Shower Sump Pump

[KenKrawford]

I was working today trying to free a stuck float switch in the show sump. I happened to notice that when the pump runs, water comes out of the top of the pump around the housing (see arrow).
Has anyone else noticed this? You can remove the red top of the pump. Should there be a seal between the red and white sections?

[Jack McDonald]

Hello Ken,

I had this same problem with my shower sump pump. The problem turned out to be hair and debris wrapped around the shaft and blade.

To correct, I removed the red top and cleaned the shaft and blade. Be sure the sides snap back in when you put the red top back on.

[tom]

I have had the same problem - it just seemed to be recirculating the wastewater, but eventually it emptied. I wasn't game to pull the pump apart, will now do so and see what it happening.

Tom
Whisper II # 278 Sydney Australia

[wcconway]

Dumb question of the day....how do you replace the floater switch and/or pump in shower drain box? Each have an electrical wire that goes somewhere unknown and ties in somewhere unknown? It doesn't appear that it's "plug and "play" from the top side wire connection. Please tell me it's easier that it looks.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... sNum=50635

[KenKrawford]

Wally, I'm pretty sure the float switch connections can be accessed by pulling out the cover under the head sink and reaching towards the sump. I believe there is a blob of caulk that seals the wire penetrations as they exit the shower sump pan. There's probably a couple of crimp connections between the float switch, the pump and the wire run to the panel. I don't recall how large the penetration through the sump pan is but you may be able to remove the caulk and pull the connections up into the pan from underneath. That would be much easier than trying to work from under the sink. Let us know how it goes.

[tranquil]

As I am facing replacement of both the shower bilge pump and float switch, I am wondering how Wally, Ken and others familiar with this task have fared.

I am 5'1-3/8", meaning I am able to get alot of my body under the bathroom sink and down into the -under-the-sink-boards.....I can see some wires that quickly disappear under the shower pan, which is not removable. Any additional specifics or pictures on how this was accomplished is appreciated

Teri

[Triumph]

I did this, it was easy. I too was fearing that the wires would be difficult to get to. Nope, they are easy to reach, and the change out went smooth and simple. Yes, you have to re-caulk the hole where the wires go through the shower pan. This is a 10 minute job.

Bill on TRIUMPH

[C350ia]

Just replaced my shower pump and switch. When we got to the boat this time the pump was not pumping water out of the shower. Water was coming out the top of the pump. I thought maybe the discharge hose was stopped up. Got a female water hose fitting and attached it to the discharge hose under the sink and blew it out. Took the top off the pump and cleaned out some hair as someone else mentioned on the forum. Was a little hard to get the top off, finally got a large pair of channel locks and gripped both sides and it came off. When I put it back together the water was still coming out the top. I went to west marine and got a new pump to match the existing square pump and a new switch. Since I was taking this apart thought I would replace everything while I was at it including the hose. The pump and switch have about 18" of wire on them so you can get to the connection under the sink. If you are a big old boy this is not going to be much fun. I am smaller and was able to get under the sink good enough to do the wiring. I cut the wires and spliced the new ones one at a time so I didn't get them mixed up. Switch had two gray wires, pump had a brown and black wire, boat had brown and black wire. Brown from pump went to one of the grey wires on the switch, black from pump to black from boat, the other gray wire from switch to brown from boat. I used white GE bathroom silicone caulk to caulk the wires where they go out of the sump and around the new hose I installed. Used 3 splice connectors size 10-12 with heat shrink ends. New switch is a little bigger than the old one but small enough to still work. With the testing to find the problem, blowing out the lines, getting parts and doing the work I probably had about 8 hours all together with this repair. While I was at it we cut out the old caulk in the shower and recaulked it, another 4 hrs.

[dedgell]

The float switch for our shower sump failed earlier this summer. And of course it failed when we were on a mooring for a few days, in hot weather. I could not initially figure out how to get to the wires, so I thought that I would search this forum. Thanks to all who have posted their experiences, as I’m sure I would still be looking for a solution had it not been for the forum.

I replaced the switch yesterday and the job went pretty much as you all have described. The biggest problem was removing the old switch and the wires. The switch itself (14 years old at this point) could not be removed from the detachable base. The rear screw could not be accessed with the switch in place, so I had to break it apart from the base with a large screwdriver and hammer.

The wires proved to be more of a challenge. When they built my boat I think they used 4200 rather than white caulk to seal the wires coming into the sump. It took a long time to chip away at it with a putty knife, knife and the screwdriver. I finally got enough 4200 removed so that I could drive a small screwdriver through the hole, thus freeing the wires to move back and forth.

After that it was relatively easy. The new base for the float switch used the same holes. I pushed the new wires through from the sump into the bilge area, and wired everything under the sink. The new switch came with enough wire so that the connections could be made in the large area right under the sink.

Thanks again to everyone for sharing your advice on this and the other topics.

David Edgell
Blue Wing
C350 #442

[Kornhagr]

Switch had two gray wires, pump had a brown and black wire, boat had brown and black wire. Brown from pump went to one of the grey wires on the switch, black from pump to black from boat, the other gray wire from switch to brown from boat. I used white GE bathroom silicone caulk to caulk the wires where they go out of the sump and around the new hose I installed. Used 3 splice connectors size 10-12 with heat shrink ends. New switch is a little bigger than the old one but small enough to still work. With the testing to find the problem, blowing out the lines, getting parts and doing the work I probably had about 8 hours all together with this repair. While I was at it we cut out the old caulk in the shower and recaulked it, another 4 hrs.

I replaced my sump and float switch, wired it up per above, tested the system by pulling up on the float. Pump did not turn on. Tested the brown wire from the boat for power with a volt meter (distribution panel shower sump was “on”) - no power to the brown wire. The breaker from the distribution panel is on. I noticed two narrow gauge grey wires (maybe 18ga) in the same bundle from the boat as the brown and black wires. I don’t recall these being connected to anything, but maybe I’m mistaken. One of these little grey wires is powered when the shower breaker is turned on. I’m confused and consequently a little stinky as I have not showered in a few days. The sump was replaced because it stopped working, maybe the problem is upstream of the pump. Any suggestions out there? Thanks.

Greg K
2006 C350

[Kornhagr]

Went with the hot 18-gauge grey wire. Sump working fine. With 12 volts and less than 7 ft length, it can carry as much as 5 amps. More than enough current capacity for the sump.

[barnacle85]

I replaced a broken shower sump pump and switch earlier this year. I decided to fill some of the holes in the sump from where I removed the switch and managed to squeeze in a single unit with integrated float switch. Also scrubbed out decades of slime and hair

Screen Shot 2022-12-21 at 14.31.44.jpg (236.55 KiB) Viewed 1263 times

[KenKrawford]

Nice. How deep is the water in the sump when it shuts off?

[barnacle85]

Hi Ken

If you're implying that more water is being left behind than with the original separate float switch then I think you're probably correct! However, I also suspect that most of the water was previously draining via the screw holes in the base of the sump.

I'm mostly happy with the setup, but might find myself needing to open up one of the small original holes to let the remains of the water drain once the pump has done its job. That or sponge it out which somewhat defeats the purpose.