Determining Bilge Pump Size

I belittle you- and you alone- for acting as you do. You belittle everyone. It is not imaginary- I am and many others are offended with your "I'm superior" attitude. Unfounded? Not so. You can start with an logical reason why a person with your skill set did not understand Capt J's quote which you questioned and I quoted your response.

I hope this ends our discussion and you understand how I and others view many of your posts. You also have excellent advice on a wide variety of subjects which make this forum a better place and we all, including myself, appreciate that.

The reason I questioned the info posted by CaptJ was not because I did not understand it , I was concerned that others who do not have any engineering experience would take it as written and could therefore underestimated the actual required pump size for their particular application.

His later post which I linked to above did a much better job of explaining the way a centrifugal bilge pump is rated.

Thank you, I will take the last bit as a compliment.

I feel that my post was informative and that you're normal everyday yacht owner would understand. I think that you're a little out of touch with how bilge pumps are rated for your normal everyday yacht, say sub 110'. I feel that my post was informative and understandable and explained how a 2000gph pump, is not going to actually pump 2000 gallons per hour when you figure in pumping resistance and losses.

However, your posts do come across as being a bit brash at times. If you feel you need to expand upon the information, by all means feel free to do so. BUT, don't sit there and belittle my posts or ask stupid questions or smoke screen as some form of personal attack or kiddie games.

If I feel that someone's post is incorrect I usually say it, and then go on to explain why I feel it is as such, without personally attacking the person like an adult does.

I agree that you add a lot of information to this forum and are very knowledgable, but you're not always right all of the time, and neither am I. You have a lot more experience in regards to megayachts and ships, but not all of that knowledge is transferable to a guys 55' yacht. When was the last time you actually repaired or fixed something on a 50-80' yacht, or ran one for several thousand nautical miles? As also a lot of my experience is not in regards to 150' +. So to make a long story short, everyone contributes to this forum and the largest percentage of it is helpful to everyone on it, just leave the pissing contest on the dock.

you still changing cylinders while under way at sea ?

Yeah all of the time, I shut one engine down and run the other one at 70% load way outside of it's torque curve and have at it every chance I get. Unfortunately, I've never gotten the chance because I'm too busy at the helm running the yacht. One of these days though...........It's on my bucket list!

I'm happy we can come together on this point and move forward. I hope we agree with the effort here @ YF: to move forward with providing information and sound professional advice for those that need it.

that is not what you posted previously, try being a comedian if you want but put a disclaimer in your other posts that all you do is drive the yacht and in no way do you know anything about the engines.

ps. for those not up to speed we had a "captain" telling us that one could change a cylinder while underway at sea in a single engine installation on a commercial ship. Totally wrong but would he admit it ?.

PPS. what governs the size of pump required

PPPS, some of us actually have unlimited licenses, have experience on commercial ships, large yachts and also on small "boats" and also due to our sea time actually have both Captains and engineers licenses.

So to answer your question, I took a yacht up to Hampton 2 weeks ago, found and fixed a problem in the head system of a 65 yacht, designed the steel work required for zero speeds on a 190' yacht and then spent 2 days in a federal court as an expert witness, so what was it you were trying to say about load curves and pumping rates.

How about we get back to the thread and drop the bickering. For the record, I've known K1W1 through these threads for several years now. My experience is that 1) He knows his s--t. 2) He knows how to take a guy down when he posts bunk. (Look back to his posts about 3 years ago and you'll see the guy has actually mellowed. There's a thread about some guy building a car in India I think it was. That guy needed fireproof undies.) And he'll test you sometimes. He's got a good BS meter. Arrogent? Yeah, a bit. But some arrogance is earned. Teacher? I've learned a tremendous amout from him since I've been here. I haven't decided if I like him or not, but I respect him, and I'd be very sure of my facts when challenging him on anything.

I happen to know a lot about engines as well. I have rebuilt and built several gas engines in race car applications and automotive applications. Try making 665 HP consistantly out of a 302 cubic inch motor and have it stay together between combined drag racing and 30,000 miles of street driving without ever taking the valve covers off. I am very knowledgable on how a diesel engine works, and do maintanence and everything outside of the valve covers on them. I know how to set valves,injectors, take off cylinder heads, change cylinder liners, measure tolerances and clearances, and basically do a completely rebuild yet have absolutely zero interest in doing it since I am not setup to do that kind of work, and have no interest in being a diesel mechanic........So I stick with the basic maintanence and that's it..... IE oil changes, impellors, filters, fuel filters, etc etc etc.

I also am knowledgable and fix all components of yachts from engines to steering to electrical to plumbing to waste systems to ABYC standards. As well as do warranty repairs for several top manufacturers and run yachts for several top manufacturers.

