Bilge Hose. Best Replacement?

Hi all,
I’ve recently noticed that two of our three bilge hoses are in sad shape. They are all similar to the other non-wire reinforced hoses elsewhere on the boat; rubber with a wrapping.

In our case the outer casing is getting spongy and coming apart in spots. At its worst you can see where the rubber is breaking down.

I suspect the two that are breaking down are original to our 1980 trawler.

Before I head over to Fisheries I wanted to see what others are using or recommend. Fisheries has many options.

Two 1.5” and one 2” (manual).

I’d like to replace everything and not worry about it for another 37 years.

Thanks in advance.

Fisheries should have some good hose, just make sure it is a quality hose that is smooth bore, not the internally ribbed hose.

The hose should also be pretty flexible so it doesn't stress the connection to the pump.

Great tips, thanks.

Looking at options it seems like PVC (vs rubber) is the way to go for replacement given the nature of bilge water.

I believe I used shields bilge hose on mine , although I wish I could find some cuffs to go over the corrugated ends to make clamping better .

Pack Mule said:

I believe I used shields bilge hose on mine , although I wish I could find some cuffs to go over the corrugated ends to make clamping better .

Click to expand...

Doesn't it have a flat section every foot or so?

aboatman said:

Doesn't it have a flat section every foot or so?

Click to expand...

Hmm maybe I didn’t use shields. Mine doesn’t have a flat section . That would definitely be a plus .

I ended up using the white sanitation hose. Was easy to work with, crush proof and nothing to corrode. T

Ted

Yep, Trident 148 looks like a winner and a 50' roll should cover both automatic pumps. The manual pump uses a larger hose so I'm sourcing that next.

Good post as I have to replace my bilge hoses too. most of the hose I currently have is black almost wet exhaust hose. I believe it could be the original hose....yeks...

I use plastic pipe on some of my bilge pumps. You can find sweeping 45° % 90° turns that don't restrict flow. Properly secured, it lasts near forever.

Pack Mule said:

Hmm maybe I didn’t use shields. Mine doesn’t have a flat section . That would definitely be a plus .

Click to expand...

I think Attwood sells cuffs for corrugated hose (outside).... Last time I saw them was in a Home Depo in Marathon, Fl. I think pool hose has them in the pool section, but probably not small enough.

The thin white poly bilge pump hose has the flat sections every foot or so for cutting/clamping.

Some dont trust it....well thats a whole thread in its own.

Found something interesting during this project. After contorting myself into the lazarette to make sure I understood the bilge hose thru hulls I found the high water bilge pump hose sharing the low water bilge pump thru hull. It had been plumbed in using a T fitting just before the thru hull. Oddly, the T is facing down.

This explains a strange thing I noticed when clearing a lot of water from the bilge (after adding a lot of water during cleaning/testing the pumps) where when the bilge water gets close to the low water pump shut off water seemed to rush down from the forward portion of the bilge. I thought that was sort of strange at the time but now realize that some of the water being pumped by the lower pump is coming back down the high water pump hose, spilling back into the bilge through the upper pump (when off).

This means some percentage of the water getting pumped out is coming back into the bilge due to plumbing goofiness. Not to mention when both pumps are on, they share a single 1" thru hull - which can't be good for both pumps to hit the expected GPH.

Scary.

The plan is to add a dedicated 1 1/8" thru hull for the high water pump (sans seacock) ensuring all three pumps (low, high, manual) have their own path to get bilge water overboard.

Finally, I'd welcome advice on a related note. Both existing thru hulls (1 1/8" for auto pumps, 1 1/2" for manual pump) are bronze seacocks (completely frozen open). Seems strange for bilge thru hulls and since they are basically inaccessible and clearly haven't been closed for years they seem like very expensive versions of themselves.

Any thoughts?

How high are the seacocks above the waterline?

Ted

About 3" - 4" above the boot stripe.

I take that back - at the boot stripe.

If the bilge pump hoses loop above the seacocks before going down to the pump, you're probably ok with them the way they are. If you cruise offshore, when the boat rolls, you may take on a shot of water if the hoses don't loop above the seacocks. All my hoses loop about 2' above the waterline before traveling down to the through hull fitting. If you have an inoperable pump and no loop above the seacock, it would be nice to be able to close it.

Ted

Airstream345 said:

I take that back - at the boot stripe.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't be happy without the loop above the seacocks.

Ted

Yeah, that's going to require cutting into the bulwarks. Seems like a mfg miss.

Got a pic of each seacock?

Ted

I’ll try and get one today

Scene of the crime

I found a one way valve on the primary pump hose just below the ER/Laz bulkhead.

Clearly 37 years of whatever made a mess of things on these old rubber hoses. Oil, gunk, fuel, salt water...bleh.

Now to cleaning and replacing.

What is the line with the "T"?

High water pump hose t’s into low water hose. I know!

I like the safety wire on the hose clamps, I suppose it is designed to keep them from sliding off the hose barbs...

Those tapered / cone seacocks look to be in great shape. They are fairly easy to rebuild. In your case, disassembly and relubing is likely all that is necessary. There are several internet articles on servicing them. Take a look at this one.

Servicing Tapered Seacocks

Ted

Before





After





Still need to install the high water hose and source new hose for the manual pump but what a difference.

Also trying to find a way to get loops in there without cutting open the cockpit bulwark

I did stand in front of a can of Bilge Koat for like 20 minutes but decided that’s a ‘next’ project

For the manual pump suction:

Wow. For a moment I thought I was looking at my bilge hoses. I will be crawling around replacing hoses too this spring. I missed it. What are you using as replacement hose?

Trident sanitation hose 1 1/18" although I could've probably used 1" with the older bilge pumps....i do plan to replace the lower pump and newer pumps all seem to be 1 1/8" outlets now.

Bought 50 ft for about $105 from Fisheries. Enough for three lines.

I'm just happy to have a clean bilge and clear water again.

I'm also happy that in my before and after tests the lower pump can now keep up with a completely open engine seacock. Previously it wouldn't due to both backwash from the T connection and any leaks in the hose.


So so so had to resist the urge to paint the bilge...drives me crazy to not have it shiny and new down there...but alas a project for another time.