You can get a water heater leak detector alarm at Home Depot that will do the job. In a message dated 4/6/2010 6:27:15 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
I just noticed that in the WM catalog they have a "High Water Bilge Alarm" for $57.99. Dick Schmidt Greenville, NC --- On Mon, 4/5/10, Judith Blumhorst, DC <[email protected]> wrote: From: Judith Blumhorst, DC <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [IC27A] bilge pump check valve To: [email protected]: Date: Monday, April 5, 2010, 6:11 PM My previous post wasn't clear... sorry. My kid is home today and distracting me... I do have a check valve installed on the small pump RuleMate 500 in the small keel stubby. The vavle keeps water from flowing back into the stubby. That pump is intended to handle only a very small volumes of water. I don't care if small diameter hoses and a check vavle reduce its capacity. There is no check valve on the main bilge pump, which has 1.5 inch hoses on it. It's a manual pump. There is also a bilge alarm with an activator switch in the engine compartment. If the water gets up that high, the alarm goes off and annoys the crap out of everybody nearby. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.... unless I remember something else later.... Judy B I wish I were out at my boat today instead of fixing the irrigation system at home.... ____________________________________ From: "Judith Blumhorst, DC" <drju...@blumhorst. com> To: ic...@yahoogroups. com Sent: Mon, April 5, 2010 2:48:49 PM Subject: Re: [IC27A] bilge pump check valve John makes an important point. Check valves in hoses from bilge pumps are not a good idea.... ....but I've got one in the C27 keel stubby. I've got an itty-bitty RuleMate *automatic* pump in there to keep the keel sump dry. It HAS to be small to fit in there. The Rule Mates turn on for a half second every 2.5 minutes. If they pump "senses" water, they pump. If it don't sense water, it shuts down. Saves battery power. The RuleMate 500 only pumps 360 gallons per hour with a 3-4 foot lift. That's 6 gallons a minute. It is not inteneded to be a heavy lifter. It's for use at the dock. If the little pump in the keel sump water gets overwhelmed, a VERY LOUD and VERY ANNOYING alarm goes off, activated by a float switch located on the floor of the engine compartment, I hope someone (neighbor or marina staff) hears it and saves my boat from sinking at the dock. The BIG bilge pump in my boat opens into the engine compartment. It doesn't have a check valve in it. It is a manual, not electric, Whale manual pump. It's a through bulk heak model, the "Gusher". It pumps an honest 14 gallons per MINUTE with 1.5 inch diameter hoses, assuming a 1 meter lift. It's virtually un-cloggable. It doesn't care if the electrical supply craps out. I'm counting on THAT to save MY butt if I get a real leak somewhere in the boat. You can see pics of the installation at _http://www.blumhors t.com/catalina27 /cockpit- remodelling. htm_ (http://www.blumhorst.com/catalina27/cockpit-remodelling.htm) Remember that an electric bilge pump is only as good as the power source.... if the battery runs down, or something shorts out, it's not gonna work. Fair winds, Judy B ____________________________________ From: John Oppenheimer <[email protected]> To: ic...@yahoogroups. com Sent: Mon, April 5, 2010 9:42:30 AM Subject: [IC27A] bilge pump check valve You may want to check with Rule and find if things have changed. John -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: catalina27-talk: storage and gas mileage & bilge pump check valve Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:33:10 -0500 From: John Oppenheimer <[email protected]_ (http://us.mc450.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]) > To: _catalina27-talk@ membe rclicks. com_ (http://us.mc450.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]) Very bad things can happen with a bilge pump check valve. There have been some sad stories in both the Catalina Mainsheet magazine and various threads on the various C27 e-mail groups. So, if you are using something similar to a rule 2000, like I have: Rule had the following FAQ before their web site was changed. Q: Can I install a check valve on the discharge of my bilge pump to keep water from running back through the pump? A: No. A check valve should NOT be installed in the discharge line. As submersible pumps create very little discharge pressure, they may not be able to overcome the resistance or weight of the column of water or weight of the check valve flapper or poppet itself. The pump may therefore have an airlocked condition. ------------ --------- --------- ------ Yahoo! Groups Links (Yahoo! ID required) _IC27A-fullfeature d@ yahoogroups. com_ (http://us.mc450.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected])
