Tim Allen and the shower sump

[tiltrider1]

My neighbor has been having issues with his shower sump. He has been through two different shower sumps. The floats always work, just never seems to pump out the water. The sumps use a Rule 800 and the pump always seems to get clogged or cavitate. I told him to he needed more power.

He invited me over today to look at his new shower sump. I am impressed with how well it works. He upgraded to a Rule 2000.

 

[Propnut]

I installed a Whale 220 gulper pump 5 years ago and have had zero problems

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I installed one of these about a month ago
Very happy with it. I love the new screen design.

https://www.hodgesmarine.com/rul99b...LiP1BKmAG8reIeXuiJTDJ7YNm41S1k8gaAtlSEALw_wcB

 

[rgano]

I am a Whale pump fan too. This is the second boat where I have replaced the poorly designed system using a centrifugal pump as shower drain with a Gulper. In the current boat, the shower sump doubles as the air conditioner drip pan sump. I left the float switch in the Attwood sump box, removed the plastic screen which was always getting clogged, and placed a Gulper atop the sump with a short length of hose reaching down to the bottom of the sump. Works a treat. In the older boat where the sump was just for one of the showers, I ripped out the whole sump and installed the Gulper in the drain line with a pull switch in the shower to operate it as needed.

Thinking of shower sump pumps reminds me of the time in 1989 off the coast of California when I used one to drain three feet of water out of a Chris Craft Roamer.....

 

[Comodave]

I made a new shower sump and put in a Whale Gulper IC pump. Works great.

 

[jimdavi]

+1 whale gulper w/sump. Zero issues.

 

[DDW]

+2 on the Whale Gulper w/o sump. No sump, no cleaning, no problem.

 

[Hippocampus]

Another way to go is to have a grey water holding tank for the showers and sinks in the head. Use same components as for black water. Hair, dead skin, soap scum and the like seem to have less impact. Can even throw in enzyme or surfactant periodically if necessary.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I think the sump should have some holes bored in it so it will eventually drain the "dregs" into the bilge. The holes can be pretty small and near the bottom. They will keep water in the sump from becoming soap solid or scummy.

pete

 

[rslifkin]

I think the sump should have some holes bored in it so it will eventually drain the "dregs" into the bilge. The holes can be pretty small and near the bottom. They will keep water in the sump from becoming soap solid or scummy.

pete

I'd much rather have to clean it out than let it make the bilge gross. But I'm also a fan of the no-sump setup unless too many things need to feed to it (where no sump becomes impractical).

 

[MYTraveler]

Another way to go is to have a grey water holding tank for the showers and sinks in the head.

My sump is more like a holding tank -- 40 - 50 gallons, and as you suggest all the showers and sinks (other than galley sink, cockpit sink and crew shower) drain into it. But, it has a float switch to control the whaler pump, so in practice little water is ever in the grey water tank unless we shut the pump off when, for example, we are anchored in a nice cove and don't want a stream of shower soap suds trailing from our boat.

 

[Nick F]

+3 on the Whale Gulper w/o sump. No sump, no smelly residual water, no cleaning, no problem.

 

[Cigatoo]

+3 on the Whale Gulper w/o sump. No sump, no smelly residual water, no cleaning, no problem.

Nick where does your Gulper draw the water from? I was thinking of letting the fwd shower drain into the small sump in the bilge keel. I have a Gulper that keeps that pretty much empty. Main bilge pump is only needed or emergency.

 

[Nick F]

Nick where does your Gulper draw the water from? I was thinking of letting the fwd shower drain into the small sump in the bilge keel. I have a Gulper that keeps that pretty much empty. Main bilge pump is only needed or emergency.

The Gulper has to be connected (by hose) directly to the drain fitting in the shower base.

Your idea to drain the shower into the small bilge sump is a possibility. However, there will always be a small amount of shower liquid left in this sump. Also, the sump will probably overflow a bit during showering, temporarily wetting a larger area of the bilge with soapy water.

Regards,
Nick

 

[bgillroy]

Sumps thing of passed. Go with whale gulper pumps. Installed 3 whale six years ago.no maint no box to clean. Terrific upgrade to the old crap being sold.

Bill Gillroy
Maka Honu
42 PH Trawler
KC1DZ

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Sumps thing of passed. Go with whale gulper pumps. Installed 3 whale six years ago.no maint no box to clean. Terrific upgrade to the old crap being sold.

Bill Gillroy
Maka Honu
42 PH Trawler
KC1DZ

So how does that work? In shower, pump senses water and turns on, pumping overboard? No water pump shuts off.

