Whale Gulley IC Waste Pump, shower sump re-installed - 2012

April 2012 Marina Kona Kai Shelter Island San Diego, CA

The Whale Gulley IC Waste Pump shower sump sensor got connected and is working now.

 There are still a few things I am not pleased with.

Down at it again!

 First is that one screw that holds in the shower sump sensor(SSS) did not go in easy and I forgot to put any Lanicote on the screw. It may be real hard to get it out if ever need be. We will pull it out, re-drill the hole and 

Lanocote the screw before re-screwing it in.

I did not get a picture of the hose by the through hull.

 The hose from the ¾ shower sensor to the shower seems to have a collapsed area as it makes the bend by the through hull. That is a new hose but we will replace it. We have some ¾ engine coolant hose which will work better there.

 The bottom of the SSS has an elbow which is to keep the SSS low in the bilge. It should be lower than the shower drain. Hard to do on our sail boats. We will test out some 1” hose at Marine Exchange to see if it will bend at a right angle without kinking and if so replace the elbow.

This is one spot where we will install a trap or hose disconnect.

This is about half way down to the shower sump sensor(SSS) from the shower drain.

 There is no trap for cleaning out hair or pieces of soap or other debris that may collect and clog the system. We will add two traps or hose disconnects so we can get a snake into the hoses in case of a clog.

Ooops! I heated the hose too much before installing it.

 Then it will be completed I think. For now it is working and while we work on these changes we plan on keeping it working. One trap and one hose need to be installed and replaced before we can continue with the wash down pump so it is easier access. 

 With the traps or hose disconnects we can fix most plumbing clogs or problems and there is good access for that. It is more difficult to remove the SSS and the plastic hose barbs and the clear hoses are almost impossible to get apart without heat or cutting them off. No way to try to fix a clog while under way or on a hot day or anytime really. The see through hoses do come off the SSS easily. So removing them and the SSS is another solution for any problems. 
The solutions for the hoses here is to use the bronze fittings where we can and to have traps and no kinks or elbows or tight bends. We will have one elbow possibly.
 We also need to secure the wiring etc.

 We tested it out and the two pumps (fresh water and Whale Gulley IC Waste Pump shower sump) did not interfere with each other. The fresh water would ramp up according to what setting we had the shower head on. The shower sump would pump water whenever the sensor told it there was water to pump. The shower drain restricts the water flow but not enough for the water to back up too much. All in all a good system.

 We have made good progress and a little more tweaking and I think this will server us for a long time without any screens to clean regularly or any standing water in a shower sump pan.