All about boat bilge pumps. How and why to do a quick check to make sure it's working.

Рет қаралды 134,636

Күн бұрын

Bilge pumps on your boat. What they do, and why we need to check them to make sure they're working! If you don't know anything about a bilge pump - I quickly go over why they're important and how to test them out.
Boat bilge pumps exist to pump water out of our boats. The water comes from rain, condensation, and any other water that finds it way on to your boat. The bilge is an area that is usually below the deck and allowed to have a little bit of water collect in in it. When the water level gets too high in the bilge, the pump kicks on to pump that water out of the boat.
If you're in the market for a new bilge pump or float switch -
Link to buy a float switch: amzn.to/3mmqvPJ
Link to buy a bilge pump: amzn.to/3kf6uIP
As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
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Пікірлер: 117

@sherrywhitescarver8639 3 жыл бұрын

This was actually really good I'm new to boating had no idea what this pump was for i have two on mine i was like what the hell is that for but thanks for explaining thanks man

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome - thanks and good luck!!!

@T_Mac__ 2 жыл бұрын

Not a boat guy, don't have one, and probably never will. But I heard about bilge pumps elsewhere and decided to see how they worked. You gave a awesome explanation and kept it interesting! Thanks for the vid.

@WayneTheBoatGuy 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the kind words!

@voetbal12 2 жыл бұрын

Literally why I'm here.

@hrhbucket4268 2 жыл бұрын

Really good, thanks. Have heard the term Bilge for years. Finally looked it up. Quite simple really.

@robertoleeva985 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent video, thank you for taking the time to post this

@skooby_doobie_doonkann3334 3 жыл бұрын

I love the way that you explained this! I time and again fix boats where people ignore their bilge and it breaks their boat or it sinks at their marina. You have such a pleasant demeanor very refreshing to see on here

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!!

@lukemaurer6051 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome video! Looking forward to seeing more of your content!

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Luke Maurer Thank you it means a lot!

@bodybuilderschickensnortht6121 Жыл бұрын

Hi Wayne, we are going on water. Your videos are awesome and very informative. They help us amateur boaters a lot.

@WayneTheBoatGuy Жыл бұрын

Glad to help!

@hails.h9000 Жыл бұрын

I really enjoy all your videos as a 1st time boater ❤

@WayneTheBoatGuy Жыл бұрын

Glad you like them!

@WayneTheBoatGuy 4 жыл бұрын

Let me know if this video was helpful for you! Make sure you don't have a bad day at the boat ramp by following my boat ramp checklist! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eNqTgbVjyZipcYE.html

@paulweisensell8751 Жыл бұрын

Great content. Love your videos. Keep up the good work.

@andrewfaustina2894 2 жыл бұрын

Very nice and detailed video. Thank you

@akpoindexter1982 Жыл бұрын

Thanks!! Have only owned pontoons in the past....latest boat is not! So this gives me the highlights of what it does. Thank you for your post/channel!

@WayneTheBoatGuy Жыл бұрын

Glad to help!

@catherineharris4746 3 жыл бұрын

Simply outstanding! Thank you sir!👍👍👍

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

You're very welcome!

@dougschemmel99 3 жыл бұрын

Simple but informative.... awesome

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

@mahzan2948 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, great video, and great information.

@littlelizardpsycho5178 3 жыл бұрын

Great vid. Thank you sir.

@yahayasali1457 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for clearly explaining

@luiscolon7195 2 жыл бұрын

Great info - thanks

@richieallen5131 2 жыл бұрын

That was very helpful

@longlivelouis 2 ай бұрын

Cool video Ty ,

@GodBlessedAmerica 3 жыл бұрын

It’s awesome to see someone else that owns a Renken bow rider. We own a 1984 19’6” bow rider and it still has the original Seadrive unit on it. We’ve had it since 2011 and it has been the absolute best boat. Solid and smooth ride. I never have had any faith in bilge pumps since my dads boat sank from a malfunctioning float switch. Thanks for sharing. Stay safe. 🇺🇸

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

The high failure rate It's why I check mine often - especially after a good rain!

@ronschwolsky1626 2 жыл бұрын

My first boat was an '85 Renken that I bought new. It was a 17' bowlder, had a 120 hp OMC stern drive and it was a great little boat to ski behind. Good times.

@innergoof19 3 жыл бұрын

Great video!

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

@Spiritwing7 3 жыл бұрын

Very educational. Thanks. Subscribed.

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks and welcome aboard lol!

@wittywoo9559 2 жыл бұрын

Great explanation !

