Our Boat Sets On Fire At Sea! This Is A Big Problem!
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- Опубликовано: 20 окт 2024
- We had a fire onboard, Due to faulty bilge pump wiring, so time to remove all the old system and install a new bilge pump system
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A suggestion. Those bilge pumps have a finite life. Consequently, on my boat I carry a spare. To make it easier to replace a failed pump. I put ring terminals on the pump wires and run them to a terminal block. I also put ring terminals on the spare pump. So changing out a pump is simply a matter of changing the wiring at the terminal block - i.e., undoing three screws.
Can't wait for certain group of people who apparently dislike you but watch enthralled by your every episode to add another thread 🤣. Must be something to do with being a member of a certain forum. For those people in question...... you know who you are. My mind imploded when wires appeared so good job Si.
Ooh do tell…. Name and shame the buggers 😂❤
Any size fire on a boat is not good. Glad you found it early. Great replacement job.
Be worse to have a fire on an airplane.
@@MyFairbanks True
Simon's getting really good at the RUclips vlogging now. He seems a genuinely funny and nice guy!
I absolutely love your channels guys. Keep up the great work!!
I am impressed that the Skipper allows you to work on her boat while she's away.
With a boat like that you need to get the system linked to your mobile so if the pumps activate whilst in the marina you get a head start to get there and sort the problem out. I had a boat on a swing mooring that had a pin hole leak in the area just below the water line. so every 12 hours it was allowing water into the bilge. the pump worked as it should but after we fitted a homemade system with an old smart phone to alert us sorted. plus we had a solar panel trickle charging the battery. no mains out on the mooring . nice one simon Crack on
“Hello Sailor” do a great system, Not hugely expensive and uses low cost texts.
Re Analog gauges - on our old boat we cut tiny little triangle shaped pcs out of white electrical tape and stuck them to the glass faces of the gauges marking the desired rpm, or temp, or whatever. Then it's just a quick glance to make the sure the needle on the analog gauge is pointing on or near the desired reading. Especially helpful if you have someone new at the helm who is unfamiliar with the correct running readings for these gauges.
Do you ever use heat-shrink rubber tubing over your electrical connections? Might help to keep them dry and corrosion free. Great video, Simon.
:O Last thing you need out at sea!! Glad you kept it under control!!
Big fan here. Absolutely. You guys have a class act. You don’t need the clickbait titles. Cheers from Oregon.
Good video but... 15 Amp Fuse? Check the rating of your pumps individually and wire them individually with the correct size wire (for 12 or 24 volts its not the same as 220 volt AC cable). Also with a different supply cable that has the appropriate size fuse to suit the cable and the pump load. Fuses are there to protect the cables from loads in excess of their capacity (stop fires). Sail Safe Guys, Ant & Cid.
Great wiring job, Si. A prelude to Sarinda! I'm so impressed with all the handy things you can do!
Well done. Glad you spotted the problem early. Excellent stuff
By the way Simon, you did an excellent job!
I worry about fire way more than I worry about flooding. Flooding puts the fire out, eventually 😂.
Keep analogue gauges as backup duplicate by all means with digital. Good video on your bilge pump replacement.
I agree totally. Our local high end boat builder installs all digital instrumentation, but there is a removable panel behind which there is a complete analog gauge set.
Boat.
B= break
O= out
A= another
T= thousand
Enjoy your content keep on making waves!
Caravans and motorhomes aren't any different. Cars too for that matter. I suppose it comes with the territory.
nice work Simon, good choice of bilge pumps
You remain relentlessly cheerful! Strong work!
Glad you spoted it in time or it would be Ship Happens Major Epic. The one thing every sailors fear, fire at sea. And giant squids from old pictures I've seen.
Inadequate wire gauge is a common cause of fire abord pleasure crafts. Usually the boats manufacturers are aware of this issue and choose the right dimension. Unfortunately most DIY people are not fully aware of what can happen with the use of wrong wires. Never trust a former owners fiddling job 😎😉
Nice job, Simon. They look like decent pumps. It must have been a shock initially, but now you've sorted it. Keep up the great work 😊
Thanks, will do!
Phew, thank goodness you spotted it early. Very neat job on the replacement.
Thanks!
Nicely done Simon!
Nice work Simon.
