I have a 2021 170 Dauntless with a single battery that I keep on a boat lift. The automatic bilge pump only works with the battery switch in the ON position; the pump is not wired to a constant 12-Volt power source.
Q1: should a bilge pump be wired to the battery via main ON-OFF battery switch?
Bilge Pump Wiring
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Re: Bilge Pump to Battery
Probably not.jmich001 wrote:Q1: should a bilge pump be wired to the battery via the main ON-OFF battery switch?
Most would consider connecting the bilge pump to a constant, un-switched 12V power source the correct wiring. In your case, you are on a lift, so maybe you are not concerned with the boat flooding while it is unattended, but windblown rain or some other freak event could flood the bilge and the pump would not clear.
By wiring the bilge pump to the switched circuit, you are protecting the the bilge pump from a false-ON condition, saving the bilge pump. I think I would rather run the risk of draining the battery to prevent the boat from flooding.
Re: Bilge Pump to Battery
If you have the boat on a lift then PULL THE PLUG. It's #6 on the figure below.
Source: https://www.bostonwhaler.com/content/dam/boston-whaler/technical/owners-manuals/BW-170-DAUNTLESS-2021-OWNERS-MANUAL.pdf
If you rely on the pump and your battery fails, there may be a larger problem.
Source: https://www.bostonwhaler.com/content/dam/boston-whaler/technical/owners-manuals/BW-170-DAUNTLESS-2021-OWNERS-MANUAL.pdf
If you rely on the pump and your battery fails, there may be a larger problem.
1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003
Re: Bilge Pump Wiring
As PADRE mentions, there are two schools of thought about how to wire a bilge pump with regard to unattended or automatic operation.
If you want to bilge pump to be able to operate at any time, then you have to wire the pump directly (through a fuse) to the boat battery, and avoid the main power switch.
If you want to be certain that the bilge pump will NEVER run when the battery switch in in OFF, then wire the pump as part of the loads that are switched by the main battery switch; that is what you seem to have now.
I assume that the boat on the lift has been rigged so the stern is lower than the bow. This is the preferred arrangement for a boat on a lift. With the stern lower, any rain water that comes into the cockpit or other open areas of the boat will run aft and collect in the cockpit sump. If the sump pump is not able to lift that water overboard, then water will rise in the stern of the boat at a rather rapid rate because the collecting area is probably quite large.
Regarding the risk of the aft cockpit of your boat collecting rain water, that worry can be eliminated by unplugging the sump drains when the boat is on the boat lift and raised out of the water. Of course, then you have the bother of having to put back in place the drain plugs before you use the boat.
One perspective on this question can be found by looking at how the boat came as wired from the factory. The boat is a Boston Whaler boat made just two years ago, so it ought to represent the best thinking from Boston Whaler.
If you want to bilge pump to be able to operate at any time, then you have to wire the pump directly (through a fuse) to the boat battery, and avoid the main power switch.
If you want to be certain that the bilge pump will NEVER run when the battery switch in in OFF, then wire the pump as part of the loads that are switched by the main battery switch; that is what you seem to have now.
I assume that the boat on the lift has been rigged so the stern is lower than the bow. This is the preferred arrangement for a boat on a lift. With the stern lower, any rain water that comes into the cockpit or other open areas of the boat will run aft and collect in the cockpit sump. If the sump pump is not able to lift that water overboard, then water will rise in the stern of the boat at a rather rapid rate because the collecting area is probably quite large.
Regarding the risk of the aft cockpit of your boat collecting rain water, that worry can be eliminated by unplugging the sump drains when the boat is on the boat lift and raised out of the water. Of course, then you have the bother of having to put back in place the drain plugs before you use the boat.
As Phil alludes, for a boat with only one battery, coming to the boat for a day of recreation and finding the boat battery has been drained by a bilge pump that ran too much and too long will be quite a disappointment. Generally any lead-acid battery whose state of charge is drained to the minimum will suffer a shorter service life. In my own experience and behavior, any lead-acid battery that is a few years old and has been subjected to a very deep discharge has become a liability. I don't trust batteries like that in any sort of critical use; and I consider being able to start an engine to be a critical use.Phil T wrote:If you rely on the pump and your battery fails, there may be a larger problem.
One perspective on this question can be found by looking at how the boat came as wired from the factory. The boat is a Boston Whaler boat made just two years ago, so it ought to represent the best thinking from Boston Whaler.
Re: Bilge Pump Wiring
I just read the owner's manual. According to the owner's manual the bilge pump should be wired directly to battery by the factory.
A previous owner of this boat stored it in an indoor slip. Maybe he changed the wiring.
A previous owner of this boat stored it in an indoor slip. Maybe he changed the wiring.
Re: Bilge Pump Wiring
I see that the owner's manual has a schematic wiring diagram at page 4-8. The wiring diagram shows the circuit that powers the bilge pump is wired directly to the battery.jmich001 wrote: According to the owner's manual the bilge pump should be wired directly to battery by the factory.
Also, in order for the boat to have a main ON-OFF battery switch, the diagram indicates the boat must have been ordered with the "Battery Switch CE Option." I believe here that "CE" refers to being qualified to European standard for commercial products. Even with the "Battery Switch CE Option" on the boat, the power for the bilge pump still comes directly from the battery.
Compare at
https://www.bostonwhaler.com/content/da ... MANUAL.pdf
If your boat has the battery switch option, then to revert to the original wiring you would locate conductor 192-14RED and move it back to the "1" terminal on the battery switch from the "C" terminal. See drawing marked Figure 4.9.2 for details. Here I am presuming a previous owner moved the conductor 192 from terminal "I" to terminal "C" on the battery switch to make his unscrupulous modification.
Re: Bilge Pump Wiring
Thanks for the help. I will be charging the wiring so the pump circuit is wired directly to battery.
Re: Bilge Pump Wiring
The Boston Whaler drawing notation of conductor "192-14RED" means there is an identification number attached to the wire that labels it as "192", that the wire insulation color is red, and that the wire gauge is 14-AWG. This should very unambiguously identify that particular conductor for you.
Re: Bilge Pump Wiring
Drains and scuppers can get blocked by leaves or other debris.
Add a solar charger to help keep the battery charged.
Then [unclear, perhaps meant to say "connect"] the pump directly to the battery.
[Something will] help keep it charged,
[You will] not have to use [the pump] unless the drain is blocked.
Add a solar charger to help keep the battery charged.
Then [unclear, perhaps meant to say "connect"] the pump directly to the battery.
[Something will] help keep it charged,
[You will] not have to use [the pump] unless the drain is blocked.
Re: Bilge Pump Wiring
The boat under discussion is stored in a boat lift which is very likely powered by AC power from the grid. A solar battery charger would seem an unnecessary expense when a standard AC powered battery maintainer could be used.
Butch