Bilge pump wiring

MERITAGE

MERITAGE

.
May 1, 2015
1
ODay 34 Herrington Harbour
I just recently acquired a 1982 O'Day 34. I discovered that my bilge pump is wired in such a way that requires me to leave a battery in the 'On' position with the breaker on as well in order for the float valve to trigger the pump. In my former boat (a powerboat), the bilge pump was wired directly to the battery and functioned even with the batteries in the 'off' position. I felt that this was the best way to have it wired and was wondering if I should change it on my O'Day. I hate leaving my house battery on, but I hate not having a functioning bilge pump (when I'm not there) even more!
 
Ralph Johnstone

Ralph Johnstone

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Jan 4, 2006
7,653
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
Change It ................

MERITAGE said:
the bilge pump was wired directly to the battery and functioned even with the batteries in the 'off' position. I felt that this was the best way to have it wired and was wondering if I should change it on my O'Day.!
Click to expand
.............. and place an in-line fuse near the battery.
 

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Davidasailor26

Davidasailor26

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May 17, 2004
6,156
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
Don S/V ILLusion said:
Change it! You might also look for other things the previous owner screwed up.
Click to expand
To be fair, wiring the pump through the breaker is the factory configuration, at least it was on our 28, so you can't blame the PO for that.

As for how it should be - isn't there something to be said for having it wired through the breaker so that you can easily cut power to it in case something goes wrong with the switch or pump? Obviously there are compromises either way, but I'm not sure it's an open and shut case.
 
njlarry

njlarry

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Sep 23, 2009
1,477
O'Day 34-At Last Rock Hall, Md
Welcome aboard. It's great to see another 34 here and on the bay.
You are right however most of the O'Days are wired like that. It is on
my to do list to wire the bilge pump to the battery via a fuse.
However much more important is adding a fuse link to each battery to
protect the wiring to the battery selector switch. I believe Maine Sail has
a post on this subject in his section here. I just added 200 amp blue sea fuses
to my batteries. It was a very easy and inexpensive upgrade.
Good luck.
 
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