In my 2019 R27 OB The auto bilge pumps each activate about once every few minutes and is there a switch to still sense water but not run for a second every couple of minutes?
I can live with the noise because I can usually sleep through it but I can’t help thinking that the power usage and the dry pump wear and tear are not desirable.
Any ideas? I am away from the boat right now and I am making a list of details to take care of when I can get back aboard—thanks for your help,
The bilge pumps are auto-sensing for water rather than relying on a typical float switch. They turn on every 2.5 minutes, if they sense resistance (from water) they will continue to run. Without resistance, they will turn off. This is true for the two bilge pumps in the cockpit. The one up in the v-berth is usually different. The v-berth probably has a L and H (low and high) setting and a timer setting. It should be set to the L setting so that it doesn't make any noise while sleeping.
The bilge pumps are designed this way, as it makes install and maintenance easier having an all-in-one unit. However, what usually happens is the automatic feature will fail first, yet the pump will continue to work manually when you push the on button. Having the auto-sense feature built in, the only option is replacement when the auto-sense function fails. The power draw from the pumps cycling every 2.5 minutes is negligible, and it's how the pumps were designed to operate.
The shower sump is a bilge pump with a float-switch. If it fails, replace the float switch as it's less expensive and is most likely what's failed.
I replaced my shower sump float switch, and all 3 other bilge pumps last year. I was down to only 1 fully working, the others had all failed on their automatic sensing feature. The v-berth bilge pump would turn itself on and run for several minutes, until it finally died. The only bilge pump I have that has actually pumped water is the cockpit aft pump and the shower sump.
I talk about the bilge pumps in this video.
