Best Bilge Pumps for Boat

Bilge pumps are an essential part of any boat, helping to keep it free of water and debris. There are many different types and sizes of bilge pumps on the market, so it is important to choose the right one for your vessel.When shopping for a bilge pump, it is important to consider the size of your boat, the type of water you will be pumping, and the amount of flow required. Bilge pumps are classified by their capacity (in gallons per hour), so be sure to select a model that can handle the volume of water you anticipate needing to pump. When selecting a bilge pump, it is also important to consider the type of water you will be pumping. If you anticipate pumping salt water, look for a pump that is specifically designed for this application. Salt water can be corrosive and damage standard bilge pumps, so it is important to choose one that is rated for salt water use.

How to Replace Rule Bilge Pump for Boat That's Not Working

The bilge pump is an essential safety component on your boat. If it fails to work and you spring a leak in the boat, the boat could sink, so we need to replace it without delay. Before I go ripping the pump out, there's a couple of basic checks I can do. The first is to operate the switch at the helm to see if it comes on manually. The other thing I can do is lift the float switch to see if that switches it on. If neither of these work, there's a good chance the pump's defective and will need to be replaced. The first thing I need to do is unscrew the hose from the pump. On this pump I've got a garden hose fitting, so I can just unscrew that. But if we didn't have that, I'd have to undo this hose clamp, which would normally fit onto a barbed fitting on the pump. A good tip while we're looking at this is you'll see that has corrugated hose on it. It's easy to run but it's actually not good. We really want smooth bore hose because this interferes with the flow of water. It will actually probably reduce the output of this pump by about half. I have 500 gallons per hour pump, but with this corrugated hose, we're probably getting closer to 250. So the first thing I'm going to do is just trace back to above the existing connectors that go to the pump. I've just spotted actually that these are spade connectors and these were in the bilge of the boat, so they're completely uninsulated, and that's incorrect, so I'm going to replace this with proper crimped waterproof connectors. Cut the cables. I've already disconnected the battery. I've made one connection. I've got black to black. All I'm going to do now is make the other connection to the pump. Start off by stripping the end. Twist those together. And we're using waterproof butt connectors. So now we've finished the connections. The last thing is to reconnect the hose. And thankfully because we've got this garden-type hose connector on here, I can just screw this back on. So now I've made this connection, we can go and put the pump back into the bilge into the existing mount in the bottom of the bilge. Any time you make a connection on a boat, we really want to use a crimped connection. There are different types of connectors. This one is actually adhesive-lined and will shrink down. I've already stripped the two ends of the cable here. We've got yellow, blue and red, and that refers to different sizes of current crimp connections. We're using blue, so we use the middle one. You'll notice that the cable is a little slack in here. By heating up this plastic, it will shrink around the cable and give me a nice watertight joint. We can use a match or an open flame, but it tends to leave sooty marks on it, so I prefer a heat gun if I can possibly do that. You can actually see that it's shrinking, and you'll see the color of the cables start to come through. It goes translucent. I've done one side. So, there you have it. A perfectly waterproof joint. It's nice and tight there. It adds some additional strain relief and also prevent any water from getting in this. I can use this safely in the bilge without worrying about corrosion. So, the job's done. It took me about an hour, cost me less than $100. I know the boat's going to be safe, any water's going to be pumped over the side.

Rule Bilge Pumps Statistics

1. 89% of bilge pumps are made of hight-quality plastic.
2. Bilge pump capacity is measured in gallons per hour (GPH) or liters per hour (LPH).
3. The average GPH capacity for a bilge pump is between 500 and 1500 GPH.
4. The average LPH capacity for a bilge pump is between 2000 and 4000 LPH.
5. Bilge pump batteries should be replaced every two years or as needed.
6. Bilge pumps should be checked regularly to ensure that they are in good working condition.
7. It is recommended that boats have at least two bilge pumps, in case one pump fails.
8. The average lifespan of a bilge pump is 5 years
9. The largest bilge pump can handle up to 150 gallons per minute
10. The first bilge pump was invented in 1849 by Hiram S. Maxim
11. Bilge pumps come in a variety of shapes and sizes
12. The most common type of bilge pump is the diaphragm bilge pump.
13. Bilge pumps are typically powered by electricity
14. Some bilge pumps are manual, and others are automatic
15. Bilge pumps are an essential piece of safety equipment on boats
16. In addition to bilge pumps, boats also have other types of drainage systems, such as scuppers and bailers.

With these bilge pump facts, you now know a little bit more about this essential piece of boating equipment! Be sure to check and maintain your bilge pump regularly to ensure it is in good working order.

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