I used to use a waterbuster pump, which I plumbed into a hull outlet, and mounted in a foam bulkhead behind the seat, no alterations to the switch on the pump body. This pump let me down on two occasions, and I now don't use it. The flexible hose supplied has a tendency to kink, and obstruct flow, and the pump easily becomes blocked by sea weed etc. This is especially true if the very heavy metal base plate (fitted so the unit will sink to the bottom of paddling pools etc) is removed, and not replaced with a grill of some sorts. I now have a rule 500, mounted on the rear bulkhead, plumbed in with auto radiator hose, battery in a water proof box in the rear hatch, and a fully submersible switch (which incidentally was the most expensive bit - cost more than the pump!) mounted on the deck behind the cockpit. Cables from pump and switch to battery go through a hole in the bulkhead sealed with silicon. The difference in performance between the attwood waterbuster and rule 500 is dramatic and this set up has been totally reliable. From my experience I would recommend using the attwood as a portable pump if at all, and go for a proper installation of a pump like the rule 500. Cheers Colin Calder 57º19'N 2º10'W *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Colin Calder wrote: > > ...<snip>... > I now have a rule 500, mounted on the rear bulkhead, plumbed in with auto radiator > hose, battery in a water proof box in the rear hatch, and a fully submersible > switch (which incidentally was the most expensive bit - cost more than the pump!) > mounted on the deck behind the cockpit. ...<snip>... > go for a proper installation of a pump like the rule 500. This strikes me as excellent advice, but I am wondering why so many people choose the Rule 500 instead of the Rule 800. The 800 comes in two form factors: box-shaped and cylindrical (like the 500). The cylindrical 800 is exactly the same diameter as the 500 (2.375") and is only 1/4" taller (3.75" versus 3.5"), so it takes up essentially the same amount of space. But it has two advantages. The primary advantage is that its output is 60 percent higher, and it will thus empty your boat at a substantially faster rate. A secondary advantage it uses slightly less energy to pump a given quantity of water since its output is 60 percent higher, but it only draws 53 percent more current. (The 12-volt 500 draws 1.9A while the 12-volt 800 draws 2.8A.) Is there something that I am missing? That extra quarter inch seems to provide a significant advantage in pumping speed (while using less energy per gallon pumped). Dan Hagen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
There is an Australian homepage (would have to dig deep to find it in my bookmarks) which describes the results of the tests they did with many pumps. The only one that gave a high reliability factor was the (at that time) Rule 400 now called Rule 500. All others failed over time with such problems as the pump's impeler desintegrating. I use a Rule 500 powered with 2 6V lantern batteries connected in series inside a tupperware box. It pumps water much faster than I would with a hand held pump. The circuitry and arrangement is a lot simpler than what was describe in the Sea Kayaker article. Since I do not use rechargable batteries, I do not have to worry about the batteries having enough energy after being recharged multiple times. Just connect on wire of the pump to the waterproof switch, and then directly to the batteries (forget about the fuse, lantern batteries can not put out the 2 Amps needed to burn the fuse anyway). To that respect, it is important to note that the best battiers are dry batteries, not alkaline. With dry batteries you can tell when the batteries are running low as the water flow decreases slightly, but still have a long way to go. Alkaline batteries, on the contrary, maintain their voltage at the same level all the way to the end of their life, when the voltage drops suddently. That means that someone would think that the alkaline batteries are in good shape, and then they would die suddenly when one needs them the most. By the way, I only have to replace my two lantern batteries about once a year. - Julio > This strikes me as excellent advice, but I am wondering why so many > people choose the Rule 500 instead of the Rule 800. The 800 comes in two > Dan Hagen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
juliom_at_cisco.com wrote: > > By the way, I only have to replace my two lantern batteries about > once a year. > > - Julio > How much pumping do you di in that year? rb *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I may as well chime in on this, having just installed two Rule 500 pump systems in my wife's and my boats (both Romanys, or British Heavies). Forgive me if this is a bit long. Both systems are powered by small 12-volt maintenance-free motorcycle batteries, model BT4L-BS. According to the charts, these batteries are meant to power Honda 50cc bikes. I had to buy a charger for the batteries as well. The battery salesman advised me to charge the batteries monthly, whether I use them to pump out the boat or not (e.g., deepest winter). I placed the batteries in 1.7 gal.Rubbermaid containers. Holes were drilled in the lid for the leads, and sealed with several layers of silicone inside and out. Following the wiring diagram that came with the pump, a waterproof fuse connector was placed on the positive battery lead. Beyond the fuse, the battery leads were terminated in a waterproof automotive plug (the sort used for trailer lights). The battery case is firmly mounted inside a carved out space in a minicell form, cut out to fit the boat, just ahead of the forward bulkhead. I left spaces on either side of the minicell form, to pass the wires that come from the cockpit and through the bulkhead. Where wires pass through the bulkhead, the holes are sealed with several coats of silicone on both sides of the bulkhead. The wires that come through the bulkhead are connected to the pump (brown lead, to be connected to the fused positive side of the battery), and to one side of the switch. These leads, also, are terminated in the other end of the automotive plug. When we're off the water, I unplug the systems here and don't have to worry about accidental running of the