New to the Pearson 365 and this site.
Any concerns I should be aware of if I scrap my shower sump and route the shower drain (shower will rarely be used) to the bilge? Sink drain would be to above waterline gate valve and flow by gravity. Just seems simpler.
Thanks,
Carl
Carl,
Welcome to the group, Carl.
Based upon what I was told by the previous owner, routing shower and and sink to the bilge sump will give rise to undesirable odors and growths. However, I cannot verify this; just passing on data.
Mark
Mark,
Thanks for the reply. If I do use the shower, I will bilge pump it out after the shower..and use freshener. As for sink gray water, it would go directly OB via the gate valve.
Carl
Soapy water is an ideal growth medium for bacteria. Aerobic? anaerobic? Not sure, but they do smell bad.
The head sink will drain when the boat is at rest. If you are sailing on port tack, it will not depending on the amount of heal. If the heal is excessive the water will back up into the sink, not good.
As for the shower in the bilge, for the most part the bilge pump should never run. This is good because no matter how good of job you do on engine leaks some oil will end up there. If you shower in the marina you do not want that bilge water heading over the side with oil in it no matter how little.
The system I use is a sump system that has 3 inlets. One for the shower, one for the head sink and one for the head floor drain. The head floor drain could be used as an emergency bilge pump when all else fails.
Dale
Didn't like the location of the Attwood sump, the lid was broken, the pump quit & it was wired to the stbd light circuit with a faulty connection that I couldn't locate.
Plus, I wanted a larger sump, and also a back up bilge pump that worked if the main bilge pump quit or was overwhelmed.
The link below is to a picture of my prototype mounted in the bilge well, wired to it's own 24 hour circuit through a two way bilge pump switch. Have been thinking of other solutions, but my modified trash can is working fine.
http://slokat.com/Wind%20Tamer/pics/Sump.jpg (http://slokat.com/Wind%20Tamer/pics/Sump.jpg)
Hey Carl,
Take a look at my posting from Nov 22, 2011 about the restoration of POG's head and shower and head sink plumbing. Works like a charm. Use the forum search function. Type in POG and you will soon find the discussion. For your info - after 6,100 miles across the Pacific and some hard weather I have yet to have any problem with the head sink overflowing when the boat heels. I do try to remember to close the drain when the weather gets threatening, just in case.
Hi Carl,
Good info and pics. Thanks! I will refit similar.
Fair Winds,
Carl P365 #302 Sea Hiker