Bilge Pump Question

carterchapman · 12-01-2009, 02:05 PM

I can't find any info in the Owners Manual or the Shop Manual, so maybe someone could help with some info before I tear into it.

Do our bilge pumps operate like boat bilge pumps - with a float switch and a 12V powered pump? The reason I ask is my son and I washed the bilge and I was expecting the bilge pump to come on and pump the water overboard - just like on our Searay. Nope - nothing. So I used our manual pump to empty it out (it was sitting on its jetport at the marina). Maybe it is just a venturi pump that only works when the engine is running...???

Thanks in advance!

BigSwole · 12-01-2009, 03:07 PM

hey carter, i do think it only works when the motor is running, im not 100% percent sure tho. hopefully someone will more exp. will chime in here and help!

davidw · 12-01-2009, 03:38 PM

if you tap the start button ( without holding it in ) the electronics will activate and the bildge will function for approx 10 seconds or so. You can repeat that step a few times to drain the water. If there is alot of water in there I too use a hand pump . hope this helps.

ErieOne · 12-01-2009, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidw

if you tap the start button ( without holding it in ) the electronics will activate and the bildge will function for approx 10 seconds or so. You can repeat that step a few times to drain the water. If there is alot of water in there I too use a hand pump . hope this helps.

This is how it works on my FX as well.

volltrex · 12-01-2009, 04:55 PM

Not sure about the VX, but the FX has two bilge pumps. One is a venturi syphon......the other electric, which as said above is switched on as soon as the start button is pressed....& will stay on untill 10-20 seconds after motor has stopped.

atomic475 · 12-02-2009, 02:20 AM

agree with the above I have an 09 fx sho thats how it works

bpnta · 12-02-2009, 02:48 AM

Wow I can't believe I never really thought about this.

Does the elec bilge run the whole time the motor is on?

ErieOne · 12-02-2009, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpnta

Wow I can't believe I never really thought about this.

Does the elec bilge run the whole time the motor is on?

No. Mine is set up to turn on and check for water every 2 minutes (or something close to that). If it senses water, it pumps it out. If it doesn't sense water, it turns off and checks again in two minutes. This would be on the Rule automatic model.

volltrex · 12-02-2009, 12:57 PM

As far as I know, the stock rule pump is manual, ie it stays on (pumping) all the time the motor is on. They will usually run for hundreds of hours.
IMHO, far less to go wrong with the stock pump against the automatic........no float switch etc.

ErieOne · 12-02-2009, 01:12 PM

I was never sure if I did the right thing by replacing mine with the automatic one. To be quite honest, that was the one the boating store had in stock at the time and it looked just like my previous one. Only reason I had to replace was because the hose fitting cracked and broke off.

So voltrex, other than paying a bit more for the automatic model, it should otherwise work okay for my application?