@WayneTheBoatGuy 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@buck9739 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks my man appreciate it the knowledge I’m a newby

@JD-mv8tl Жыл бұрын

Great channel an information thank you

@khenm5198 Жыл бұрын

Thanks Wayne

@gregoriocambara9149 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the information

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

My pleasure!!

@SteveKeddy2009 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Just what I was l looking for. My boat has been in the water 2 months unattended.

@WayneTheBoatGuy 2 жыл бұрын

Hope all goes well!

@finno123456 3 жыл бұрын

@Wayne The Boat Guy So much people don't realise when owning a boat. Bilge water from bad weather waves etc. And must be sucked out. I often use my wet and dry vacuum to suck out the water completely. My setup is bilge pump in the middle of the boat manual switched. Then a float switch and bilge at the engine on auto switched or manual. I always leave mine on auto incase of build up of rain water. In the warm weather the water evaporates. When i bilge the middle it throws the water at the end of the boat. Then the bilge pump with float switch throws it into the water. I'm currently upgrading to 1100gph bilge pumps the quicker the better. But great video also I'm still learning about boats👍

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

All of my boats have always had some water in the bilge when they're sitting in the marina. Mine only get dry when I have them at an angle on the trailer and the drain plug is removed.

@cynthiajmacfarland1923 2 жыл бұрын

Sitting on my boat, grateful to have found your video. Exactly what I needed, but not far enough:/ Last season, my bilge would not shut off. I replace my RuleAmatic40A with new, same model. Now, problem is, it is not kicking on, automatically. I can hear it when I flip dashboard switch. Most that comes out, is a trickle. I wondered if a hose was pinched or wires were impeding float. I'd like to check for clog in screen? But I don't know how to get to screen ..or whatever. I don't want to muscle it off. And the hole to work in to unscrew bilge is tiny. Plus I'm at the dock!

@TheJakeman789 2 жыл бұрын

What a decent boat

@chromedome7815 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

You're very welcome!

@jacobhernandez633 2 жыл бұрын

After buying my first bass tracker I forgot to put the drain plug in tight enough.. I checked the gas/battery compartment maybe 15 min after launching & noticed my batteries were almost half submerged in water. I quickly got to a bank and screwed the plug in tightly & ran the bilge pump. Thank goodness the pump was fully functional and I happened to check the compartment when I did 😅

@WayneTheBoatGuy 2 жыл бұрын

wow - that's one of those things we hope we only do once!

@DrJeffM 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the great video. As a new boater, my second season owning a boat, i was shocked when it came on and started pumping out water out of the blue.

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Yeah it's very surprising the first few times it happens!

@SandmannOZ 8 ай бұрын

Float switches have a bit of "hysteresis"... meaning there's a space between the point where it turns on and the point where it turns off. When the pump turned off you were standing midships, but both times when it turned on you'd moved aft to show us the bilge. That cause the boat to tilt back some and the water to flow back to the bilge, making it deeper there and turning on the switch. It's working correctly... though the occasion you describe where it failed to turn off it wasn't. There's a couple of typical causes of that... if the switch is mounted lower than the pump (or if the boat is listing) the switch can be genuinley on but the pump's out of the water. Also if you can something (eg: leaves, stray bits of floatation foam, etc) caught in the switch it can jam it on. Or the switch could of course be faulty. Should always have the switch mounted at the same height as the pump's base.

@ozcanucal7062 Жыл бұрын

THANK YOU Dave Tesekkürler Greeting from Fethiye Turjey Sate sailing

@BERACUTAE Жыл бұрын

Good to have backup pump

@jefflapierre8190 3 жыл бұрын

awesome

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

thanks!

@youdonthavetoreadthispost.5850 Жыл бұрын

Only full flotation, self-bailing boats should be without a bilge pump or device. Two are preferred at different levels. Only the bilge pump is wired direct to the batteries. Some hulls have no bilge but are not self bailing - but a few are both.🌟 The bilge is actually filled completely with flotation. and the decks are self-bailing ✴Booyah! Transom and stringers can be f-glass. Pump #1 does the bottom. #2 is higher and is a high volume pump. Search -full flotation self bailing boats and you should find my choice for bay, inlet and ocean. Manua/off/auto on both. Thanks again Wayne! 🛥⛵

@youdonthavetoreadthispost.5850 Жыл бұрын

Hint - begins with M and ends with skiff.

@Gunzee Жыл бұрын

I've often wondered why water was being expelled from boats. I thought a certain amount of water is taken in on purpose to act as ballast. Then the pump removes it as load, speed or weather changes to maintain a set level in the water.

