Re: [Paddlewise] Electric bilge pumps

On 15 Aug 2003 at 17:42, Keith Wrage wrote:

> How are you handling the power switch for your set up?  Seems that
> ideally you'd be able to switch this OFF with your skirt fully
> attached, right?  So the switch needs to be accessible or operable in
> this situation.  

Ideally, yes.  However, I figured that the ideal was too hard to 
achieve easily so I went with a less than ideal condition.

Most of the pump use is from rolling and rescue practice, so it's no 
big deal to remove the skirt.  If I had to use it in an emergency-
type situation, I figured that means I'd be out of the kayak or would 
at least have had the skirt pop in order to have taken on a lot of 
water.  In that case, turning it on with the switch inside the 
cockpit is not big deal.  

As far as turning it off - the pump is rated to run with no load 
without damage for a while.  My take is that if it is a really rough 
situation, I'd just let it run until I could turn it off or until the 
battery runs out (worst case - with my battery, that's over five 
hours at full charge!).  If I burn the motor, it's C$30-35 to replace 
the pump - the cost of doing something more risky than I should have 
been in.

> I'm guessing that the switch is a common failure
> point.  My own thought was to have the battery pack in a semi-flexible
> container (like a wide mouth poly Nalgene bottle) - with a push-button
> switch mounted inside - squeeze the bottle to operate the switch. 

I used a waterproof switch.  However, it's only waterproof as a 
surface mount.  There's a rubbery membrane over it and the rest of 
the body isn't waterproof.  I wired it up and then put the switch 
into a plastic film can and filled it with epoxy up to the cover.  
The result is a round cylinder that is waterproof as far as I can 
tell - it hasn't had any problems yet (> 1 year).

You can get switches that are seriously waterproof, but they are hard 
to find and quite pricey.  Mine was $2 at the surplus store where I 
got the battery, plus a bit of left over epoxy.

> But....this requires your skirt to be removed (at least partially) so
> doesn't appear to be the answer.

On my desk here is a hatch cover that I got quite a while ago.  My 
intention was to put it into the skirt as an access point.  Haven't 
got around to it yet.  There was an article in Sea Kayaker last year 
showing how it's done.  That would provide access without popping the 
whole skirt and only allowing a smallish hole open to the elements.

Mike

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