As for load curves, one cannot take a yacht that has twin engines, prop the yacht for manufacturers top rated rpm with both engines, and then shut 1 engine down and run the other one at 70% load and not have it detrimentally effect the engine. It is seeing 70% load at a much lower RPM than it should in it's torque curve, and in that condition will not see even close to it's manufacturers stated top rpm and is in an over-propped condition.

As for bilge pumping capacity, the most capacity you can feasible have in that size yacht. I don't believe there is such a thing as having too much bilge pumping capacity. The rules are rather vague on what one must have.

Whoa, I happen to know alot of car racing guys who would be very impressed that the car they are going to rely on to beat out the competition in a drag race does not need or requre the valve covers to be removed for 30,000 miles.

So I apologize and will never question your skills again because I am like many other engineers who read your posts and can not help but be impressed by that last one.

Technically I was wrong as well on another subject as I questioned your ability to change cylinders on a diesel engine single screw ship whereas I was actually referring to a heavy fuel powered single screw ship so thanks to you being "very knowledgeable on how a diesel engine works" I learnt yet another important fact.

Today is Memorial Day in the U.S...

We should be thankful for those who gave their lives in the name of freedom, democracy or belief. Personally, I'm thankful for a technology that came from war... the Internet; which gave power to people, worldwide. It gave us a platform to voice our opinions and share expertise. Together, we are stronger, better informed and no longer stand alone in our awareness of abounding deception.

With a little expertise and a dose of entertainment, readers have turned-on to YF. But when bickering displaces information, it's a real turn-off. We have some seriously experienced folks here and along with this comes a certain confidence, which can come across as ego. I top that ego list because I feel so well-versed in a couple of subjects that I would come across as a know-it-all. I don't want to be someone that nobody likes and we certainly don't want YF to gain a reputation as such. I would like to ask those with specific expertise to keep this in mind when addressing others.

If you can't add something useful or relevant to the thread, then move on to another subject. If you have an axe to grind, find another venue because this kind of behavior is NOT welcome here.

It was built for the Street Renegade class, which was based around street cars at full weight (3400 lbs) and trim and also was my daily driven vehicle that ran on 93 octane pump gas, and ran 10.80's at 128 mph in the 1/4 in the 90's in street trim (with slicks) and with a 5 speed. The car had all conveniences including power steering, air conditioning and everything else normally found on a 1993 mustang cobra. Considering it made that kind of horsepower with 16lbs of non aftercooled or intercooled boost, and never had an issue, says tons for the situation it was put through with 302 cubic inches. It was a car you could take a 500 mile road trip in without changing a thing, just fill up the tank at your local mobil station and go.

Is this restricted solely to shipboard electrically powered pumps? Because in my spare off time, I play with pumps that range from 1000GPM to 2750GPM, moving water through 4" and 5" ID hose up to a mile in distance (we can run about 3000-3300' depending on elevation change without an intolerable loss in pressure before using an inline pumping valve). These are PTO-driven though. Just Google Hale or Waterous or Darley.

As for electric, we had a dual-stage 240v/3 phase setup that moved a total of 12,000GPM when both high volume and high pressure stages were running. The little motor was a 5HP electric, the big one was 11HP. That tended to irk the neighbors a bit because their drinking water turned green for a day or two. The price you pay to wash your hair...

So it's really not out of the question to find a shipboard pump that can move 280GPM pretty easily. It doesn't even have to be big. 2 1/2" or 3" inlets and outlets can move that much water at low pressures... 1 1/2" you're starting to build some line pressure. But basically any half decent trash pump will do it.

Sir,

How does one go about removing the valve covers from a Ford flathead?

Your obvious and overwhelming expertise is direly needed on this matter.

Hi,

With a great deal of difficulty?

Or catastrophically

Though presumably it would be a fair sight easier than removing the valve covers from a Mazda rotary.

Seafarer,

As I said in my post # 73, I apologize to CaptJ as he seems to have the knowledge so any questions on how to remove those covers can you please direct to him and him alone.

as he said in his post # 71.....

"I happen to know a lot about engines as well. I have rebuilt and built several gas engines in race car applications and automotive applications. Try making 665 HP consistantly out of a 302 cubic inch motor and have it stay together between combined drag racing and 30,000 miles of street driving without ever taking the valve covers off."

I beg to differ. You asked the question of him in a particular manner which suggests you possess failproof and irrefutable information - that all race engines need valve covers removed in under 30k - so in turn it would naturally follow that you would have suggestions which answer my inquiries.

Or else you're also as full of stuff as a Christmas goose.

Cheers.

Hi,

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm I am going to try doing one on the rotisserie this year if I am not onboard. It is only 7 months away folks so start planning for a trouble free season - BTW, The last time I looked I didn't see any valve covers on a goose but there were a few wounds where they might have once been

A word of advice, please make sure you have an adequate collection pan for the oil that drains. would not want a fire where one might have to rely on a pump to extinguish it.

(By the looks of this thread, nobody would be able to agree on pump volume long enough to point wet stuff at the hot stuf.f)