Well done Simon, another quality job done. Must confess did find your thumbnail a bit frightening, thought you had major trouble!😅
Love your videos, Hampshire 🇬🇧
Love your channel Si. Got to say your a clever and funny bloke. I’m okay with auto/marina wiring in a DIY sense but the back of those bilge pump switches would have completely bamboozled me! Where was the other half. I bet she was doing more book work at home. Good on you both. Can’t wait for the next episode. All our love. The Swain family, Midlands UK. X😅
Confidence is the feeling that you get just before you find out the real situation.
Glad everything is ok
We have to say, this boat of yours has been one problem after another. Would be nice to see you guys out enjoying this boat and not always having to fix this or that.
Take care, be well ~ Lacy, Mike & Hamish
I didn't realise you had another boat other than Sarinda? Nice temporary wiring job!!
Good catch! That could have been a much bigger problem!
It always seems very wrong to give a thumbs up to the heading fire on board ,
So glad it turned out to be a minor incident with I guess a positive outcome.
Great content as always best wishes.
Simon, thanks for letting us in on your bilge pump repair - you do such a good job explaining things as you go. You said you did something at the workshop and I was wondering which workshop, only the best of people can have two workshops like you and Emma do. When will you be down to only one workshop?
Wow lucky escape Simon it could have been far worse .nice repair job to
Such a shame you didnt video the fire 🙂Good work though, you NEED to have good bilge pumps.
I think changing analogue to digital is a BIG mistake; duplicate by all means. Centre normal analogue (turn gauges in mountings as needed so normal is upright all needles) which equates to a symbol can be read and interpreted 50,000 times faster than a purely digital display. I call belief in all things digital "Digimania" and whereas people tap a gauge no-one taps a digital display (I do on principle) but instead implicitly believes it. Many an accident has occurred off the back of a faulty compromised data input (poor GPS aerial inputs) and an incorrect digital readout.(default speed and direction input dead reckoning) You may also need reading glasses to read the screens which is further compromise. Electrical systems are always a point of weakness. All your penetrations where the wire; with vibration, can abrade against should be grommetted and oversized to allow some movement of the wires if the structure flexes. Why did you not run a large shrink tubing sheath over the wire cluster which can potentially be submerged in use? ( better than tape wraps.)
That was a bit of fright but you have upgraded it all now, so it should not be a problem in future.
The new panel design definitely should be left until you are certain of where to cut. It would be very messy to have holes in the wrong place. Well done in placing the switches in a temporary place for now.
Hi Simon, I have observed copper stranded cable not to last at all long on a boat kept on or near the sea. A better option is to use tinned copper cable. It's a bit more expensive, but worth it for any critical system.
Right, now time to practice marine wiring!
Thx for the vid.
Having had a 12v fire, one cause is loose wires. Over time they crack the insulation. Wires should not be allowed to shake around.
I am surprised that there is not a a completely sealed cable/cover and bonded grommet on the entry to the bilge pump. I know we are looking at only 12 vdc - but particularly the one that you took off and all that joined "wiring" rather than cable, looked really dodgy. Anyway, all is fixed!! Good luck with your boating! John
Glad it wasn't like the thumb, pleased you all still vertical. Nice job Simon, I was expectin an alarm like "ABANDON SHIP, ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP!! Thanks m8s, stay vertical an all Eh!
Nicely done. BTW, that wasn't a mistake on wetting the sensor, that was a planned test, LOL. I recommend getting the largest bilge pump you can for your boat, with a back-up, that is industrial grade. The unfortunate thing is the bilge pumps sold in the marine supply stores and online are basically no more than toys and only good for occasional water such as tiny leaks or when hosing down the boat. A trash pump type bilge pump that can pull down to floor level is your best bet. If you lose a hose on a 2" fitting, you need a pump that can push out water at the same rate as that coming in and those tiny pumps are not even going to come close. Also, the suggestion of wiring in some kind of alarm system that can call you is a great idea. Lastly, you might want to think about putting in 2 separate water sensors. One at 6 inches or so above the bilge sole and then another at about 2 feet above the bilge sole, with both tied into the alarms (both local and phone). The reason for this is that the low sensor is likely to give you time to get to your boat and deal with the issue. If the high sensor goes off, you know it is time to call the marina manager (or port master) and tell them you have a flooding emergency on your boat and need immediate assistance.
well that was fun
every boat should have a manual pump that you never use...until you need it. be safe.
