By Published On: February 14, 2020Categories: Blog

Sucking Water Out of the Bilge – How Does the Arid Bilge System Work

Since the invention of the floating vessel in ancient times, boaters have been dealing with stinky bilge water down below in their boats. It is most likely a fact that every boat which you rode on as a kid, had some of this ugly water sloshing around in the hard-to-reach bilge compartments down below. Common statements to deal with this reality would have been…

“It is what it is”  or

“This is just how it is. Get over it.”

Then, we invented the Arid Bilge System to change all of this . . . permanently. Today, boaters can enjoy a vessel that is  fresh and dry down below at all times! And without all the chores normally associated with this.

Bilge pump basics . . .

Before we dive in to find out how the Arid Bilge System works, let’s get on the same page and have a general understanding as to how bilge pumps work. Like their name says: bilge pumps, do pump water. This means that the water is pushed or propelled by an impeller of some type, be it a rubber lobe, centrifugal or similar. Most bilge pumps are generally high volume. Good seamanship skills would demand that you have enough pump(s) on board to prevent the vessel from sinking, in the event of a catastrophic type event, like a broken hose or a hole in the hull for instance. Bilge pumps are usually turned on automatically by a float switch, which won’t trigger until there is well over an inch of water down below. And boaters are usually frustrated when they hit the manual override switch, not being able to get rid of the rest of the bilge water – for two very good reasons: First, as air hits that impeller, the pump’s efficiency goes to zero, as the pump is not designed to move air with water. And secondly, as the pump shuts down, the water that’s in the discharge hose comes rushing back through the pump, returning into the bilge.

What is the Arid Bilge System?

Compared with bilge pumps, the Arid Bilge System works very much like a common shop or wet vac. All Arid Bilge Systems have miniature collection chambers similar the bucket on the wet vac. Air is vacuumed out of the collection chamber, and then bilge water rushes in to fill this void.  There is no priming necessary, all the water moves in one direction only. Then the water is trapped in the collection chamber. Now instead of relying on the  common float switch, the Arid System utilizes vacuum switches that keep these systems running, until air is pulled through the intake tubes, leaving the bilges bone dry and the intake tubes stripped of liquids. These systems are low volume, and are well tuned to the day-to-day needs of the average boat.

Essentially, the aging process of the interior of the boat does slow and nearly stops. Instead of dealing with the odor, condensation damage, mildew, corrosion, or rust, the Arid Bilge will suck up all of the residual water from the source so that you don’t have to deal with the problems caused by standing residual bilge water.

Common, old school solutions . . .

Before the Arid Bilge System, boaters were resorting to pouring bilge cleaners, in order to minimize odors. Yes, wet vacs, ozone machines, dehumidifiers, bilge diapers were all available to provide a partial solution to these common age old problems of the chronically wet bilge. These “solutions” do tend to act as a Band-Aid and work only as long as they are constantly being re-applied. But once the Arid Bilge System is installed, it becomes a game changer which so completely removes all of the standing bilge water, that you can now completely abandon the “Band-Aid solutions”.

See the Arid Bilge System in action below!

Why Buy an Arid Bilge System?

You can think of the Arid Bilge System as the maintenance worker that you thought you’d never have. It is a truly magical system that acts automatically, removing moisture, preventing mildew, and odor at the source. All while slowing the aging process, which helps to keep your boat free from rotting, corrosion, rust and condensation damage! As an added caveat, the Arid Bilge will also help you find small leaks, which will leave a wet trail through the dry bilge back to the source!

We hope that we’ve inspired you to raise the bar for a better boating experience for yourself with a brand new Arid Bilge System on board!