fishbox drain project

[flounderpounder225]

X2  

[pete]

update..fiberglass encapsulated [like that word]a wood block and screwed a stainless steel strip to it to make a bracket to hold the pump from bouncing around,the upgrade pumps out the box down to about a 1/4 to 1/2" of water before it is sucking too much air to do any more good,only problem is when you shut it off the water in the hose rushes back in the box,not that much though,was wondering if putting some sort of check valve after the pump would help.Now I know that you don't put a check valve inline with a bilge pump,but this is not the case?Overall very happy with the improvement I was able to get in there and clean the bilge area real good,next step is to weatherstrip the top edge and put the lid back on.






Later,
Pete  

[flounderpounder225]

Pete,
Don't know how well a Check valve would work in a macerator system, the little debris might clog it and make it worthless anyway??
Marc

[Capt. Bob]

Pete,
You might try a "cork". A plug that fits your drain in the box. Pump out til it starts sucking air and insert the  plug. Leave the plug in till the next time you need to pump out the box. It would eleminate any chance for a check valve clog, keep the backwash out and should be a slight bit cheaper. :)

Thinkin"out loud.

[pete]

brief update on this thread,Mark Sr got me motivated,Double Trouble had a great suggestion to put a check valve in line to stop the back wash effect,well I picked one up at West and finally got around to putting it in,no pic but I put it right between the pump and the black outlet hose,the result,no backwash,fishbox empties down to about 1/4" of water in the bottom,project done

[Mark Sr]

Great thread Pete.How big is pie plate? Is it in the center of fish box or off to right.The pics you took make it look like your inside or have access from the other side.Keep up with great ideas and pics. Thanks

[bobterisch]

Very nice. You have motivated me to correct this problem that has bothered me for a long time :)

[Mark Sr]

Pete,do you have a cc or an explorer.I'm just trying to figure out why your fish box looks different.My main question is could I use a rectangle hatch cover fo more of an opening or just stick with pie plate.Again,great idea.

[pete]

2003 225 osprey TM

[aquadaze]

Ill try and take some pics of what the prior owner did to my 225's fishbox. He managed to put a 90 thru hull into the recessed area just under the oem drain, and did it without a putting an extra hole in the box for an access plate. He had to have had rubber arms I imagine..

Rather than using a short piece of hose to hook the drain to the pump, he ran a hose all the way back to the transom and added an extra drain in the transom. Must have kept it on a trailer, would have been tough to drain in water. When I bought the boat the fitting and the hose was packed with sand from rain and wind.

I have 97 225 explorer and I bought a 13x24 double seal access hatch like on the other mod on here. But I'm going to try and get this done with just the 6" access in the box now.

[aquadaze]

heres the pic of the hole in my fishbox. Turns out it was wide enough to just flip the pump upside down and insert it from the bottom. I cut the threads off that were exposed above the nut, and it leaves the top of the pump inlet about 3/8" below the bottom of the fishbox. I will use some silicone to fill in the recessed area to the top of the pump/nut and then lay some stainless screen down on top. With it 3/8" below the box itself it should do ok. I'll post a pic of the finished drain later.

Oh, I could only get my arm into the access hole far enough to just barely touch the pump. No way I could have removed the drain itself, so in goes the 13x24 access hatch.

(not sure how to resize pics, so if it's too big...)

[flounderpounder225]

I really like having the big hatch in my fish box, easy to clean the bilge, get to the Bilgle pump, and close the sea cock if necessary, that handle I guarantee hadnt been moved since new, and it opened and closed easily.. That's quality workmanship and materials