Those wires were really manky. A breaker is far better than fuses as you say where are the fuses, yep back at home in the draw😂😂 safety first 2x👍
Always good to replace dodgy wiring. The new pumps seem very happy now. Digital vs analogue, couldn't both systems coexist harmoniously? "eggs in one basket" springs to mind.
Well the digital will look nice until it locks up or fails! The analogues must be more reliable for redundance maybe use a couple for important info and redundancy
You can't have enough alerts. In fact the country needs more lerts.
With regard to your new dashboard. I would insert a tablet (10-14") then you could run apps tethered to your phone or get a tablet that has a SIM slot. Apps I would have on it are:
Navionics
Windy / Predict Wind
Boat Beacon (for AIS)
Navily
Marine Traffic
Anchor
Barometer
Just a few I would have and provides redundancy for your chart plotter. I would be interested if others had comments for other Apps they would install. I have just ordered a Ulefone Armor Pad 2 4G Rugged Tablet . Which I intend to set up as my sailing tablet.
The bilges are probably connected for redundancy so that if one bilge pump fails or the incoming water overwhelms a pump the other can kick in. The 12v batteries should be on a solar or shore trickle charge to keep the pumps from running the batteries flat. Looks like the wiring needed an upgrade though :) great job
Welcome to having an older bildge I would recommend a bildge with a power indicator or a timer or both 😊 happy boating❤
The one bildge is a primary and the other is a secondary in the event first failed
If you buy a co2 fire extinguisher. You can fill the whole engine compartment with co2. Put out fire but no dry chemical clean up. Yes you have to exercise caution as co2 is heavier than oxygen.
Nice video, as always.
I got a bit worried when you poured water in the engine room keel to test the new pumps. I believe there is a risk of pumping out some oily water when doing that test. Maybe it would be better to put the pump and level switch in a clean bucket after the wiring was done to test it and then after the test fasten the pump and level switch as the last moment.
Nice idea the glass cockpit. You could put in an iPad or similar tablet to fill the "gap".
What you could fit is a self priming vacuum pump, easy to make and fitted, It's just a bit of pipe that go from the bilge, to above the water draft line and then down below the water line, while moving along it with cause a vacuum drawing any water out of the boat.
I take it the first pump wasn't fused properly. It should have blown the fuse if it was drawing that much current. So you now have a 15 amp breaker, is all of the wire going to the pump a minimum of 14 gauge? If not the wire will melt and burn again before tripping that breaker if there is some sort of fault allowing the pump or pumps to draw excessive current. You need to find out how many amps the pump or pumps draw then fuse and wire accordingly.
Tidy job. Although can't help but notice the new pumps are a lot smaller?
I think if I had a boat that big, I would put a couple of cams down there and a small LED light or two. They could be wireless to a iPad at the dash.
I'll keep my analog gauges yes you can install the digital set but I'll trust my analog more on heavy equipment the digital pile up easily compared to the old styles
Hi just a tip your best of using tinned wire on boats.
If the boat is planing, it should be running flat. Trim tabs will help flattening out and faster speed because of less friction. 😊
The wiring out of that pump has to be intact and protected, you cannot have damage, much less joins to the cable there. Insulating tape? - for a connection below the water line for a bilge pump, what were they thinking.
Simon just as an fyi. Standard flex is no good for marine use, itll corrode (copper goes black) also you through crimps will corrode leading to another high resistance joint. You need to use tinned copper marine cable and soldered joints.
This week I are be mostly … fitting new bilge pumps… 😂
Well time to look at other types of Bulge Pumps Brush less pumps should not get hot and burn out as they can be oil cooled plus the power needed to run them does not have to be very large they should pump out water continually without any malfunction or length of time. On big ships that get damaged they don't sink because the Pumps can keep the water going out of the ship until the ship gets to the docs for repairs.
Lucky last thing you want is a bushfire out out on the sea why didn't the circuit fuse work .....heat shrink lots of Zippy ties and good support for all wires is needed on boats. Some people might think Im silly but I use stickaflex over the heat shrink on all my connection's and to hold the wires in place under the floor and places i don't see I do the same on my 4x4s vehicles I've haven't had a problem yet and hopefully never will
I have been watching you for a while now. I liked the video and generally appreciate your channel and what you do. I did not like the clickbaity thumbnail with the fake fire, though. Please do not go that route.
