On Tuesday 12 April 2005 21.05, Mike wrote: > I've documented round 2 of my electric bilge pump saga online. This > version was made last year and has been tested thoroughly. (snip) > I replaced the battery with a set of 12 NiMH AA in series and the > switch with an air button and air switch - the kind used on hot tubs > and spas. Details at: > > http://www.greatlakeskayaker.ca/pump.html The battery holders you use are not known for their reliability! And they can rust as well! Better solder a pack from the variant of the batteries that we modelers use; we hate power failures - a model airplane without power can be lethal! My bilge pump is controlled by a switch, normally sold for turning off and on power on boats. I injected a little oil and sealed the terminals - works very well (even if my setup is a bit clumsy - I still use an SLA)! A problem with NiMHs or NiCads are their relatively fast self-discharging - NiCads should never be topped off, while NiMHs don't mind, as long as they don't get overcharged. Neither should be trickle-charged! SLA, like all lead-acid batteries, love trickle charge! Lithiums are actually the best for standby use, like a bilge pump, as they self-discharge very, very slowly (NiMHs are worst in that respect). For my setup see: http://foldingkayaks.org/gallery/tord and click on the bilge pump! New photos and texts, by the way! *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Apr 12 2005 - 14:48:13 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:20 PDT