@thatboyalexofficial 10 ай бұрын

In my boat there is a whole with the inspection cap. There is water in it. What does it mean? I gotta pump it out and what else?

@mikejenkins4598 3 жыл бұрын

I always have 2 bilge pumps and at lease 2 batteries .and 1 of of the batteries in located forward not in the rear .

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Redundancy is good! Is the second battery up front for better weight distribution?

@eliteautoimportseliteautoi5470 3 жыл бұрын

Just bought a Pontoon Boat and this video was helpful. Quick question can you turn the bilge pump on out of the water?

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, you can test it to hear if the motor works, but don't run it for long if it's dry.

@VercenGetorix525 3 жыл бұрын

Just checking out your channel and I was gonna comment to help the algorithm at first when I heard you mention ringing the bell. I didnt see an option to ring the bell though. I've seen this once before but I'm not sure if that's bc of youtube or if theres a setting you can change so people can ring it. Just thought I'd mention to it ya

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Welcome aboard! - Yeah the way the bell works is kinda weird - You only see the bell icon if you've subscribed to a KZfaq channel. Once you subscribe, the bell icon is there next to the word "Subscribed". It allows you to choose whether or not you receive notifications when that channel posts new content. Thank you so much for watching a commenting - hope you're a bell ringer too!

@VercenGetorix525 3 жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy yupp thank you for posting. I don't own a boat but I go fishing on a friends occasionally and I enjoy learning the small things. It's good knowledge to have. And it said the bell is disabled for kids content which I think has something to do with advertising and stuff like that

@VercenGetorix525 3 жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy support.google.com/youtube/answer/9632097?nohelpkit=1&hl=en. This is the link for the page I got sent to when I clicked "learn more" on the thing that popped up once I try to ring the bell

@VercenGetorix525 3 жыл бұрын

Tried to figure out why bc I have all notifications turned on to quite a few channels and thought it was weird that some channels bell werent working. I think it has something to do with the amount of subs a channel a has (which is silly IMO) Sorry replying so many times. I enjoy supporting smaller channels trying to build their audience if their content is something I'm interested in. Hope to see your channel grow in the future n looking forward to future posts as well

@st0nx 3 жыл бұрын

How do you understand what size of bIlge pump need for your boat?

@kenh733 3 жыл бұрын

I have that same switch from walmart and it wont come on unless I shake it, it will go off though, it has a ball inside it and when the water goes up slowly it wont kick on, I use it for my cellar, so in a boat, when you get in the boat it rocks the water which will make it come on, but when it sits in a cellar with no movement it wont come on.

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah they seem a little less reliable when things are very still!

@bodybuilderschickensnortht6121 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video i bought my first bass boat and my bilge pump is not working. Yikes. This is not good.

@WayneTheBoatGuy Жыл бұрын

Check for a blown fuse!

@radtv_ Жыл бұрын

will the automatic switch being on draw enough power to drain your battery?

@WayneTheBoatGuy Жыл бұрын

Only if the pump is running a lot. Having the circuit 'ready' just allows the pump switch to work. It's like having a breaker 'on' in your house before you switch on the light switch.

@radtv_ Жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy So my switch panel is 3 way and has a light indicating which setting its on. red for manual mode, green for auto. is that enough draw to drain battery?

@DavidsfarmlivesFAN 3 жыл бұрын

I bought an old boat with a bilge pump that is only operated by a switch.. The boat will always stay covered, so theoretically no water will get down there right? Do I even need the pump? Only asking because I noticed the hose going out of the boat is brittle and cracked- and I don't know if it's a waste of time to make it work.

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

It isn’t a waste of time to get it working. If the boat takes on water from a wave, a rain storm or a leak, it’s there to pump it out. If you were to leave it in the water, then an automatic switch would be beneficial. It might be the difference between your boat sinking and not sinking if you were to get a leak out on the water. Thanks for watching!!

@rogerroger7734 3 жыл бұрын

Get water out of the boat. Cheap insurance. Automatic bilge pump is the only way to go. Hook it to a separate battery

@robbya7916 2 жыл бұрын

Is it okay to have that large of a hole in the deck? My boat didn't come with a bilge pump so I am currently working on installing one, but was having issues with how the piping and wiring should be routed. My boat is about the same size as yours and I was worried about cutting another hole in the deck to route everything.

@WayneTheBoatGuy 2 жыл бұрын

The previous owner had replaced the deck floor and he used thicker wood than original. Obviously you don't want too large of a hole, but since mine was under that weird angled back splash panel, nobody is walking under there and it made a nice opening to work with.

