That sump pump is probably the one for the shower drain and A/C condensate line. Sounds like it's not pumping overboard as it should. Take it apart and check the float switch and also the screen filter and hoses. Is it wet in the compartment around the sump pump housing?

Esteban

 

It is the shower sump and mid cabin bilge. It should be dry.

 

Guys - we have had our 280 Sundancer for about 6 weeks now and for the most part everything has been good and I've been able to figure most things out as I've gone. On three separate occasions, we've found wet carpet at the base of the step to go up to the cockpit. It's in the triangular area right outside the head door and the step. The carpet is quite wet (not puddled or pooled) and covers and area about 2 square feet. It seems to be originating at the step and creeping foreward. I pulled the carbage can out from the step and saw that I had a sump of some sort there. Didn't know that. There was quite a bit of water in it.

So after looking at the manual, that seems to be a grey water sump. Does that sound right? If so, is grey water supposed to accumulate there and then get pumped out? I noticed at least one bilge pump in the sump - although, like I said, there was quite a bit of water down there.

Is it likely that this is the source of the water leaking into the carpet? I've noticed that the wet carpet feels soapy or slippery - is that likely soap from the sink in the head? We have been in 3-5 footers a couple of times, most recently, the day before I noticed the latest bout of wet carpet. Is it possible that something is not working right in the sump and the water is sloshing around and backing up into our carpet?

Any other ideas as to whats going on and how I should test it?

Thanks guys.

most likely there is a leak around shower drain - water leaks below shower floor and accumulate under step, or another possibility that silicone between shower floor and wall is cracked and that allow for water to leak under floor (on some models whole shower is molded as a one piece and there may not be silicone on the floor)

 

That sump pump is probably the one for the shower drain and A/C condensate line. Sounds like it's not pumping overboard as it should. Take it apart and check the float switch and also the screen filter and hoses. Is it wet in the compartment around the sump pump housing?

Esteban

I'm going back to the boat tonight to check it out. I"m going to use a shop vac to get the water out and then try to check out the switches/floats. I'll let you know what I find out.

 

Everytime we get water in that area it is from the fridge. If you have it on for some time and the freezer parts condensates, the water will drain out of the fridge when you shut the fridge off. Check to see if the bottom of the fridge has some water accumulating there. If so, safe to say that some may have spilled over. The sump is for the ac and shower. There is always SOME water in the sump and maybe a little under the sump. I usually vacuum it out as it will eventually become a source of bad smells. I don't think the sump is realted to the wet carpets however since the carpeting is about a foot higher in the boat. The wet carpet will more likely be from the fridge, galley sink or from bad caulking in the shower.

In any event, check the sump pump (float and pump unit) by pouring water into the container from a quart jug. It should kick on and quickly expel the water.

 

Everytime we get water in that area it is from the fridge. If you have it on for some time and the freezer parts condensates, the water will drain out of the fridge when you shut the fridge off. Check to see if the bottom of the fridge has some water accumulating there. If so, safe to say that some may have spilled over. The sump is for the ac and shower. There is always SOME water in the sump and maybe a little under the sump. I usually vacuum it out as it will eventually become a source of bad smells. I don't think the sump is realted to the wet carpets however since the carpeting is about a foot higher in the boat. The wet carpet will more likely be from the fridge, galley sink or from bad caulking in the shower.

In any event, check the sump pump (float and pump unit) by pouring water into the container from a quart jug. It should kick on and quickly expel the water.

Thanks for the ideas. I'm not looking at it right now but from what I can remember, there's a lot of water in it. More that I expected. I think the pump isn't working right and water is splashing out into the carpet while underway. Do you know if there is a switch or fuse anywhere dedicated to that sump? I wonder if I've cut power to it somehow. If not, maybe a bad pump or clogged intake or something. Are these pumps readily available at a Boater's World?

 

The sump is easily replaceable either by the entire unit, or the individual parts (switch and/or pump).

It is connected to one of the breakers in the engine room that is always ON and cannot be turned OFF.

I would start by taking the cover off and see if you can operate the switch by hand and see what happens. Then decide from there.

Esteban

 

Had the same problem show up this weekend on our 260 and there was about 6" of water under trash can. Luckily I had one of my 3' long water squirt tubes and was able to suck the water out every 4 or 5 hours from the ac condensate. Checked it out and its not pumping or making any sound. Going to pull it out and fix it. Need the day time temps to cool off a little. Day times highs have been 117 and night times have been 95 so I am not in a hurry to hang out down below. :thumbsup:

 

The sump is easily replaceable either by the entire unit, or the individual parts (switch and/or pump).

It is connected to one of the breakers in the engine room that is always ON and cannot be turned OFF.

