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High water alarm float switches

Briankinley2004

Briankinley2004

Legendary Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2017
Messages
1,520
Status
  1. CAPTAIN
Hatteras Model
55' CONV -Series I (1979 - 1988)
One thing on my boat that needs repair asap is the high bilge water alarm. I have found 4 float switches that I checked continuity on. They appear to be normally closed, not open. Looking at the blue prints they are somehow tied to the systems monitor which has 12 lights. I did the test on it and the ones for port and starboard came on but not the center ones. I removed the monitor cover and two wires to it have been cut and one horn wire has been removed. The thing looks antiquated but still works for the engines as far as lights go. I am thinking of bypassing it for the bilge alarm and finding the common location for termination of all the sensor wires. I would install a horn at this point. All the high water alarms I have installed before are normally open float switches and I am unsure how to build a system with normally closed floats. I am away from the boat right now but want to ask has anyone every flipped the factory float switches "upside down" to make them normally open. If they will work this way it will save buying 4 float switches and the time of wiring them in.
 
Float switches are cheap. Even the ultra I sell and install are cheap compared to a boat sinking.

I recently installed a custom alarm system with 6 float/high water switches, 2 door sensors and 2 fluid level sensors for a customer.

If your going to move from the 12 point look at the ultra ups-01

Replace the bilge pump and the high water switch with just this one.

http://www.tefgel.com/contain.php?param=pumpswitch_infor

And the 6 point alarm system. I also added a horn and flasher to the outside and when the forward bilge that does not have a pump at the moment leaked during the storm it was heard a block away.
 
Upside down Rule float works with 12 point monitor.
 
There are lots of threads on the 12 point alarm system and high water alarms. I had this problem for years with intermittent chirps. Like yours, the wires on mine were cut to disable the alarm and horn. The float switches on this system are normally closed. Switches are easy to test individually. The switch wires may run to a couple of terminal blocks then directly to the main board. Mine is mounted under the PH helm. Someone may have installed jumpers anywhere in this system to bypass all or individual bilge switches. In my case it was bad wiring at the terminal blocks that was causing intermittent chirping. I also had one bilge switch that was bad. Sams had it in stock. I would first test all the switches. Then trace wiring back to main board inspecting connections. In my boat there was a terminal strip near the rudder posts, and one in the Stbd DC dist. panel in the engine room.
 
A friend of mine was trapped and drowned in a boat that sunk at anchor. I mounted a second alarm in the owners stateroom just in case.
 
Sam's has the original ones in stock.

Tim
Know Pressure
1979 53' MY
 
The alarm panel I built for this boat was so loud inside it would wake the dead. It could be heard in the cabins below deck on a 115 foot alum boat with it being 3 floors above.

The reason for the outside horn and flasher was to get it located by strangers faster if a problem occurred at anchor or at the dock. the Marina management figured out what boat was sending an alarm in seconds because of this.

They are replacing the gaskets on the deck hatches now as the leak in the anchor locker forepeak has no pump and 30 gallons of water sets the alarm off.
 
If you want a louder alarm, try a Truck back up alarm. They are made to be mounted near the back of a truck, used in all whether, available in 96db and higher.
 
I put a stainless steel outdoor horn and flasher on the arch. It's 120DB and has a flasher that's viable for about a mile.

Loud is an understatement.
 
120db, your likely to get volunteer firemen running.
 
That's the idea of it.
 
Aqua Alarm will make custom panels, and I'm sure others out there will as well. They make a hatteras replacement, they claim: http://www.aqualarm.net/datasheets/hatteras_systems_monitor.pdf

Water witch has some interesting switches, with one that has a high level aux built in (model 257). https://waterwitchinc.com/bilge-switches/ They also have some interesting bilge alarm panels: https://waterwitchinc.com/alarms/

Hopefully some of these vendors are at FLIBS because I need to re-do my bilge control/alarm panel and engine alarms this winter as part of a larger consolidation of equipment. My boat has 6 bilge pumps!
 
Boatsb said:
Float switches are cheap. Even the ultra I sell and install are cheap compared to a boat sinking.

I recently installed a custom alarm system with 6 float/high water switches, 2 door sensors and 2 fluid level sensors for a customer.

If your going to move from the 12 point look at the ultra ups-01

Replace the bilge pump and the high water switch with just this one.

http://www.tefgel.com/contain.php?param=pumpswitch_infor

And the 6 point alarm system. I also added a horn and flasher to the outside and when the forward bilge that does not have a pump at the moment leaked during the storm it was heard a block away.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies everyone. I can testify that the Ultras are the best float switches you can buy. I have them on my catamaran and they are bullet proof. I plan to change to them as they go out. I am looking to make a semi temporary alarm system using the existing switches until I can get either the 12 point fixed or convert to the Ultras. Right now the boat is a work in progress and I am trying to get safety stuff done first
 
I’ve got a couple bronze kip switches for sale on eBay. Would cut a deal to a fellow hatt owner if interested.
 
Boatsb said:
That was a tragedy. Louder is better.


If anyone needs louder alarms let me know. I sell bunches of them and their pretty inexpensive.
Click to expand...

Drowning in your sleep is not a good way to go.
 
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