Topic: solar panel for bilge pump
has anyone had any success with a solar panel running the bilge pump?
Re: solar panel for bilge pump
It makes sense to use a small solar panel to keep the batteries topped up if not on shorepower for charging. The bilge pump should be wired to the batteries in the normal manner.
Re: solar panel for bilge pump
I was wondering in general terms how successful this can be and if anyone had any advice. I hooked up my rule which has the self sensing built in, it is a small one I believe 500 gph. I came back to the boat after a torrential rain to flat batts and a full bilge. My guess is my system just got overwhelmed. I have new deep cycle batts and a 10 watt panel. Any thoughts?
Re: solar panel for bilge pump
I am curious about the source of water ingress. My bilge is usually pretty dry with the exception of the usual drip from the stern tube. Where is your leak?
Re: solar panel for bilge pump
My boat has always had water in it after heavy rains. I don't really know how it happens only that is after very heavy rains. I suspect the cockpit drains get overwhelmed and water comes in under the hatch boards.
Re: solar panel for bilge pump
Re: solar panel for bilge pump
My Contessa has two small dorade vents on the stern to provide vent air to the engine room. I usually keep both vents facing forward. A wind driven rain from the right direction will go down these two vents and fill up the bilge.
I have learned to tie plastic grocery bags over these dorades when I expect heavy rains. That solves the problem.
I only set my bilge pump on automatic when I expect to be away from the boat for a spell or when we get hurricane conditions. Normally I want to know how much water is coming in. Automatic bilge pumps can conceal a problem leak.
The cutworms are in the hollyhocks, again!
Re: solar panel for bilge pump
Automatic bilge pumps should ideally have an hourmeter monitoring them. The cheapest/simplest is an analog 12V clock. Just wire it in parallel to the motor, after the float switch, and set it to 12:00 once a month or so.
Our bilge pump typically 'glurps' for about a minute a few times an hour due to stuffing box drips underway, and with the original cockpit draining into the bilge can go to a 50:50 duty cycle during a torrential downpour so I doubt one would ever normally clock up more than one hour a week on it.
A siren on a 5 minute time delay relay delaying its activation or on a high level float switch might be useful if you need to leave your boat unattended for months in a marina. If the bilge water hasn't cleared in 5 minutes you definitely have a problem!
I don't bother with any of these warning systems as I am confident in my hull integrity, keep all thru-hulls shut off when not aboard, and the marina do a daily walk-round to spot vessels with problems so pump failure or loss of power (battery + float charger) *WILL* get spotted if she's down on her marks significantly. I am considering building a fancy engine monitoring module and will probably add a 'Pump Hours' to that if I decide to go ahead. (One more input and a few lines of code!)