I would start by taking the cover off and see if you can operate the switch by hand and see what happens. Then decide from there.

Esteban

Okay - looked more closely tonight. When I remove the trash can I see a clear plastic box with three lines running to it, one labeled shower drain, one labeled AC condensate and one label discharge. I can see an 800 gph pump in the box. The clear platic box is setting in a larger area with sloped walls and there was about 4 or 5 inches of water in the area surrounding the clear box. I sucked the water out with a shop vac and intend to test the pump to make sure its working. If I put a tester on the leads to the pump and get power, can I conclude that its a bad pump? For the cost of the pump (maybe $40 or so?) should I just go ahead and replace it? Is it possible that there's another issue that I haven't thought of?

 

It could be the pump or the float switch. Take off the 4 screws holding the cover in place and test the switch by hand. Does the pump come on?

Also, clean the plastic filter mesh while you have the cover off.

You can also test by just dumping a few cups of water into the sump or via the shower drain.

My sump pump comes on often (every 30-45 minutes I think) when I'm sleeping on the boat from the A/C condensate drain. Now I know to expect the sound whenever the A/C runs.

Esteban

 

It could be the pump or the float switch. Take off the 4 screws holding the cover in place and test the switch by hand. Does the pump come on?

Also, clean the plastic filter mesh while you have the cover off.

You can also test by just dumping a few cups of water into the sump or via the shower drain.

My sump pump comes on often (every 30-45 minutes I think) when I'm sleeping on the boat from the A/C condensate drain. Now I know to expect the sound whenever the A/C runs.

Esteban

I did as you suggested above and found the pump and float to work correctly. I ran the shower and the plastic enclosure filled quickly and the pump came on right away.

I have vacuumed the water surrounding the plastic enclosure. Any ideas on where that water came from?

 

My 280 also used to have water outside the sump-box under the stairs. When they replaced my door under warranty (infamous 280 door problem...), they had to remove and then reseal the windshield. I never had water outside the sump-box after that...I believe this problem may have been discussed before, so you may want to do a search. As others have said, that should be a dry area. Did you get a lot of rain during the weeks you noticed the wet carpet?

 

I had that problem and traced it to the seal along the floor of the shower. Run the faucet around the perimeter of the walls in the head and watch for flow in the bilge under the step.

 

Brad,

I just discovered the same issue last week after 3 days of running the AC 24/7 and I discovered that the hose clamp located on the AC condensation drain pan was loose. I confirmed this by placing my hand under the hose connection and noticing that the carpet was wet. I speculate that water was soaking into the carpet under the pan and gravitating towards the stairs.

I also discovered that the AC air filters located in the dinette kick-panel were clogged thus making the AC work overtime generating excessive condensation. Make sure your filters are clean!

Hope this helps.

John

 

thanks for all the great information guys ... I'll get to the bottom of it. My suspicion is a leak from the port light in the head. The flip tab dog things whatever they're called weren't tight and I had water running in the window and down behind the wall in the head. I'm sure that water ended up in that sump. I will keep an eye out though for water from windshield, shower seal and AC.

 

I had the same problem and it ended up being the port window over the galley. it wasn't sealed properly and water ran down and collected at the step. It's the lowest point in the cabin so any leak will gravitate to this area.

 

Myself and a friend of mine have the same problem. The water is comming from the port windows. The next question is, Whats the best fix to keep the windows from leaking?

 

I re-caulked the window frames, cleaned the windows very well, cleaned the rubber seal and then put some rubber conditioner on it to bring some life back to it, and then retightened all the screws on the frame and the window locks. This was all it took to stop my leak.

 

I re-caulked the window frames, cleaned the windows very well, cleaned the rubber seal and then put some rubber conditioner on it to bring some life back to it, and then retightened all the screws on the frame and the window locks. This was all it took to stop my leak.

Did you disassemble the window to recaulk and what type of conditioner did you find that worked best.

Thanks for your input!

 

I re-caulked the window frames, cleaned the windows very well, cleaned the rubber seal and then put some rubber conditioner on it to bring some life back to it, and then retightened all the screws on the frame and the window locks. This was all it took to stop my leak.

Did you disassemble the window to recaulk and what type of conditioner did you find that worked best.

Thanks for your input!

The little flip tabs that lock the window have an adjustment for tightening them. It takes a small slot screwdriver and some dexterity. I tightened them up and that seemed to do the trick. I haven't noticed any leaking since - and we had a lot of rain over the last couple of days.

My question is why that water is designed to accumulate there but there's no way for it to drain? The pump seems to be enclosed in a plastic box and water that accumulated around it was separated from the pump. I just sucked it out with a shop vac ... is there a better option?