Remote bilge water monitor recommendation?

[chuckt]

I have an old wooden boat and a remote bilge monitor system would give me some peace of mind. I thought about a remote camera that would also allow me to see what's going on but they all seem to require special access to the marina's router which I doubt the marina would care to give me. So, maybe one of the bilge water level systems? Any recommendations? wifi or cellular reporting better?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by chuckt

I have an old wooden boat and a remote bilge monitor system would give me some peace of mind. I thought about a remote camera that would also allow me to see what's going on but they all seem to require special access to the marina's router which I doubt the marina would care to give me. So, maybe one of the bilge water level systems? Any recommendations? wifi or cellular reporting better?

Do you have an N2K network?

If so, one of the many ways to do this, but a very robust (if costly) way, would be to use the Maretron SIM100 switch indicator module, connected to a good float switch (like the Ultra Junior, what I use), or Maretron's own bilge high water switch (BHW100). Then put a Maretron SMS100 on the network and Bob's your uncle.

The SIM100 will take six different inputs, so you could design the system creatively. For example, you could activate one indicator every time your bilge pump runs, then a separate one for high water.


There are various freestanding SMS boat monitor systems on the market, perhaps cheaper than the expensive but high quality Maretron gear.

[kiltym]

These cameras remove the issue of firewall and port forwarding on the marinas router. If you still wanted to go the camera route instead of an alarm.


http://cloudcam.biz

They use an intermediary to stream to, and then you can access the stream via the same intermediary. The camera needs outbound internet access only.

[chuckt]

I will check out these suggestions. Thanks.

[TropicalSeattle]

I just installed a BoatCommand Connect on our boat. Too early to tell, but the system is super simple to install and use, and yet has all the features I need, for a very reasonable price. $300 plus $80/year to monitor. It uses the cellular network, monitors GPS (ensures boat stays within a radius), two battery banks, two bilge pumps, shore power. It can also monitor temperature, motion inside the boat, and turn on/off up to 3 relays, but I did not use any of these features. It has apps for iOS and android, but you can do all the management from a web site and it texts my cell phone when anything goes wrong. You can go to boatcommand.com and create an account to get a taste for what you'd see.


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[chuckt]

Thanks Tropical. Looking at that now.

[rodney_k]

I too installed a Boat Command Connect and am very happy with it. It has already alerted me to a shore power disconnection (diver unplugged my shore power for his compressor). I am using 2 of the relay controls-one for interior lights when boarding the boat at night, and the other to turn on my battery charger as needed.


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