine Max installed the check valve right at the sump and they say that's where it's supposed to be. A real easy job and solved the cycling problem. It now cycles much less often.
 
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