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DIY Arid Bilge

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sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/30/2016 : 07:54:56

If you've seen the Arid Bilge (http://www.aridbilge.com) systems, you know they're great but pricy. So I made my own system, which isn't as intelligent as theirs, but it only costs $50. I bought the pump from Amazon and the rest of the parts from my local hardware store. After a year, it still works great and keeps the bilge dusty dry so my boat no longer has that boat smell.

I have three pickup zones, one under the port salon sole, one under the starboard salon sole, and one under the v-berth. I have mine programmed to run for 2 minutes at 6 am and 6 pm.

After experimenting, I found that 1/8" i.d. tube was most effective size for the pickup tubing, which I did not expect. I think this is because the narrower tube creates enough back pressure so that suction will occur on multiple pickups even when one of them is dry.

I originally planned to plumb the discharge into the manual bilge pump outlet hose, but later realized I had a better and easier solution by letting the discharge go out the swing keel lifting cable tube. (See 5th photo). If you don't have a swing keel, you could also plumb the discharge to the the thru-hull for the icebox and galley sink drain, since this system has a low volume, low pressure discharge.

Photos of the installation are below:

I drilled holes in the sides of each plastic fitting to help it pull water from the sponge.

I had to glue a plastic washer in place to keep the plastic fitting from pulling through the faceplate.

Here is one of the completed pickups in place. The fitting is in the center of the sponge. The screws hold the sponge to the faceplate. The sponge sucks up water from the bilge - the moisture gets sucked up through the tube.

I installed the diaphragm pump installed in the lazarette. On the right side of the pump, there is a suction manifold to allow for three pickups. You could put in more t's if you wanted more pickups. The pickup tubes fit through the holes the factory cut for the manual bilge pump. The discharge is coming from the left side of the pump. I had to drill a new hole to get it to the swing keel lifting hardware tube.

The discharge tube comes from the lazarette through the bilge and up along the swing keel lifting cable tube, and then drains into the swing keel lifting cable tube.

This is the DC programmable timer that turns the pump on and off. At first I had it run for 2 minutes every 6 hours. Now it's set to run for 2 minutes every 12 hours.

Seth
"Outlier" 1987 Catalina 25 SR/SK/Traditional Interior #5541
"Zoo" 1977 Morgan Out Island 30
"Nomad" 1980 Prindle 16
"Lost" 1988 Catalina Capri 14.2 (sold - yay!)
"Marine Tex 1" Unknown Origin POS 8' Fiberglass Dinghy
https://whichsailboat.com/2014/07/27/catalina-25-review/

Edited by - sethp001 on 10/31/2016 18:52:10

DavidBuoy
Admiral

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USA
707 Posts

Response Posted - 11/04/2016 : 05:15:48

Pretty sweet idea! Although, do you have enough leaking that keeps filling those compartments?

Captain Rob & Admiral Alyson
"David Buoy"-1985 C25 SK/SR #5053

Tomas Kruska
Admiral

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Czech Republic
522 Posts

Response Posted - 11/04/2016 : 06:39:11

Nice idea, but I would rather address the leak you might have at the first place. Bilge should be bone dry

Dalpol Phobos 21, 2013, Sole Mio, hull #27, current adventures - We sail Phobos 21

PO of Catalina C25, 1978, High Anxiety, hull #701, SR, FK, L-dinette, inboard diesel Volvo Penta MD2010C w/saildrive - more info

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 11/04/2016 : 17:47:51

quote:
Originally posted by DavidBuoy

Pretty sweet idea! Although, do you have enough leaking that keeps filling those compartments?

Thanks David. They don't fill but I do get some water. I have some leaky deck hardware yet to be rebedded.

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 11/04/2016 : 17:48:55

quote:
Originally posted by Tomas Kruska

Nice idea, but I would rather address the leak you might have at the first place. Bilge should be bone dry

Thanks Thomas. The bilge should be bone dry, but I haven't fixed all the leaks yet.

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 12/05/2017 : 19:53:08

Very nice job Seth, and great write up in the Mainsheet

? Did you block off the end of the pickup so that water is only sucked in via the drilled holes, or is the 'bottom' of the 1/8" x MIP fitting open and just touching the bottom of the bilge?

Paul

Joint Decision. (Sold)
PO C250WB 2005 Sail # 841.

Moved up to C34 Eximius

Updated August 2015

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3992 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2017 : 05:39:30

Nice work! I like the repurposed switch plates. Do the sponge's need cleaning often?

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5851 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2017 : 06:01:13

Who manufactures that timer and where can it be bought? The condensation from my AC drains into the bilge and it needs to be pumped out occasionally. It would be very convenient to have it happen automatically, on schedule.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 12/09/2017 : 19:02:30

quote:
Originally posted by britinusa

Very nice job Seth, and great write up in the Mainsheet

? Did you block off the end of the pickup so that water is only sucked in via the drilled holes, or is the 'bottom' of the 1/8" x MIP fitting open and just touching the bottom of the bilge?

Paul

I did not plug the bottom of the pickup fitting. In my kit, water is sucked through the drilled holes in the fitting and the bottom of the fitting. You could try plugging the bottom and see if performance is increased.

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 12/09/2017 : 19:04:30

quote:
Originally posted by islander

Nice work! I like the repurposed switch plates. Do the sponge's need cleaning often?

Thanks, Scott! I've never cleaned the sponges, but have replaced them annually. Mine seem to start falling apart after a year, although they still seem clean as they deteriorate.

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 12/09/2017 : 19:13:56

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Milby

Who manufactures that timer and where can it be bought? The condensation from my AC drains into the bilge and it needs to be pumped out occasionally. It would be very convenient to have it happen automatically, on schedule.

There are various timers like this one available from Amazon. I don't know who manufactures them, but they all appear to be manufactured in China, possibly from the same factory since they all look nearly identical and have similar specs. I purchased three versions of these timers from Amazon. The first one came with all Chinese lettering on the buttons (I should have paid more attention when ordering). Below is a link to a timer that works well and has English labeling on buttons.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WR0ELCO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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