system while the boats are being handled or are in transit. Unplugging this way also allows me to remove the batteries, still in their cases, between uses. The switch was (perhaps still is) the biggest challenge. I was unable to find a submersible switch other than the very large and bulky ones sold for powerboat bilge systems. Actually, I did find another source for submersible switches, but they supply switches for underwater oil rigs and submarines. Although a price was never quoted, I was given to understand that these switches were not in my range. But I digress. Drilling holes of the appropriate diameter for the switch and wires, I mounted a small push-on, push-off switch in one end of a plastic Radio Shack project box, and ran the wires out the other end. I used gobs of silicone to seal both holes and the edges of the box. This did not make the switch waterproof, so I cut squares of 8-mil plastic (the kind that might be used to protect cash register keyboards in auto repair shops), wrapped them around the end of the switch and the box with gobs of silicone underneath, then tightly taped the mess to the box. When the silicone cured under the tape, the switch was sealed (I hope). As indicated earlier, one lead from the switch passes through the bulkhead to terminate in the auto plug, and the other is soldered to the black lead of the pump. I mounted the switch box just to the left of the head of the keyhole, such that the switch is just below and flush with the coaming. I find that I can feel for and push the switch through the neoprene spray skirt. A word about splices and holes drilled in bulkheads. All wire joins were Western-Union spliced and soldered. The soldered joints were then sealed with silicone and covered with electrical tape. More silicone covered the tape, in the hope that this would delay any displacement of the tape. I don't recall the diameter of the drill bit I used to bring the wire through the bulkhead and battery case lids. However, the wire was 16-gage (as recommended by Rule), and the drill bit was the narrowest that would allow passage of the wire. As a general rule, wires running inside the cockpit were secured with plastic wire wraps. These can be wrapped around the foot peg tracks (if you don't care about adjusting your pegs very far), or can be secured with wire wrap anchors that can be epoxied to the cockpit walls out of the way. Another way to keep wires out of the way would be to cover them with wide Velcro strips. Now the pumps. I mounted mine at the midline of the forward bulkhead. The mounting bracket is epoxied to a small rectangle of minicell, which in turn is epoxied to the bulkhead. I tried to bond the plastic bracket directly to the fiberglass bulkhead, but the bond didn't hold over a weekend of paddling. The pump is positioned so that the output points to the right. The output hose curves right, then up, then back to the left above the pump. This minimizes the possibility that air bubbles will form in the hose. The hose connects to a check valve (more on this later), which is in turn connected to the outlet port. The hole for the outlet port (3/4 inch) was drilled on the left at the uppermost flat portion of the hull, just off the forward bulkhead. Since the front of the cockpit is higher than the seat area, this arrangement left about 3/4 to 1 inch of water in my boat after a full drain. Joan wanted better. So we tried mounting her pump just behind and to one side of her seat. The theory here was that with the pump in this position she could edge the boat to the pump side to get those last few dregs. The rear bulkhead in a Romany is slanted, so a wedge-shaped minicell block was used to epoxy the pump bracket to the bulkhead. With pump mounted on the right side of the boat, the outlet was aimed to the left. The hose is directed up above the bungies that hold the back support in place. Again, the hose connects to a check valve and the valve connects to the outlet port, which is mounted as high as possible just ahead of the bulkhead. What have I left out? The hose is standard 3/4 inch bilge pump hose. Each pump required only a single one-foot section for our boats. Does it work? In various tests, yes. The pump will empty a full cockpit in around four minutes. I've read on this list that the battery should run the pump continuously for 3 hours. Lessee, that works out to about 45 bailouts of a full cockpit..... And does it work in "combat?" Yes. The other day, Joan missed a brace in confused seas and came out of her boat. We did a standard "T" rescue, in which I emptied her boat the usual way before she got back in. Naturally, a substantial amount of water entered the cockpit as Joan re-entered. While she was settling back in, we ran the pump. The boat was essentially dry and fully stable by the time she was ready to get under way. She never had to contemplate the tiring business of pumping by hand. I guess that's it. Oh. Why the 500 instead of the 800? As someone recently pointed out, postings on this list some time ago indicated that the 500 was the star of several reliability tests. Given that information, it seemed to me that a full emptying of the cockpit in 4 minutes, while I would have both hands on my paddle, is likely to be fast enough. Please feel free to offer comments, modifications, razzberries, whatever. It was a fun project. Soon, Joan will get her garage back! *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Here's a brief addendum to my long (sorry) description of the Rule 500 systems I installed. I experimented with two kinds of check valves and settled on a modified 1/2 inch pvc valve designed for home plumbing systems. It can be found in well-stocked hardware or plumbing supply stores. This check valve is spring-loaded and will provide a reliable barrier against back flow into the boat. The problem is that the valve is designed for an opening pressure of 200 psi. In tests, I found that the pump could handle it, but that the flow was restricted. I modified the valve by unscrewing the spring cap, cutting the spring roughly in half, bending the cut tip to fit the cap, then putting it all back together. This cut the opening pressure acceptably. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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