Hi Sir you can use JB weld to mount the bilge pump to the hull of an Aluminum boat & well as the float switch & clean up the hull first & you can sand the hull with a little bit with 220 git wet & dry sand paper where you can glue the bilge pump down where you have sanded the hull as well as the float switch & you just let the JB Weld original dry & harden in 24 hours & it is amazing stuff that JB Weld original is Kind Regards Peter
My pump line has a simple one way valve on the outlet ( ping pong ball in a large bit of pipe basically) that stops the water in the outlet pipe flowing back into your bilge when the pump stops. I am not sure it is needed, but is a nice addition.
A one way valve is a nice idea. I'm going to be putting a new outlet in the Green Machine when I install the new pump as I am stepping up to a 25mm outlet, but it is just a normal skin fitting. I'll have to look around and see what else is available with a valve in it.
Man glad I watched this because I didn't know there was a non mechanical float switch available. I would have all sorts of trouble on my airboat because on the river you get sticks and leaves back there that would jam up those mechanical ones. After a big rain and finding my airboat sunk in 4 foot if water I MUST get one on my pump! I was luck the engine is up high and was a foot above the water yet. Lost a bucket that had some nice tools in it when it floated away..🙄 Wouldn't have happened if I would've had a pump switch like that!
You shouldn't solder boat wires for the same reason you shouldn't use single core wire. It's prohibited by ABYC Standards and is subject to breaking due boat movement and vibration. Only use marine heat shrink adhesive lined butt connectors with marine stranded wire.
Ive got a fibreglass half cabin with a floor, so the bilge isnt even visible or accessible. Do i drill a hole through the floor to tightly fit the bilge pump intake? Maybe epoxy around it to make it water tight again. Cant find any videos about a situation like mine
Hi Stu. Link to wiring video doesn’t work for me. Can you repost? Was about to wire up my pump to an auto switch on the weekend and I discovered the fuse in the auto off manual switch box I got is fused through the negative, not the positive! I was going to connect the negative straight to the battery! Wouldn’t have had protection had I not noticed!
Im confused, so its always good to have abit of water in the bilge? also my switch sits inside a tupperware container thats glued onto the bilge with a lid on, it has holes on the top to let water in and so far i have seen any setups like it :/
Having a small amount of water in the bilge isn't a problem, but this setup is more about not burning your pump out by having the float switch detect water that the pump can reach.
Thanks for the vid. I'm going to put one of those electric switches in my tinny now. My boat (4.4 stessco) slipped the anchor while I was walking around the island in my thumbnail pic. The bumping on the shore sheared one of the rivets that mount the bung plug (the female bit) and there was a heap of water in the boat. 30 minutes x 5mm hole = Ermagerd !Could you do a bit on adding flotation into small boats. Im not sure how much flotation is even in my boat.
Doing a vid on floatation is a good idea. I'll be doing a series of videos soon on building a small boat from scratch so I'll be sure to cover it then.
Hi Stu, I am planing to keep my boat on mooring ball in longer periods of time. It is not a self bailing boat. What kind of setup would you recommend for secondary bilge pump? I was thinking to install an automatic bilge pump on a separate battery, hook up a small solar panel to keep the battery topped off. My current bilge pump is manual only. Thank you.
Why is there so much water in the boat in the first place? My boat after day on the lake maybe has a litre of water... Thats if kids are jumping in and out swimming..
+Holly Lambert They are bits of the under floor styrofoam floatation breaking up. Ideally that foam is contained in some sort of outer skin as it can really clog up bilge pumps.
I normally affix the pump to a plastic base plate that then sits in the bottom of the boat. Because it is wide it won't tip over like a pump on it's own.
This is an old post but for future reference, if you put the pump in the right spot and level, with a stiff output hose the rests properly, when you tighten the hose clamp, the hose will hold the pump in place (at least on my boat). However, if you are unsure, I like Stu's advice of mounting it on a plastic plate for stability.
Hi Sir you can use JB weld to mount the bilge pump to the hull of an Aluminum boat & well as the float switch & clean up the hull first & you can sand the hull with a little bit with 220 git wet & dry sand paper where you can glue the bilge pump down where you have sanded the hull as well as the float switch & you just let the JB Weld original dry & harden in 24 hours & it is amazing stuff that JB Weld original is Kind Regards Peter
My pump line has a simple one way valve on the outlet ( ping pong ball in a large bit of pipe basically) that stops the water in the outlet pipe flowing back into your bilge when the pump stops. I am not sure it is needed, but is a nice addition.
