bilge pump

[Polwart]

Originally Posted by yoyo

Any fuse used should NOT be greater than the individual pump rating. this could cause you big probs.

I don't think I agree with you. The fuse is really there to protect the wiring not the pump. If a pump starts drawing more current than it should it has already developed a fault. If an individual pump starts to draw more power than its rated for it will probably burn out the motor pretty quickly, and any "serious" fault (such as a short) is likely to blow a fuse even if it is double the size recommended for the pump on its own. It is not possible to run two pumps on a fuse that is the correct size for one (unless it was oversized in the first place).

In a different environment you would probably choose to put a "master" fuse at the console that could cope with both loads and thenindividual fuses on each pump. BUT putting fuses in the bilge is not really a great idea - as you will struggle to get them water tight, and IMHO fault finding is much easier if all the fuses are in the same pannel.

However, I agree that redundancy is a better idea, but more effort and cost required to install it all.

[richardjawilson]

thank you for all for your thoughts on my bilge pump wiring, the information is more than appreciated.


regards richard

[Rogue Wave]

redundant wiring marine cable and fuses not MCB's also think about a bigger Bilge pump. when joining the cables from the pump to the cables from the supply doit inside one of these boxes screwed to the transom and use silicone to sea cable entries


http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/LB9025.html

this stuff is handy also

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TLSAT19.html

[Andy Gee]

It would be better to run another complete system in, and then mount your second pump higher than the first, to act as redundancy if your first pump should fail.
HTH
Andy

[richardjawilson]

Andy, thats what I have just done. The secondary pump is fitted higher up and working off a separate circuit. So hopefully thats the best solution for me.

regards richard