Bilge Pump Cycle Counters (and engine hour meters)

[first230sl]

I have been hunting for a little while for bilge pump cycle counters (so when I come to the boat after a week and one of the counters says the pump cycled 100 times - I know I have a leak - hopefully will help me catch a developing problem before it gets catastrophic). What I have found is very expensive and it is very hard to find ones that work on 32V pumps. Since I have 5 pumps, the cost becomes more painful.

So - I finally found what looks like a great solution. I have not tried it yet (just orered the parts) so don't count on this - but it looks good.

Redington Counters (www.redingtoncounters.com) makes counters which appear to be perfect. They are waterproof, work on voltages from 10 to 200+ (and on A/C too if you like), have optional remote reset, have a 7-year lithium battery and are panel mountable. It appears as though it will be a trivial hook-up.

The cost is about $30 each (versus over $100 for others I've seen).

The part number is Redington 3301-0010 (rectangular 7 segment LCD display with reset option).

They also make hour meters (resetable and not) for the same price - and they operate over the same wide voltage range.

Maybe this is all common knowledge but I was pleasantly surprised when I came across them.

Best regards - Murray

 

[NANPO 41]

Bilge pump counters

Just a thought but might you only need counters on the lowest pump when the boat is at rest and the aft pump when underway? This is assuming you don't have watertight compartments of course.
Fred

 

[CapetaniosG]

Bilge Pump Counters

Go to www.Aqualarm.com, then to table of contents of Marine Products, click on Bilge Pump Counters and they have what you're looking for.

CapetaniosG
1975 53MY

 

[Traveler 45C]

Re: Bilge Pump Counters

Thats www.aqualarm.net

Greg

 

[first230sl]

Aqualarm

Yes - I was well aware of aqualarm and their products.

I started looking for alternatives anyway because of the cost of aqualarm's counter. I am pretty familiar with what goes into one of those, and the cost seemed unjustifiably high (other than the fact that I am sure it is a low volume item).

They are $69 each. The ones I found are $30 Canadian (about $24 each) and can be washed down (water resistant).

There may be a significant quality difference - I'll see when they arrive. But I believe the bulk fo the price difference is due to the fact that the ones I bought are more general purpose and therefore less expensive. They look very robust and are designed for wet indistrial applications.

Given the price for 5 (which is how many I needed) was less than the price of 2 Aqualarm units - I decided to take the risk. I am also going to wire them up to a chime that tells me when the pump comes on.

Best regards - Murray