Bilge pump died again - 2nd in less than a year

[watson1987]

I posted about my bilge pump going out last year on the Memorial Day long weekend (viewtopic.php?f=5&t=22005). I just went to the boat to head to the yard to get it hauled out for paint, and coincidentally, the same lower bilge pump was just barely submerged. I hit the manual switch, and nothing.

It's a Rule 27SA, which was the same unit supplied from the factory - the lower and upper are these units. The unit worked fine all summer. Do you have any suggestions for me? Do I bother to warranty it or switch to another brand? I don't have a lot of faith now.

Has anyone else gone with a different brand and has recommendations for a (2018) R31? There isn't much space under the drive shaft in the rear.

 

[wa7pug]

Do you by chance have your dog onboard much? I was shocked to find how much dog hair was on my boat and in the bilge when I cleaned it - even after it was cleaned to sell .... hopefully that is NOT your case ?! :lol: Dog hair and pumps do not go well together (I found out the hard way).

 

[gulfcoast john]

Buy quality the first time, and you won't be disappointed.

https://www.amazon.com/Rule-2000-Gold-B ... r=8-1&th=1

I had one fail at four years from purchase (because the float switch got knocked over so it ran dry for a month before finally failing). When I called Xylem customer service, they said 'email a copy of your receipt and we'll send you a new one.' No mailing back the failed unit etc.

And they did.

Anything under 2000 GPH is only for nuisance water, not a serious pump.
Safe Travels!

John

 

[watson1987]

We have a dog onboard that sheds, but I've never seen his hair in the bilge. I do still find the previous owners' black lab hair around, but I've mostly cleaned out the bilge from that.

Rule 2000 looks great, but I don't think it fits into the spot where the existing Rule 27 is.

I did end up calling Xylem yesterday from a number I found in an Amazon review and experienced the same quality level of service with a new pump shipped out yesterday after a quick phone call.

 

[nzfisher]

I have found that if you pour in 5 gallons of warm/hot soapy water into your bilge once a year it cleans the sediment laden oil out of the bilge, bilge pump, and check valve pretty effectively. Have never had to replace bilge pump although I do carry a spare. Just a thought (no dog however).

 

[watson1987]

I got around to replacing the pump today. I used a drill pump to remove the excess water. To my surprise, it was close to 10 gallons.

Besides a little algae growth, there wasn't anything else in the bilge. So, I still don't see how it died so quickly. I used the replacement one I had onboard, and while on the boat got the warranty replacement from Xylem on my front step.

I discovered that the fuse (7.5amp) that provides always-on power to the pump was blown. Despite changing this, the old pump was still dead, which was expected since the manual override switch I previously tried didn't work either (it gets power from the breaker panel, not the always-on fuse)

 

[Rebel112r]

Where is the water in bilge coming from? Keep the water out of bilge and your pumps will last a lot longer.

 

[watson1987]

It's from the drive shaft, the drips add up.

 

[mvldyjoan]

Perhaps the problem is not the pump. The original Johnson pump on my 2013 31S failed, first auto mode then manual. I replaced it with the Rule 1100 electronic sensing pump. Within 2 months I had the same issues with the new pump! On advice of Rule tech support I started checking voltage. I found little or no voltage on either hot wire at the pump and wires were severely corroded. I worked up the connection looking for clean (no corrosion) wires and found a somewhat shoddy installation on all 3 wiresjust inside the bulkhead to the engine space: merely crimped and tucked into a wire jacket, no heat shrink or even tape to protect the connections. After replacing nearly 2 feet on all 3 wires I have had no further issues.

 

[watson1987]

That's an interesting point.

The first one died without blowing any fuses, however the second one did blow a fuse. If my electrical knowledge serves me right, bad wiring will increase the current draw.

I have a hunch that the pump's electronics might not be too sensitive to voltage fluctuations. If this is the case, it could mean that the wiring isn't the main issue, as both pumps would have caused a high amperage draw and blown a fuse.

I would like to know which Johnson pump you had because I wouldn't mind replacing mine with them since they offer much easier cartridge replacements. I imagine the lower bilge pump under the shaft has just as tight of access in the 2013 vs 2018 R31

 

[mvldyjoan]

Seems right, but my wiring was definitely bad and I never blew any fuses. Might be worth a quick check of voltage at the pump and maybe strip a couple of inches, see what's there. Would have saved me the effort of going beneath that shaft to change the original pump which is probably still operable. 2013's came equipped with the 1000gph cartridge pump with the electro-magnetic float switch in both pump positions, very easy to change cartridges. Don't have the number for the pump, cartridge is 28511 or 28512 depending on gph. Rule 1100 electronic sensing pump works great but when it fails I'll have to change the whole pump. Think I will let it play out before I go back under there.