A one way valve is a nice idea. I'm going to be putting a new outlet in the Green Machine when I install the new pump as I am stepping up to a 25mm outlet, but it is just a normal skin fitting. I'll have to look around and see what else is available with a valve in it.
Man glad I watched this because I didn't know there was a non mechanical float switch available. I would have all sorts of trouble on my airboat because on the river you get sticks and leaves back there that would jam up those mechanical ones. After a big rain and finding my airboat sunk in 4 foot if water I MUST get one on my pump! I was luck the engine is up high and was a foot above the water yet. Lost a bucket that had some nice tools in it when it floated away..🙄 Wouldn't have happened if I would've had a pump switch like that!
Fantastic sir. Very informative.
You shouldn't solder boat wires for the same reason you shouldn't use single core wire. It's prohibited by ABYC Standards and is subject to breaking due boat movement and vibration. Only use marine heat shrink adhesive lined butt connectors with marine stranded wire.
Nice boat, nice bilge too
Ive got a fibreglass half cabin with a floor, so the bilge isnt even visible or accessible. Do i drill a hole through the floor to tightly fit the bilge pump intake? Maybe epoxy around it to make it water tight again. Cant find any videos about a situation like mine
Hi I was wondering what brand or model was the float switch you used ?
Merci beaucoup ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Hi Stu. Link to wiring video doesn’t work for me. Can you repost? Was about to wire up my pump to an auto switch on the weekend and I discovered the fuse in the auto off manual switch box I got is fused through the negative, not the positive! I was going to connect the negative straight to the battery! Wouldn’t have had protection had I not noticed!
Im confused, so its always good to have abit of water in the bilge? also my switch sits inside a tupperware container thats glued onto the bilge with a lid on, it has holes on the top to let water in and so far i have seen any setups like it :/
Having a small amount of water in the bilge isn't a problem, but this setup is more about not burning your pump out by having the float switch detect water that the pump can reach.
Thanks for the vid. I'm going to put one of those electric switches in my tinny now. My boat (4.4 stessco) slipped the anchor while I was walking around the island in my thumbnail pic. The bumping on the shore sheared one of the rivets that mount the bung plug (the female bit) and there was a heap of water in the boat. 30 minutes x 5mm hole = Ermagerd !Could you do a bit on adding flotation into small boats. Im not sure how much flotation is even in my boat.
Doing a vid on floatation is a good idea. I'll be doing a series of videos soon on building a small boat from scratch so I'll be sure to cover it then.
Hi Stu,
I am planing to keep my boat on mooring ball in longer periods of time. It is not a self bailing boat. What kind of setup would you recommend for secondary bilge pump? I was thinking to install an automatic bilge pump on a separate battery, hook up a small solar panel to keep the battery topped off. My current bilge pump is manual only. Thank you.
Having an auto bilge pump on a second battery is a good way to go. I quite like the field sensor switches over the manual float switches these days.
Thank you for your response, I watched your video about installing the pump, where you were using the field sensor.
Why is there so much water in the boat in the first place? My boat after day on the lake maybe has a litre of water... Thats if kids are jumping in and out swimming..
Rain. These boats live in the water 24/7.
whats all those floaties in the bilge
+Holly Lambert They are bits of the under floor styrofoam floatation breaking up. Ideally that foam is contained in some sort of outer skin as it can really clog up bilge pumps.
What brand is that non-mechanical electric float switch?
Never mind, found it. Field Switch!
Since you cannot screw them to the bottom of a thin aluminum hull, do you epoxy them down or do they just set in there?
I normally affix the pump to a plastic base plate that then sits in the bottom of the boat. Because it is wide it won't tip over like a pump on it's own.
This is an old post but for future reference, if you put the pump in the right spot and level, with a stiff output hose the rests properly, when you tighten the hose clamp, the hose will hold the pump in place (at least on my boat). However, if you are unsure, I like Stu's advice of mounting it on a plastic plate for stability.
Puleeeeeeze, purchase a good clip on mike for these. Hard to hear, for those of us who "hang on your every word!" ;-)
Got one! Just didn't go back and refilm this... ;)
It looks nasty