A New Shower Sump and Sink Drain Pump for the Forward Head


On larger sailboats a common issue is that the sump drains for the showers are well below the static waterline of the vessel. When heeled, even sinks which are well offset from centerline like the drain for the sink in both heads. The common solution is to use a pump with a manually controlled switch to pump the grey water over the side. The problem being that for guests which are not familiar with the system taking a shower and even brushing your teeth can be somewhat confusing. This was made even worse  when the pump was shared between the sink and the shower drain using a manually controlled selector switch.

On "Little Botany Bay" I had the same problem with the shower drain and had used a whale "gulper" to pump the water over the side and the pump worked well but required running the pump continuously when taking a shower, while not too much of a problem I was looking for a more elegant solution for "Big Botany Bay".

I have been watching and waiting for the Whale IC (Intellegent Control) series of gulper pumps to become available and after almost 18 months of waiting I finally got my hands on one of the first units available. I had to special order the 24V version of the pump and wait an additional period of time for that specific version to become available (the WM8484). This system comes complete with the pump and a two input manifold including an external capacitance sensor to turn the pump on. The two parts of the system are connected together by a pre-wired waterproof quick disconnect making installation quite easy.

The result has truely been worth the wait. There were a couple of attempts at getting the installation just right and a slight problem with the o-ring in the top of the manifold not being seated quite right and the manifold leaking when supplied with lots of water but after a b it of working through the issues the system works quite well.

The exit hose from the shower sump (a small depression in the bottom of the fiberglass shower pan) was plumbed in 1 inch clear plastic hose and the manifold is setup for 1 inch hose so the match was very clean. This was lucky as I have not managed to find a way to access the bottom of the shower stall in the forward head and so I was very careful not to apply undue force to that hose as replacement would have been difficult. The drain hose from the sink was 3/4 inch hose and goes through a very tight channel down from under the sin to the area under the floor. So I reused that portion of hose from the sink down to under the floor and then used an adapter to convert from the original black 3/4 inch hose to 1 inch hose. The fitting which looked like a good fit was from "Marine East" P/N 18835 which was a reducer fitting in black plastic and had a raised area between the two barbs. It looked like a good fit and as you can see below I double clamped both sides. The result was a connection which slowly leaked, expecially the 1" side which was the new hose. In the end I took it apart, coated everything with clear silicone and put it back together. No leaks but I am definitely not happy with that fitting and will not use anymore of them.

Once the installation was leak free I tried some experiments like filling the sink up with water using a plug and then pulling the plug. Even though the shower drain point is only about an inch above the top of the manifold I did not see any water in the shower drain and the water was removed from the sink faster than it would have ran down the drain and into the bilge! I tried filling the sink up with water, then turning on the shower and then pulling the plug in the sink. The pump was amazing in it's ability to service both water sources without any difficulty. The sink drained somewhat slower but was still very quick while keeping up with the full flow rate of the shower.

Note that there are some specific requirements for the installation.  Both of the input ports on the manifold must be vented (do not plug either one if you don't need it!) and both inputs must be above the level of the manifold so that the water will run down into the manifold and trigger the pump. This system must have natual drainage as far as the manifold. After that it can go mostly anywhere.

As a liveaboard I am now using the shower on a daily basis and after a month there has been no problems whatsover with the installation. I am VERY pleased with the Whale Greywater IC ( WM8484 ). A link to the Whale website is http://www.whalepumps.com/marine/product_list/13/149/.  West Marine stocks these pumps (at least the 12V versions) and can be found online: http://www.westmarine.com/1/3/whales-gulper-ic-pump


This is the installation of the two port manifold under the forward head cabin sole. I had the manifold in and out several times until I found the right way to get it installed. Coming from the left (aft)  is the original clear plastic hose from the shower sump. The white hose on the right (forward) makes the turn and then connects to the 3/4" sink drain line using the dissapointing adapter from  "Marine East". If I ever have to take that part of the system apart I will replace it, for the time being, with sufficient silicone in the assembly process it is not leaking. The port coming out of the bottom of the manifold is also 1" and I went immediately into a 90 degree adapter and then to 1" hose through the floor brace and to the pump.


Here is a second picture which shows the white hose from under the manifold going through the subfloor to the pump.


This picture is looking foreward from the saloon with the sole removed. The white 1" hose is coming from the manifold under the head sole and the black hose is 3/4" hose running up behind the head to just below the deck and then back down to the seacock under the seat in the shower. It is important with these pumps to install the fast blow fuse which is included as the pumps can generate enough force against a closed seacock to damage themselves or blow lines off. The black coil of wire is the interconnect cable coming from the manifold. The pump power is provided by the power which was used for the previous pump. The original button is wired to a control wire on the pump which will override the capacitance sensore in the manifold and run the pump as long as the button is held down.


There are three wires coming out of the pump, red is power, black is common, white is control. Applying power to the control will force the pump to run. The large black connector is the provided, pre-installed, connector between the manifold and the pump. The wiring harness is 12 feet long providing plenty of distance between the pump and the manifold for mounting.


This and the following pictures are of the box in which the pump was received in case anyone wants to see what it looks like.

















The technical information for the pump is as follows:

Model:

Gulley IC – Single shower drain

Product Code:

SG8284

SG8484

Voltage:

12V d.c.

24V d.c.

Voltage Range:

10 V d.c. to 13.6 V d.c.

21.6 V d.c. to 27.2 V d.c.

Recommended fuse size:

10 amp automotive

5 amp automotive

Current Profile

Soft Start / Soft Stop

Current Draw On Standby

Low power 0.01 Amp supply

Minimum wire size:

1.5mm2  (16 AWG)

Cable Length

4m (12ft)

Weight:

1.75 kg (3.8 Ib)

Maximum Discharge Head:

3m (10ft)

Maximum Suction Lift

3m (10ft)

Maximum head & lift combined:

4m (12ft)

Hose Connections:

Gulper IC – ¾” (19mm) and 1” (25mm)

Gulley IC – ¾” (19mm) or 1” (25mm)

Port Orientation for Strainer IC

Horizontal (Easily changes to vertical)

Materials:

Pump Head: Glass-filled nylon

Diaphragms and valves: Santoprene®

Accessories:

AK2050 – Replacement Pump Head IC
 
  

Performance Data

Suction Lift

0m (0ft)

0m (0ft)

1m (3ft)

1m (3ft)

Discharge Head

1m (3ft)

1m (3ft)

1m (3ft)

1m (3ft)

Hose Size

3/4" (19mm)

1” (25mm)

3/4" (19mm)

1” (25mm)

Flow rate per minute

19 ltrs

(5 US Gals)

17.5 ltrs

(4.6 US Gals)

17.4 ltrs

(4.5 US Gals)

15.5 ltrs

(4.1 US Gals)

Current Draw (12 V d.c.)

7.5 amps

8 amps

7.5 amps

8 amps

Current Draw (24 V d.c.)

3.25 amps

4 amps

3.25 amps

4 amps