How much water is too much water?

[Wild and Free]

Don't worry Bill, it's an NMMA approved pump, no sparks!

PHEWWWW!!!!! I forgot about that. Thanks for the heads up!

EDIT:........Did some troubleshooting and checking on my own and found out why my pump didn't seem to be running..............It wasn't, found the connection down by the pump was not plugged in all the way from the factory. It runs and makes enough noise for my 75% L - 25% R hearing loss to hear. :unsure:

 

[Remediation]

Let us look back on that model year and see what we can tell you about your bilge set up. The light housings are stainless and are probably still under the 5-year warranty. You did have the warranty transferred, right? TB

Any info on how my bilges are wired?

 

[Retired Team Member1]

For our buddy Remediation:

This was the factory set-up. (Since you bought used, we cannot guarantee that changes were not made.)

The Mayfair pump on the attached drawing is located in the engine compartment. It has constant feed off the battery for auto (or float switch) control and a switch near the ignition key for manual control. Note there is a test tab on the pump to verify the float switch works properly.

In 2008 era boats, the midship pump is auto only- no manual switch on the dash. Now you can sleep at night!

Hope this helps. Next step, if needed, please visit a Bennington dealer! TB

2008wiringI0.pdf

 

[Remediation]

Thank you very much for the information. The dealer is good but Bennington is not their only line. What I have found out when you ask a very specific question about your boat, alot of the time they are going to have to contact Bennington to get the information. You are a great resource for factory information I can get while I should be working in my business that lets us have a great boat.

Also noticed in your post that my Boat is so old it has it's own era. :lol:

 

[BulldogsCadillac]

Well, bilge pump works! Just needed a healthy slant to the rear of the boat ie: in the water, came shooting out into transom area. Haven't pulled all the CRAP out of the storage to see how low it is, but a fair amount came out so that's good.

Derrick

 

[Larry S]

Here we go, Bennington bilge pumps:

ESP tubes with center storage have a "mid-ship" bilge pump. I/O models include a second bilge pump in the engine compartment. The I/O bilge pump is auto and always on, even if the battery switch is off.

The Mid-ship bilge operates via a switch or switches, depending on the model. R & Q models use two switches: Master Power and Auto/Manual Bilge switch. G & S models require only the Auto/Manual Bilge switch. Any of these switches, if left on for a longer period of time, will drain the battery! We suggest turning all switches off when leaving the boat for the evening.

MANUAL: runs as long as you have the switch on, whether there is water in the tube or not.

AUTO: runs only if enough water hits the float to operate.

Water in the storage compartment can come from the lid, condensation, or minimally from the collar between the deck and tube. When you cover your boat, we suggest that you leave the center storage lid OPEN!

You and your dealer can by-pass our system and run your own hot wire, but we do not believe this is necessary.

Hope this helps! TB

 

[Larry S]

Have had Bennington TriToon 5 days. Have had No rain and No water entered middle tube through storage opening.
Learning switches: Bilge 'Auto" pumped nothing while setting still; "on" pumped about a full bucket of water out aprox. middle of boat on both sides of middle tube.
Next day after about 3 hours of running it pumped about 3 buckets when turned on. Again No Rain and No water entered skii well door.
NO WAY was that much water condensation in 1 day/night.
2019 SSRCX.

 

[Bennington7714]

I am also getting water in my center tune. We have a brand new 2018 23SX. I noticed after delivery that there was water below the removable shelving and assumed it was from the dealer leaving the cover off when stored outside I completely mopped it out and put a fan down there overnight. We used the boat the next weekend for about 5 hours and had a couple gallons down there. My dealer doesn't think this is right however they're about 1 1/2 hours away so I'm waiting until the end of the season to have them check it out. I tried putting a halogen shop light down there late one evening after dark and had my son crawl around underneath the pontoon and look for light but no luck.

 

[adkboater]

If you have center toon storage you may be getting water from the fuel tank area rather than a direct leak in the “toon” the center fuel tank on our SPS is not sealed in the toon and would allow water up to and against the storage area. I do NOT have any issues with excess water in this compartment but that’d be the first place to look if I did. Just a thought

 

[Bennington7714]

My center tune storage has partitions fore and aft that aren't sealed to the toon so it makes it difficult to know what's beyond these points. The center tune does have the fuel tank back by the motor and there is water in there but it's also open to the water below the water line. I can't imagine that this is not completely sealed/welded shut from the storage area.

 

[gigem]

I guess I'm glad the boat we bought doesn't have center storage. We haven't had a storage shortage yet, and I really like not having to worry about a bilge to pump.

P.S. for those with your bilge on "auto" mode... I have had them get stuck "on" due to leaves and other debris on more than one occasion. Doesn't take too long for them to drain battery...

 

[Nautical]

I was going to start another thread but this one is related enough so I'll piggyback (read HIJACK!!) this thread:

I just found out I too have a bilge pump. I thought only the center tube storage equipped boats had one but I found mine in a small compartment made for fuel tank access. Is there a winterization procedure for this? I did nothing on my last Bennington that did have center tube storage and it was fine. The boat will be out of the water and fully exposed to freezing temps.

Thanks.