I have a Rule 1100 mounted in my CD Storm. I put it behind the seat. I use a 7 amp-hour gel cell battery. Based on the amp-hour capacity of the battery, the current draw of the pump and a fudge factor just because I expect the battery could last for about 3 hours of use before it needed to be recharged. I have used it extensively when I was practicing self rescue and learning to roll, these were far more intensive use than I would expect to need in real situations and I never depleted the battery. My battery is about the size of two video cassettes, smaller and lower capacity batteries are available. I have had lots of problems with the switch getting water in it and failing. My latest attempt is to coat the switch body with two layers of silicone and to seal around the switch lever with silicone grease and a boot from the switch manufacturer. The last attempt was just sealing at the cracks on the switch and using the boot, that failed after a couple of months of intermittent use. The mounting location for the switch is an issue. While I am experimenting I Have kept the switch mounted under the spray skirt on the side of the seat, a protected out of the way location. When I am satisfied this will all work consistently I will take the suggestion of the one of south pacific subscribers and mount the switch on my foredeck with a protective shroud. The other problem with the electric pump is that the Rule 1100 loses suction with about 3/4 inch of water in the bilge. That is enough water to make the boat noticably less stable. OTOH, it talks less of my energy to pump the boat with the switch and supplement with the hand pump than to hand pump the whole cockpit dry. This may be amenable to a fix with creative fiberglassing or the use of a pump that will take a pickup hose like I have seen with foot operated pumps. Dana Dickson -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net] Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 1999 12:24 PM To: paddlewise-digest_at_lists.intelenet.net Subject: PaddleWise V1 #357 Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 06:52:32 EST From: JCMARTIN43_at_aol.com Subject: [Paddlewise] Electric bilge pumps We've kicked this issue around on Paddlewise in the past, and I think I remember that it was our folks in OZ and Kiwi-land who'd done the most work on mounting small electric pumps in kayaks. Maybe not. Just looking for some ideas. I'm in the last steps prior to installing the deck panels on a Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) North Bay, and wanted to stop to consider mounting a Rule or other small pump and battery pack in the boat while it's still workable. Any suggestions, pro or con, and, if pro, which pump and ways in which it can be most effectively installed? How big a battery pack? What kind? How to install a switch and where ... foot operated or thru-deck? A caution: any post-installation maintenance is going to require going into the aft compartment through a 4.5" diameter access plate in the rear bulkhead, and replacement battery packs are going to have to live with that restriction, as well. This is a new, low volume "Greenland" style boat at CLC, and the maneuvering room inside the hull, once the deck goes on and the ring nails go in and the epoxy cooks off, is extremely limited. With those caveats, any ideas? Jack Martin ------------------------------ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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