C26 Shower Sump.......

S

Severum88

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 2, 2020
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77
Fluid Motion Model
R-21
The dreaded shower sump pump issue. New to me C26, and I just got around to testing the shower sump before a trip planned for the weekend. Ran some water to fill the sump, yet the pump never turns on. Disconnected and removed the float switch wiring and tried directly wiring the pump to the live 12v feed from the fuse panel, and nothing. So before I cut myself up removing this sump setup, I was contemplating ditching the sump box altogether and just using an inline pump to evacuate the shower as needed. Seems a few have done this with success. I just want some opinions before I simply replace the pump, and have to be back mucking with this setup every few months. Is anyone's fairly trouble free? If not, perhaps inline and ditching the box is the way to go. I'd just have to figure out the plumbing reducer/adapter, as the drain intake is much larger than the discharge.

Any other thoughts or suggestions before I purchase parts?

Cheers,

Severum
 
Our R29 has the dreaded shower sump. I have replaced the pump and the float, on different occasions of course. The pump not working was inconvenient but not the end of the world. The pump, or more so the float would malfunction either up or down sometimes leaving the pump running. This results in tearing the bed apart and doing something to stop it from running all night. Usually this would happen after my wife had gone to bed resulting in this strange phenomena being my fault.

My solution was to remover the float and pump and replaced it with a small bilge bump with a built in float. Bilge pumps seem to have an appetite for larger items. I then also wired a switch on the power feed to the pump and have switch on the side of the bed by the closet. I can now kill the power to service it or if it stays on again and the bilge pump has worked flawlessly since. We shower exclusively on the boat when on it so it sees lots of use.
 
Don't forget if you have A/C it also drains into that sump. On mine the motor just snaps out. Very easy to replace and mine lasted for quite a few years before I had to replace it.
 
My sump made it 4 years failed this year. We don't use the shower very often as of yet maybe a dozen times. We have a shower on the swim platform and use the dinghy as our shower curtain. The sump gets used quite a bit for the air unit water drain. I had to move the depth transducer and all hoses to get the box out ( very poor engineering) I found the pump to be fine but the float switch was intermittent. I replaced both we plan on using the shower more this year while in Florida. Now that the shower sump was pulled and the screws removed from the lid the repair is much easier. The first time is a PIA. I did't install a switch because the C26 has the sump fuse in the head, It is easy to access to pull the fuse to shut it off and make repairs. When I installed the new pump and float I cleaned up the wiring a bit and made better connections using sealed bullet connectors so I can unplug the pump and float switch. This way the connectors in the boat remain and the pump and float switch wires are cut and new bullet connectors are installed. I was afraid after several pump and float failures I would run out of boat wire. I have not had enough issues to change the system. I'm afraid that if I changed the system with the air unit it could cause an over flow. I'm sticking to design.
 
Thanks everyone for the input.

Update:

Between removing the two accessible screws to the top of the sump, as well as one of the mounting screws from sump to hull, I was able to bend the top and extract the pump. However, the newer rule 800 has totally different different dimensions, and is too tall.

So my new plan:

-Remove the float switch altogether
-Add an Atwood 750 auto to the box (4" height should match the old rule 800, removing the old float switch should allow enough room for the 750's length, float built in, gph and head pressure about the same as the OEM rule 800)

More to come.....
 
When mine went I found an off brand pump for 1/2 the price. It was a bit taller as well. I was able to cut back the plastic under the lid and then heated it a bit to make a bit of a curve in the top.. and it fit.. I would say it was about 3/4 inch taller then the original. Not sure how big you difference is... Sounds like you have a plan 🙂
 
I replaced with a Rule 800 and the original A-matic float switch. Plug and play. It worked for 4 years If I get 2 years with added use I'll be happy. It all fits as original install.gallery2.php?g2_itemId=74565
 
I had shower sump issues on my C-28 and made the same discovery as everyone else. It’s a real chore to get to the pump. I ended up replacing mine with an Attwood 4142 unit and it fits great. The lid snaps on so no messing around with screws and it’s actually got enough clearance to service the box.
 
Subs":3baqtghf said:
I had shower sump issues on my C-28 and made the same discovery as everyone else. It’s a real chore to get to the pump. I ended up replacing mine with an Attwood 4142 unit and it fits great. The lid snaps on so no messing around with screws and it’s actually got enough clearance to service the box.
Click to expand...

Looks like a good option. I may look into that after my next failure. Same drain design but better box design.
 
Subs":3e69rb3t said:
I had shower sump issues on my C-28 and made the same discovery as everyone else. It’s a real chore to get to the pump. I ended up replacing mine with an Attwood 4142 unit and it fits great. The lid snaps on so no messing around with screws and it’s actually got enough clearance to service the box.
Click to expand...

Subs: Were you able to extract the old sump box and slide the new one in without removing the transducer?

Severum
 
Sorry for the delay. I Enjoyed a nice weekend with the boat and forgot to check on my follow up to the post. To answer in short... yes. Once I confirmed the measurements of the box I was getting as a replacement, I performed some “surgery” on the original box to get it out. Basically cut the thing up with my Bosch Oscillating tool so I could remove it. The other box was low enough that it slid into the original spot without issue. I’ll grab some pics when I’m at the boat this week.
 
Thanks again everyone. Last post for now, until I replace it with the Atwood 4142. Thanks Subs.

I replaced the old Rule float switch and pump, which had died, with an Atwood 750(built in float switch). This IS NOT ideal. It works just fine and comes on and off like it should. However, it is just tall enough so as to not allow the lid to be secured on the accessible side. So I left the screws out as there is very little if any turbulence with the Atwood.

If I had it to do over right now, I would go with the Atwood 4142. I just may do that sooner than later for peace of mind.

Severum
 
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