Bilge, battery, storage question

[Rogue14]

Does anyone know how often the bilge cycles when left on? Assuming it never had to pump any water out, how long would it take to make a dent in the battery that might make for a difficult start?

My boat ('07 211 with 1 battery) gets put in the water in the spring and left until the fall. I've never left the bilge on while away. It never rains enough where I am to be an issue (even if it could get under the cover which it does not) but I suppose a slow leak somewhere could be a problem. Obviously I've never had a leak problem or I would have learned my lesson. I've just never wanted to come back to a drained battery but maybe that would be the lesser of 2 evils if the boat ended up under water.

What do the rest of you do?

[Chexi]

You should have a very slow leak at the shaft packing (unless you have dripless packing), which can (over a long period) fill your bilge, which is more likely to kill your starter motor than sink your boat, but in exteme cases, it could put more of your boat underwater than you want. Personally, I'd leave the auto bilge on and risk the battery. Install a second battery just in case or buy a portable battery jumper or shore charger if you are worried about killling the battery. That said, the bilge pump is an aeroator pump that does not draw much current, is only on for a very short period of time when on, and only comes on intermittently. I'd be more worried about gelcoat blisters than your battery if you leave your boat in the water for extended periods.