Would it impractical to keep the analogy operational underneath a new dashboard? Just saying, it might be prudent!
Simon, connections should be made above water
Breaker/fuse? I can't imagine it got hot enough to burn without tripping the circuit.
You could use better a WhalePumps supersub smart auto bilge pump. Pumps almost al the water away with an internal high-water switch!
Now all Pumps should come with fitting instruction telling you the correct core of the wires and all wires sealed so no connection made for the design of the pump. Usually the Pump own wires also have the British CE mark testing and length of the wires usually ten to fifteen meters before needing to be connected. The less connecting means safer for the pump and matching the same power wires connectors so wires will not over heat or cause a sudden surge to catch fire. No wires should be near the water lines including Earth wires because of electrolysis and rusting. Sealed wires Must never be cut crushed spliced as they are designed to keep the water out. when damaged weakened that is when a Fire will happen.
Are you not required to filter or contain engine bilge water there? I'd figure they'd require passing engine bilge water through those 'filters' that trap oil before allowing it to be discharged overboard. (Bilge Away is the name of one, I think.)
The pumps should have their own fuse and supply cable, if your fuse pops you will lose them both, apart from that great job.
They have mate! There both 2 individually wired systems and each one has there own breaker and switch! That’s why we installed 2 switches!
@ShipHappensAdventures Spot on, I'm going to have to watch again now to see where I got wrong lol.
Its never easy
I always had two on the go , if I leave boat in water unattended one is live second only goes on with with switch and float switch 8:36
Slight clickbait with the thumbnail ... lol
Why not use heat shrink on your splices? Tape is so OG.
Considering how often float switches fail, it pays to install a second switch, wired in parallel with the first one and mounted on a raised block. Then if #1 fails, #2 will take over when the water level rises above 'normal' pump out levels...Cheap 'Peace of Mind' insurance. And if you don't want to solder the wire joins, at least coat them with dielectric grease to keep corrosion away...
As small as it was, I'm guessing any fire on a boat is extremely worrying. You could go for a completely new alu dash, then it wouldn't matter what hole you cut into that old one...
you need a camera in your bilge.
Those crimps are not a good idea in a wet environment, you should use the solder glue and shrink hose type joiners, failing that (if you cant get them) use manual solder and hot glue shrink hose joints. The salt water will destroy unprotected electric connections in weeks not years. I do not say that to criticize only to ensure the pumps do not fail before the summer is over and you all stay safe. Why are the bilge pumps mounted on a platform and not in the bottom of the bilge, this way there will always be some water down there. You are clever people find a way to move them and the automatic switches to where the water actually is collecting.
👍⚓
Be alert
Britain needs lerts!
Fire in the boat = free heat! 🙂 (for a short time, anyway!) ((just noticed the pun - sorry!))
Simon you as captain are resposible for the condition of and safety on the boat and should not hide behind what the previous owner garbeled together. You checked so many items on the boat, so how could so obvious mess escaped your attention.
Fire retardant insulation wrap on all looming in your boat?
When you mount the plotter too flat, you won’t be able to read the screen because it is reflecting light.
Can you have smoke detectors installed as well?
anyone with petrol engines would have to be very observant, that would turn nasty very quickly.
If the boat was moving it would not take much to sound to go
My boat is famous 😂
Could have been a lot worse on a petrol boar!
Wouldn't it be better to have a flat sensor tape switch rather than a old fashion float switch
The only guarantee with computers is that in 5 years it'll be obsolete and it'll never as reliable as analogue kit.
I stopped watching halfway through. I did drop comment in a previous episode where you had crashed your money on dry-powder fire fighting kit. I did recommend, that for very little money, you could set up a direct and cheap and simple discharge of COT into the engine bay.
I'm not being a prick. but i have sixty years of being around and living on boats, and still do.
You can rig your boat with all the modern electronic gizmos you want, but when you're short handed and it all goes tits up and you're relying on poxy dry-powder to get you out of the hole you're in, then you are fckd. Isolate the fire in the engine bay, shut down the engines and call for help.
I love what you do and are trying to achieve, I really do, and I do wish you well.