Any thoughts ideas about installing an electric bilge pump in a platic sea kayak. (eco bezhig and a Prijon Seayak)

Cheers

Bill

Hi Bill
I have installed a bilge pump in my 24' kevlar double and another in my 19' carbon single. In the double, I installed it behind the rear seat (there was room) and in the single I installed it on the bulkhead in front of the footrest. I had to cut holes in the deck but it ended up very neat in both cases. The pipes come with neat escutcheon plates. I mounted the switches on the decks also. I used switches with a rubber booties. All parts are standard and obtained from local ships chandler, except the rechargable batteries which I obtained from a battery outlet. They also had a recharger as well. Get the really powerful pump...you'll be surprised how long it takes to pump out even when the jet of water is shooting 2' into the air!
The batteries are only small as well ...not car or motorbike size (actually about the size of a large cigarette packet) and can still operate the pump for many emptyings of the kayak before needing recharging. I mounted the batteries in the day hatches.
Hope this helps

Cheers
Chef

I have read about several elect bilge pump installs in kayaks and have thought about them a bit. They have advantages to be sure over manual pumps. Ultimately, I decided to install a manual foot pump in my boat. I installed it in front of the pegs. I installed in on a small piece of quarter in ply board which in turn is recessed into a 3" piece of mini cell shaped to fit up against the front bulkhead. I have the pick up behind my seat which is the low point in my cockpit and the discharge is on the deck. I can empty the cockpit in just under a minute with this method and have my hands free to use my paddle which was the motivation for me.

Mark

Thanks Chef and Mark for your replies.

The foot pump may not work in my boat because of a dry day box mounted between the foot pegs which limits my big hoofs from getting down between the pegs to pump the pump.

I was thinking of installing 500 gallon per hour pumps and setting them up similar to yours chef. The battery size is still what I am left to ponder and will talk to the battery people in the next week or so.

Thanks again

Bill

Installed the pumps in both boats last weekend. Ended up buying a submersible pump which has an automatic checking function. Every 2.5 minutes it spins the impeller for 1 second and if it detects resistance (water) then it keeps going until the water is pumped out.

Installed the prijons behind the seat and outlet on deck on starboard side the perception is in between the footpeg and the bulkhead. Batteries in both are in the "dry" sections or holds. The beauty of this system is no electrical joints or contacts in the cockpit. The pumps draw .02 amps in checking mode and 1.9amps running, both are 500gph pumps. Battery is a 2.2 amp per hour which should give 1 hour of pumping or I am guessing about 20 - 30 cockpits worth.

Cheers

Bill