Upside down surf bilge pump

Ochocoronas

Ochocoronas

Location
JAX FL
I noticed a ski this past weekend flip upside down then surf its way towards the shore some 200 feet away from the rider. Good news is I was there to go save it and flip it over! Bad news is it took on some ( lots ) of water and could not start and had to be towed in. Maybe I am over thinking this but I plan on putting a bilge mounted to the top of my hood. Very well secured of course! I know people might laugh at this but... if my ski flips and goes surfing without me I will at least stand a better chance. Maybe this is already being done and I am behind on the times. What say you?
 
yamanube

yamanube

This Is The Way
Staff member
Location
Mandalor
The biggest annoyance would be having to unplug it every time you took your hood off, and getting it to stay there. I have had plenty of clips and bases break or come unglued sitting on the bottom, not sure they would survive hanging upside down all the time.
 
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Sasquachcrap

Sasquachcrap

Location
North Carolina
Livewell-pump.jpg

This should hold, but with all the air inlets under water, how do you keep the water being pumped out from sucking more water in the inlets?
 
Ochocoronas

Ochocoronas

Location
JAX FL
^^^^ Low pro bilge would be the way to go as they can be secured much better than a standard base mount. You would need to find the right bracket, adhesive and worm clamps and you would be good. I would plum it right out the side of the hood and the battery cable would just be a necessary evil. I would think if you made the cable just long enough it would be ok. I wonder how small of a lithium battery you could find to run a bilge for 10 mins max? If you could find a very small ( tiny ) lithium battery and mount it next to the pump with an auto switch to turn the pump on when your ski flips.
 
Ochocoronas

Ochocoronas

Location
JAX FL
Sasquachcrap said:
This should hold, but with all the air inlets under water, how do you keep the water being pumped out from sucking more water in the inlets?
Click to expand...

Water will probably be coming in faster than the pump is pumping it out. You would end up with a = neutral flow if it ever got to that point but I would bet it would always be + factor on the water coming in. A = flow would be a good thing as the pump is not strong enough to create a + vacuum affect. If the pump is causing more water to come in that can only mean that it is pumping that much more water out.
 
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speedysprocket

speedysprocket

Alex
Location
Chesapeake, VA
Maybe the best solution should be to find where all this water is coming from and correct that... Your ski should be able to roll upside down and have minimal water intrusion. Pole and hood breathers should have tubes that go all the way to the bottom of the hull so water doesn't come in through them while upside down.
 
nucleus_coolins

nucleus_coolins

Does things to makes the do goods
Location
Bay Area, California
Does anybody on the market make a bilge pump that draws from a intake hose rather than the unit itself?

If they made units like that u could mount it wherever on the bottom deck, have the intake tube stick straight up to the hood area. Exit tube somewhere normal.

I was thinking about this situation before but never looked around. I dont get too much water intrusion though so i guess thats why i never looked around
 
JetManiac

JetManiac

Stoked
Site Supporter
Vendor Account
Location
orlando
speedysprocket said:
Maybe the best solution should be to find where all this water is coming from and correct that... Your ski should be able to roll upside down and have minimal water intrusion. Pole and hood breathers should have tubes that go all the way to the bottom of the hull so water doesn't come in through them while upside down.
Click to expand...

That it was I was thinking as well. Also did you roll the ski back over the correct way so intake/carbs do not roll through the ilge water?
 
JetManiac

JetManiac

Stoked
Site Supporter
Vendor Account
Location
orlando
speedysprocket said:
Maybe the best solution should be to find where all this water is coming from and correct that... Your ski should be able to roll upside down and have minimal water intrusion. Pole and hood breathers should have tubes that go all the way to the bottom of the hull so water doesn't come in through them while upside down.
Click to expand...

That it was I was thinking as well. Also did you roll the ski back over the correct way so intake/carbs do not roll through the bilge water?
 
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