Installing FLoat Switch for Bilge-gctid373867

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Hello Everyone

As much as I love my boat in the marina 6 months out of the year, I hate it also! Im in Ny and as i type It has been raining all day. Sometimes i have to go check out my boat or lose sleep. thinking it will be under water from the rain!!! lol. Dont laugh Im sure you guys feel the same....

I did have a float switch when i first bought the boat but the problem was it was not installed properly. As of right now the bilge pump for down in the cabin area is on a two way switch, Up is for the livewell and down is for the bilge pump. I hooked the float to the wires for the bilge, but i couldnt turn on the bilge at any time to pump the water out. It would have to fill up until the float rose and the pump turned on.

i want to install new float tomorrow. Here is how Im going to do it, advise me if there is any other way. Install the float and bilge pump to a new two way switch, pigtail the wires from the float to the bilge pump. When I leave the boat turn the switch down to power the float and when im on the boat turn the switch up to turn on the pump at anytime.

thanks

joe

[JimMc Guru Find all posts View Profile Close JimMc]

Joe

I am going to suggest a different approach.

Wire the float to an uninteruptable power source (Battery). You want the float to be able to run the bilge pump any time it is needed.

Then you add a helm switch that allows you to manually turn the pump on. But the switch does NOT disable power to the float. The float must always be able to power the pump.

The Bilge Pump ON/OFF or ON/AUTO/OFF both are considered a potential disaster in the making. You want ON/AUTO.

I would seperate the bilge pump switch from the livewell.

[Jeffw Guru Find all posts View Profile Close Jeffw]

I agree with Jim's advice. I would lose sleep wondering if I flipped the right switch the right way. With the float switch wired to the battery directly, the only way it fails is battery drain.

[2850Bounty Supporting Member Find all posts View Profile Close 2850Bounty]

I agree with both Jim and Jeff.

We want the ability to shut down our 12 vdc power when the boat is unattended, and yet still have power to the float switch.

IOW, no bilge pump switch that has anything to do with the power that supplies the float switch.

[johnrupp Seasoned Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnrupp]

I agree with the posts above. However I would wire it to the "always hot" battery side of the battery switch, not to the battery.

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johnrupp wrote:
I agree with the posts above. However I would wire it to the "always hot" battery side of the battery switch, not to the battery.

+ 1

[JimMc Guru Find all posts View Profile Close JimMc]

I agree in wiring it at the battery switch and not the battery.

My original advise was meant to be generic but not literal.

[2850Bounty Supporting Member Find all posts View Profile Close 2850Bounty]

Long as we're on topic... make certain that any float switch is mounted at an elevation higher than the pump's lowest draw down abilty, so that it will drop the float and turn the pump off.

Float switches that are too low, may tend to keep a pump running.

A small amount of remaining water is much better than a dead house bank.

.

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I've posted this link in another thread some time ago but it was the single most useful site that I found when planning my own bilge pump setup.

Highly recommended reading:

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/bilge_pumps.htm

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hey jmess im from wappingers falls also. what marina do you keep at? im at whites

[Jeffw Guru Find all posts View Profile Close Jeffw]

johnrupp wrote:
I agree with the posts above. However I would wire it to the "always hot" battery side of the battery switch, not to the battery.

I don't disagree, but why?

[johnrupp Seasoned Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnrupp]

jeffw wrote:
I don't disagree, but why?

Jeff,

There are a few reasons why it is better not to connect right on the battery. Just to name a few.

1-Batteries are very corrosive, the small wire sizes and their connectors used to feed devices such as bilge pumps, CO detectors etc. corrode very easily. When these wires corrode it increases the resistance in the wire there by lowering the voltage that the device needs to properly operate.

2-Wires with to much resistance can overheat and cause a fire.

3-For those that remove their batteries during winter lay-up it makes it more confusing to properly reinstall the batteries.

Most competent marine electricians will use the battery side post on the battery switch for always powered devices. If you have enough devices or just want to get fancy, some will power a positive buss from battery side post and make all connections there.

[captharv Founding Member Find all posts View Profile Close captharv]

I wrote this to answer these type of questions

http://www.baylinerownersclub.org/fo...ad.php?t=35339

[Jeffw Guru Find all posts View Profile Close Jeffw]

Thanks Jonh and Harv, makes sense.

[2850Bounty Supporting Member Find all posts View Profile Close 2850Bounty]

I fully agree with John.

I'm among the NAZIs that hate seeing direct battery connections being made (other than battery cables).

Here's one of my typical images for dramatic shock 'n awe emphasis. ................