Bilge Pump Flow Rate

[WherryNice]

Evening all, I would like to pick the collective forum brain for advice on what flow rate bilge pump would be advisable to use on a Hampton Safari please?

The old one was kaput and I binned it without first looking to see what it was rated for(the boat is not in the water!), I already have a float switch so I am not bothered about getting a pump with one built in.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Whale-12v-Supersub-500gph-Non-Automatic-Low-Profile-Bilge-Pump-SS5012/312095352563

My last boat(21 foot cruiser, very shallow bilge) had one of the above and I liked the way it pumped the bilge pretty much dry but I was wondering if the flow rate is up to the job for the larger Safari. I have googled this but most advice is for sea-going stuff and seems a tad overkill on the Broads.

Any input gratfully recieved, ta.

[marshman]

If you have any size hole, it won't be enough!!! But what it might do is cope with the normal flow into a bilge, such as a dripping gland ( yep we all have those - its an age thing!!! ) and also if you have a well at the back, that almost certainly will cope with that draining into the bilge!!!

To be honest I would expect even a modest bilge pump to be rated at more than that but having checked Brian Ward, thats about par for the course. On balance I might opt for a bigger one - dont forget its your pride and joy! Shame to spoil it for a happorth of tar or whatever the expression is!

[Smoggy]

A bilge pump is not so much for the odd drips from the stern gland they are more for the split hose from a sea cock so the biggest you can fit/afford is probably the best one.

[grendel]

or get two, and set one higher so it comes on should the first be overwhelmed or fail.

[grendel]

having said that I was helming a boat while a hole where a plank had sprung was being fixed and we had 5 bilge pumps pumping out at one point (the boat had just been put in the water and was still taking up, ditto a hire boat that pumped out every 10 minutes or so for 30 seconds (that too had just been relaunched) that had a fairly vigorous bilge pump if I recall.

[JanetAnne]

5 minutes ago, grendel said:

having said that I was helming a boat while a hole where a plank had sprung was being fixed and we had 5 bilge pumps pumping out at one point (the boat had just been put in the water and was still taking up, ditto a hire boat that pumped out every 10 minutes or so for 30 seconds (that too had just been relaunched) that had a fairly vigorous bilge pump if I recall.

You do exaggerate, twas but a mere trickle  You know it's bad when they don't lift off the trailer as you launch them 

[WherryNice]

Thanks for the input folks, I think I might have a bigger automatic one in case of a large leak but also have the smaller one manually controlled to allow a nice dry bilge. Or something like that anyway, food for thought!

[Oddfellow]

Size of boat is immaterial. Size of the leak is the issue. I would always advise fitting two in different points, the higher one being much larger. There is no point in having a non-automatic electric bilge pump IMHO.