 

[Jmarsh203]

I love that my shower/ sinks gravity drain overboard. Ever get clogged 120psi of air pressure cleans them right out. Do have to clean the boat next to me when that happens though lol.

 

[DennisB1]

Is the whaler gulper 220 the unit that is being used for shower sumps. Do you use it without a float switch and let it run wet/dry during the shower? Whale claims dry run capability. Eliminating a float switch would make for a simple Installation of the gulper pump.

 

[Simi 60]

I love that my shower/ sinks gravity drain overboard. .

Same here.

 

[Cigatoo]

The Gulper has to be connected (by hose) directly to the drain fitting in the shower base.

Your idea to drain the shower into the small bilge sump is a possibility. However, there will always be a small amount of shower liquid left in this sump. Also, the sump will probably overflow a bit during showering, temporarily wetting a larger area of the bilge with soapy water.

Regards,
Nick

Thanks Nick. Regardless the Gulper is the way to go for any lower volume applications. No problem running it dry.

 

[Comodave]

Is the whaler gulper 220 the unit that is being used for shower sumps. Do you use it without a float switch and let it run wet/dry during the shower? Whale claims dry run capability. Eliminating a float switch would make for a simple Installation of the gulper pump.

The Whale pump I have is a diaphragm pump so running it dry isn’t a problem. It has a sensor in the pickup so no separate float switch.

 

[MYTraveler]

The Whale pump I have is a diaphragm pump so running it dry isn’t a problem.

I can hear the pump while showering (the noise seems to conduct up the drain line). Even though (if) the unit can run continuously, I wouldn't like the noise, hence my float switch. But it is wired through a three position switch (on-off-power to switch), so if switch is entirely optional.

 

[rslifkin]

My showers have gulper type diaphragm pumps plumbed right into the drain line. They're wired with on/off switches so they just run the whole time you're in the shower. A little noisy, but effective.

 

[Nick F]

Agree with the above - keep it simple - an on-off switch right in the shower stall.

 

[MYTraveler]

My showers have gulper type diaphragm pumps plumbed right into the drain line. They're wired with on/off switches so they just run the whole time you're in the shower. A little noisy, but effective.

My guests wouldn't remember the "rule" to turn on (and off) the pump when they shower -- they are too busy worrying about my other rules, including those on drinking.

And my float switch hasn't failed me yet -- if it does, I can activate the manual pump and since the holding tank is relatively large, I have plenty of time to recognize the problem.

 

[hollywood8118]

My showers have gulper type diaphragm pumps plumbed right into the drain line. They're wired with on/off switches so they just run the whole time you're in the shower. A little noisy, but effective.

I have been on Nordhavn's that the showers are plumbed this way, I think the sound the pump makes helps guests to keep the shower short and conserve water. As loud as it was you would need to be deaf (or clueless) to forget to turn the damn thing off. Those Whale pumps are pretty bulletproof.
Hollywood

 

[koliver]

The actual space available will dictate the system used.
In my bilge there is a collection sump that has feeds from the two showers and the aft sink, as those are the grey water sources that can't be drained out above the WL. In that sump I have a Rule 2000 with a float switch. In the first few years of owning this boat I checked that sump regularly, but as I came to know it, by sight, smell, or sound, I found that an annual look at it was all that is required, unless there was a problem. That sump is fixed in place, with its top open to the bilge in which it sits, so if ever there might be a high water event in the bilge, it will act as an overflow pump out for the bilge, at least to bring the level down to the height of the top of the sump. Otherwise, the float switch brings the sump level down to the height of the present float switch's limit of just over an inch, in a space just big enough to house the pump and float switch. That size, given regular use of the showers, gets enough flow to keep itself clean enough so there is no smell.
In the early years I rotated that pump out to the main bilge area, but more recently I have had such good service out of all my pumps that there hasn't been any need to do so. That good service hasn't extended to the float switches, as last summer saw replacement of switches at all 3 pump locations.

 

[porman]

shower pump

Whale Gulper 320

 

[HeadedToTexas]

I'll be going with a Whale Gulper at the first sign of trouble with my strainer and Rule shower sump set up.

https://youtu.be/8-71i6UUdAg

 

[DDW]

Agree with the above - keep it simple - an on-off switch right in the shower stall.

With the sumpless Gulper, there is a wire from the pump which can be used with a switch to bypass the electronic switching. If it fails to turn on automatically (mine has been perfect) you could throw the switch.

In my sailboat, I built a sump into the shower pan with a liftable grate on top. It drained to a diaphragm type pump with a switch on the shower wall. The sump held 2 gallons. When the water reached the grate and started flooding the pan you were done, turn off the water, turn on the pump and pump it out. This prevented the water tank draining showers some guests seem to prefer .