R-29 Bilge Pump Buzzing Sound

[mlanger]

There are two bilge pumps in the engine compartment on an R – 29. My understanding is that the aft bilge pump runs on a timer and the forward bilge pump runs on a float switch. i’ve been on this boat for more than 450 nights in the past 20 months and I have heard the aft bilge pump activate periodically. I do not remember ever hearing the forward bilge pump activate.

What I’m seeing right now is that the forward bilge pump is running every 2 1/2 minutes, emitting a buzzing sound but, obviously, not pumping anything. This buzzing sound can be heard throughout the boat and it kept me up half the night. I know it’s the forward bilge pump because when the sound occurs, the indicator light on my DC distribution switches for the forward bilge pump lights up.

Can someone tell me if the forward pump is also timer based? And, if so, why haven’t I been hearing it? And how can I get it to stop buzzing so I can sleep at night?

I am seven days away from completing my great loop trip. The aft bilge pump was recently replaced and works fine. I look under the hood every single morning to check the oil and other things, including whether there is water in the bilge. If I were to pull the fuse for the forward bilge pump, would it stop the periodic buzzing or completely disable the pump?

Please, only reply if you know the answer. I can guess but I don’t need more guesses. Thank you.

 

[SKing]

There are two bilge pumps in the engine compartment on an R – 29. My understanding is that the aft bilge pump runs on a timer and the forward bilge pump runs on a float switch. i’ve been on this boat for more than 450 nights in the past 20 months and I have heard the aft bilge pump activate periodically. I do not remember ever hearing the forward bilge pump activate.

What I’m seeing right now is that the forward bilge pump is running every 2 1/2 minutes, emitting a buzzing sound but, obviously, not pumping anything. This buzzing sound can be heard throughout the boat and it kept me up half the night. I know it’s the forward bilge pump because when the sound occurs, the indicator light on my DC distribution switches for the forward bilge pump lights up.

Can someone tell me if the forward pump is also timer based? And, if so, why haven’t I been hearing it? And how can I get it to stop buzzing so I can sleep at night?

I am seven days away from completing my great loop trip. The aft bilge pump was recently replaced and works fine. I look under the hood every single morning to check the oil and other things, including whether there is water in the bilge. If I were to pull the fuse for the forward bilge pump, would it stop the periodic buzzing or completely disable the pump?

Please, only reply if you know the answer. I can guess but I don’t need more guesses. Thank you.

On my 2021 C30 both BILGE pumps are timer activated and if they sense a load will continue to run until no load is present. The SHOWER drain assembly in the fwrd berth has a bilge pump operated by a float. Have you used the manual switch to turn on the front bilge pump and does it reproduce the same sound? The pump is is not easy to reach and is under the front of the motor. I have read that the R29 layout is similar.

Here is a link to a discussion I had about my bilge pump problem and how I tested operation.

https://www.tugnuts.com/threads/rule-bilge-pump-low-flow-but-clean-filter-screen.20697/

You can disable the front bilge pump with the fuse, but only you can decide if that is a safe way to operate temporarily, and for how long. I would be comfortable as long as I'm on the boat. On my boat you can release the pump from the base and can check if there is debris near the impeller. Flooding the engine bay with the aft bilge pump fuse removed is the only sure way to test the operation though.

 

[mlanger]

On my 2021 C30 both BILGE pumps are timer activated and if they sense a load will continue to run until no load is present. The SHOWER drain assembly in the fwrd berth has a bilge pump operated by a float. Have you used the manual switch to turn on the front bilge pump and does it reproduce the same sound? The pump is is not easy to reach and is under the front of the motor. I have read that the R29 layout is similar….

You can disable the front bilge pump with the fuse, but only you can decide if that is a safe way to operate temporarily, and for how long. I would be comfortable as long as I'm on the boat. On my boat you can release the pump from the base and can check if there is debris near the impeller. Flooding the engine bay with the aft bilge pump fuse removed is the only sure way to test the operation though.

Thanks for all this. I really was not aware that the forward bilge pump also operated on a timer. I have never once heard it try to run — until last night. And every 2 1/2 minutes since then.🙄

I do feel comfortable disabling the forward bilge pump when I’m not underway. I’d really like to be able to sleep and the buzz is quite annoying. The aft bilge pump works fine. I’ll try pulling the fuse and hope that it works. Thank you for your help.

 

[watson1987]

Your bilge pump has 2 12V wires. One is always-on (powers the 2.5-minute timer operation) and the other is on a switch/breaker (for immediate operation). Instead of trying to remove the fuse for the always-on to sleep and risk forgetting about it, I would recommend adding a float and flip the 12V inputs (switch/breaker input to the float, and switch for the 2.5 minute timer side). When you hit the switch for manual operation the pump will still come on, and if you have water, it will remain on. On the R31 this is how the high water bilge pump is configured, although instead of a float it's a Johnson high water alarm, but the principal is the same.