New Boat Owner here....quick battery question

[allamerican149]

We have a new to us 2017 212 limited S. When sitting, will the bilge pump kick on if in auto with connect screen off or do you have to keep keys turned on to keep the connect screen on? I noticed when sitting in the driveway that when I turned the house battery on and ran the blower then the screen turned on and I was able to activate the bilge pump, however when i turned the blower off, the screen went off. Just want to make sure I have everything set right before having her out in the water.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

From your manual.

A little circuitous… I put the pages in the order that I think they should be in.

Page 122-Overview of Bilge pump operation. I will add, to the best of my understanding, when the bilge pump is in automatic the bilge pump in your boat turns on once every 2 minutes for 30 seconds to sense whether water is present or not then shuts off if no water is sensed. If water is sensed it will stay on until it has removed the majority of the water.

So to answer your question, it appears that if the connext screen is off after putting the pump in automatic the pump will run automatically.



Turning the Bilge pump to Automatic from the connext screen.



Turning the Bilge on manually from the connext screen



Turning the Bilge pump on manually from the rocker switch.



Test these operation modes of the bilge pump in the driveway to make sure they work as the manual states by installing the drain plugs and filling the bilge with water from a hose. Also, take the boat out on the water a few times and take note of either how many times the bilge pump comes on during the day, and or, how much water comes out of the drain plugs at the end of the day. I would say if you are going to leave the boat wet slipped, and the bilge pump comes on automatically during a day on the water you have a leak that needs to be fixed before leaving it wet slipped. IMHO the bilge pump should only be removing rain water that accumulates while wet slipped.

Questions.
1-How long are you planning on leaving it wet slipped?
2-Is there power available at your slip?

 

[allamerican149]

From your manual.

A little circuitous… I put the pages in the order that I think they should be in.

Page 122-Overview of Bilge pump operation. I will add, to the best of my understanding, when the bilge pump is in automatic the bilge pump in your boat turns on once every 2 minutes for 30 seconds to sense whether water is present or not then shuts off if no water is sensed. If water is sensed it will stay on until it has removed the majority of the water.

So to answer your question, it appears that if the connext screen is off after putting the pump in automatic the pump will run automatically.

View attachment 196491

Turning the Bilge pump to Automatic from the connext screen.

View attachment 196492

Turning the Bilge on manually from the connext screen

View attachment 196493

Turning the Bilge pump on manually from the rocker switch.

View attachment 196494

Test these operation modes of the bilge pump in the driveway to make sure they work as the manual states by installing the drain plugs and filling the bilge with water from a hose. Also, take the boat out on the water a few times and take note of either how many times the bilge pump comes on during the day, and or, how much water comes out of the drain plugs at the end of the day. I would say if you are going to leave the boat wet slipped, and the bilge pump comes on automatically during a day on the water you have a leak that needs to be fixed before leaving it wet slipped. IMHO the bilge pump should only be removing rain water that accumulates while wet slipped.

Questions.
1-How long are you planning on leaving it wet slipped?
2-Is there power available at your slip?

It's not going to be wet slipped. It will just be in the water when we have it out, but we do enjoy anchoring at the beaches along the waterway so I just want to make sure the bilge is activated while we are sitting.

 

[tabbibus]

It's not going to be wet slipped. It will just be in the water when we have it out, but we do enjoy anchoring at the beaches along the waterway so I just want to make sure the bilge is activated while we are sitting.

If you are anchored there's no good reason to turn off the power

 

[Dave burke]

I do wet slip my boat (same year as yours) and @FSH 210 Sport has it exactly right (thanks for the research and organization, very helpful). The bilge comes on every couple of minutes and goes back off if there’s no water accumulation. I hate the design because you have to leave the battery switches on and it will eventually kill the battery because of the constant on/off cycling. Doesn’t matter if the Connext is on or not.

If you’re not wet slipping, shouldn’t be a problem but if you leave it in the water for a few days, be careful. I actually installed a second, automatic bilge, directly to the battery which will work even with the switches off.

 

[allamerican149]

I do wet slip my boat (same year as yours) and @FSH 210 Sport has it exactly right (thanks for the research and organization, very helpful). The bilge comes on every couple of minutes and goes back off if there’s no water accumulation. I hate the design because you have to leave the battery switches on and it will eventually kill the battery because of the constant on/off cycling. Doesn’t matter if the Connext is on or not.

If you’re not wet slipping, shouldn’t be a problem but if you leave it in the water for a few days, be careful. I actually installed a second, automatic bilge, directly to the battery which will work even with the switches off.

wouldn't I just need to leave the house battery on for the bilge to kick on and off?

 

[Dave burke]

Yup, it will work as long as the house battery is on. Just don’t wet slip for any length of time. My boat almost sank before I put in the second bilge