R21 EC Second Bilge Pump

[hwhayes]

I've read a lot here about owners installing a second bilge pump on their R21 EC's.
A fellow Tugnut subscriber Ray Julian showed me his instillation when he so kindly invited us to see his boat wile we were in Boston.
I plan on installing one but have three questions:
1. Where in the bilge have you located the pump, near the primary pump or further forward in front of the engine?
2. Did you use a "Y" valve to connect both pumps to the same thru hull? Other options could be using a "Y" valve connected to the freshwater thru hull or the macerator marine head thru hull.
3. What brand/capacity pump and brand of switch did you use?
Any links to photos would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance to any advice y'all can provide.

Best Wishes
Harry Hayes
2015 R21 EC "RedBird"

 

[Fisho]

Reasonably easy installation accepting a little tight to get your hands in there. I wanted the second pump to be fully independent and manually activated. I used the identical Johnson pump but 1000 gph instead of standard 750 gph. Same size. Sits immediately in front of the standard pump. Access through the same opening. Cut a small piece of plastic cutting board to size and used marine Sikaflex to glue it to boat. Pump screwed on the same as standard pump. I fitted an independent outlet that comes out next to the standard outlet. The pump is separately wired with its own fuse and an on/off switch in the cabin. I suspect there are lots of options for plumbing and wiring but this works for me. We feel much safer having a backup bilge pump. Cheers.

 

[hwhayes]

Thanks for the reply. I see merit in making the second pump totally independent.
Has anyone used a dual bilge “Y” valve rather than creating an additional thru Hull?
Thanks again.

 

[Catch22]

If you are looking to use the Y method and the original thru hull, you probably want to include back flow protection.
SeaSense makes a Dual Bilge Y Valve that includes that protection so the pumps can be used separately or simultaneously. That way if one pump fails, the other pump will not reflood the bilge by pumping water to the failed pump.

 

[Capt’nKarl]

I have a Rule LoPro pump that fits nicely in the space aft of the main bilge pump. It’s wired separately and comes on automatically. It also has its own thru hull discharge. Trust me,but don’t ask for details, if I didn’t have this installed at a launch a couple of years ago ,nuf said.
Stay afloat and you’ll be happy,
Karl

 

[Connerkip]

One risk in sharing a thru hull would be if the thru hull failed, then both pumps would just be pumping water back into the bilge while seawater was entering the thru hull. It’s not unheard of to have a thru hull freeze and crack, corrode thru, break off, hose fail, hose clamps fail, etc. Another failure area could be the check valve. I would keep a separate thru hull for the second bilge pump, but that’s just me. BTW, that’s what the factory did on my Cutwater.

 

[hwhayes]

After reading all the posts on having a second bilge pump I’ve just completed installing one on our 2015 Ranger R21-EC. Here’s my story other opinions will vary:

I used a Johnson Pump Combo Bilge Pump 1000GPH. The pump base can be rotated 90 degrees by removing two screws in the base which results in the pump, the hose outlet and the float switch all being in a line for easier access. I added three thin pads using SS screws to the pump base. This allows water to flow under the pump and provides a mounting surface to the keel bottom for the adhesive.

I liked the idea of locating it next to the existing pump near the stern. However, that location had two minor obstacles. One was that the first pump is in the location easiest to access so a second one will be slightly harder to get to. And the hose would have to be connected to a new thru hull or spliced using a “Y” fitting with no-return valve into the existing hose and thru hull. I didn’t want to put in another thru hull so I explored installing a larger diameter thru hull in place of the existing one. This could be easily done but I just didn’t like depending on that single thru hull for both pumps. So, I focused my attention on the other location referred to by TugNut users which is in front of the engine accessible from the round deck plate between the cabin and cockpit. This location has good access for placing the pump and is close to the thru hull used for the sink.

It was easy to route the hose from the pump under the cabin into the cabinet space below the sink. I attached a “Y” fitting with non-return valves and ran power from the pump to the starboard side of the boat. I put the Johnson Bilge Pump switch in a box and mounted it on the starboard side between the wheel and the porthole (see photos).

One issue with mounting the pump further forward is that the bottom of the keel sits higher in the water towards the front so the water level in the bilge has to get higher before the float switch kicks in, may be a good thing, time will tell?

So, for those interested I’ve posted photos in my gallery.

 

[Snug21]

Harry, really nice job on the photos and details - thanks for sharing. I’m curious about folks’ thoughts on having this secondary pump switched manually vs. automatically? I’m getting ready to tackle this same project and leaning towards automatic switching as peace of mind when the boat is afloat with no one on board. I also like the idea of separating the two systems by utilizing the sink drain, but our boat has the factory AC unit under the sink so not sure how easy it will be to run the hose up from the bilge - anybody else tackle this particular arrangement yet? Thanks again!

 

[hwhayes]

RE: the bilge pump switch.
The one I selected offers three positions. Manually ON albeit you must hold it on, then an OFF position that overrides the float switch and the third setting is AUTOMATIC which energized the float switch.