@peytonfleming7953 2 жыл бұрын

Did you just cut the flooring out in the rear to have an access point?

@WayneTheBoatGuy 2 жыл бұрын

The previous owner may have when he replaced the floors.

@stevetilders Жыл бұрын

Buy a Rule switch. You have a Rule pump in there which is well over 20 years old. Stay with the #1 brand

@MrFerrer10 Жыл бұрын

My boat has an automatic pump , forgot to put the plug in once and it kicked on thankfully . I am not sure why water enters into the boat from the drain holes?

@MrFerrer10 Жыл бұрын

Enters from the drain holes on the floor where water normally drains , do I need to plug those holes as well?

@WayneTheBoatGuy Жыл бұрын

What kind of boat do you have? Water shouldn't be coming in from anywhere unless it is waves washing in that flow right back out

@Andrew-mr2dw 3 жыл бұрын

What’s a good brand of pumps for a jet ski and gph as well

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

I'm sorry, I'm not too experienced with jet skis - I'm not even sure a jet ski has a bilge pump.

@Andrew-mr2dw 2 жыл бұрын

Jet skis do not have bilge pumps want to install one just in case

@smd-tech Жыл бұрын

@@Andrew-mr2dw jet skis usually have a vacuum driven bilge pump as part of the jet drive. I added one to mine, but you need to take into account the small hull space available, and the limited electrical capacity of a jet ski battery. Because they only have a small hull I fitted the smallest pump they had on amazon.

@joshshedley7687 2 жыл бұрын

I always here people say check if there’s water in your bilge pump and apparently if there is water in it it’s bad can u explain

@WayneTheBoatGuy 2 жыл бұрын

Many boats sitting in a marina have a little water in the bilge because the pump doesn't suck out every drop. Both of my boats have had a little water in them when they're at the marina. BUT you never want water that's above the top of the pump because that means the pump isn't doing it's job. You also don't want water sitting in there when you're on the hard because then there's water sitting in your boat for no reason which could freeze etc. So when you're on land, you pull the drain plug.

@musicisbrilliant 2 жыл бұрын

0:54 The boat was taking a leak. Its not polite to watch. :D

@Dragon90815a 3 жыл бұрын

Grease your float switch pin.

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Oooo - That sounds like a good tip! Thanks!!

@brentmitchell6727 3 жыл бұрын

📽💕

@carldea 3 жыл бұрын

Wayne, I have a similar setup with my bilge pump, (auto and manual switch). My auto float works, but my manual switch does not. Would you know what to look for to diagnose the issue?

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

I would probably try to disconnect the wires at the manual switch to see if you can start the pump by touching the wires together. If so, it's the switch. If not, then it's probably a short in the wires to the switch.

@redwood1957 2 жыл бұрын

It kicked off when you got up?

@WayneTheBoatGuy 2 жыл бұрын

It kicked off when the water level was finally low enough.

@barry.anderberg 2 жыл бұрын

Won't the pump eventually drain your boat's battery?

@WayneTheBoatGuy 2 жыл бұрын

Only if it doesn't shut off automatically. These have a float switch that turns them on and off depending on the level of the water. Sometimes the float switch sticks and the pump keeps running and will eventually drain the battery. But it takes a loooong time. My float switch broke and it was running for a whole day once before someone let me know and didn't run my batteries down.

@kaceeenglish9370 2 жыл бұрын

All of the sudden my bilge pump turns on and won’t turn off as soon as I add power to the boat can anybody give me any advice on how to fix this problem

@WayneTheBoatGuy 2 жыл бұрын

It's probably the float switch sticking. Sometimes there's something binding it up, other times it needs to be replaced.

@theiceageiscoming.5516 Жыл бұрын

💪😎🇺🇲

@itsachannelname9169 3 жыл бұрын

420 likes. Alriight

@WayneTheBoatGuy 3 жыл бұрын

Oh great nobody will like this video anymore to keep the number - lol

@scottdowney4318 8 ай бұрын

HaHa, yes look at the marina water after it pumps out for a tiny sheen...then call the USCG and fess up. Fines can be huge. They will ask you how much oil you pumped into the water. A few drops of dish soap and the sheen is gone. You will find that just about everything is illegal about boat life. I have seen big diesel boats leaving a sheen and sooting up the entire marina.

@scottdowney4318 8 ай бұрын

I have even heard if your bilge pump runs at all, some people will assume your pumping oil out of your bilge, even if there is no visible sheen.