Sorry
I must have misunderstood.I thought the auto bilge pump was wired straight to the battery terminals.in that case I believe what I said is the correct way to do things.that way the float switch activates the pump when the water level is high even when all other circuits on the boat controlled at the panel are off.I have my electric bilge pump wired to a switch on the panel which I can use when the panel has power but the same pump and float switch are also wired straight to the battery (with an in line fuse a couple of inches from the positive battery terminal) and the pump is activated by the float switch when the water level in the bilge so dictates. Dwight Veinot C&C 35 MKII, Alianna Head of St. Margaret's Bay, NS _____ From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Frederick G Street Sent: December 4, 2012 11:06 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List 35/3 bilge pump Dwight -- a pump is sort of a special case. Yes, you need over-current protection in the form of a breaker or fuse as close to the power source as possible; but many pumps have unusual protection ratings, like in Pat's case 3 amps, or I've seen others like mine that require 7 amps. Good luck finding a 3- or 7-amp breaker. So the overall wiring may be protected by a breaker at the panel, but to keep the pump from frying on a 15-amp breaker-protected circuit, you also need the proper inline fuse. On my boat, I've got a manual/auto bilge pump switch at the panel, which is NOT fed directly from the battery, but rather from a sub-feed that comes off the battery feed to the main panel (and is overall protected at the battery itself). This supplies power (through a block of individual blade-type fuses) to always-on circuits like the stereo (to hold programmed stations, etc.) and the like, and is ahead of the main 100-amp house breaker. The bilge pump switch has a fuse holder for the exact fuse rating the pump requires. So the wiring from the battery is protected at the battery, and the pump and associated wiring is protected by the fuse at the switch. Fred Street -- Minneapolis S/V Oceanis (1979 C&C Landfall 38) -- on the hard in Bayfield, WI :^( On Dec 4, 2012, at 7:38 AM, dwight veinot <dwightvei...@hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote: You probably already know, but the fuse needs to be as close to the battery as possible.it is protecting the wire to the pump, not the pump itself _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2221 / Virus Database: 2634/5436 - Release Date: 12/04/12
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