Ultra Safety Systems Bilge Alarm - Don't Forget!

[markpj23]

Minor item noted during survey was that the high bilge alarm did not function. No big deal..... or so I thought.

The USS bilge float switch is IMHO the best such device made. Occasionally they get gummed up - like mine was - and the internal float will stick in the tube and not shut the pump off. So today I tackled that issue and decided to investigate the high bilge alarm. Cleaning the float switch internals was no big deal, and all was functioning normally in about 10 minutes.

I went to the bilge alarm mounted on the aft cabin bulkhead facing the cockpit. The back of the alarm unit is easily accessed inside a kitchen cabinet, and as I started to take the screws off the back panel I noticed a sticker the PO had put there... "Batteries changed 9/27/04." Ruh-roh....

Who would've guessed that dime-store 9-volt batteries are NOT good for 4-1/2 years in a marine environment? You can imagine the gooey brown mess I found inside the case....

Luckily the batteries are located in the bottom of the unit, so all the acid collected there and did not damage the alarm speaker or anything else. A quick soldering job to splice in 2 new 9v battery connectors and we're back in business.

So - when was the last time you checked the batteries in YOUR high bilge alarm? Heads up...!

[James S]

Thanks