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[cakes]

im planning on putting a bilge pump in my ayton cross tug !!!!!!     i got a pump form an old car washer bottle and it works fine....  the problem i got is how do i wire it to work from a switch on my transmitter ???????       all information greatly appreciated as are pics of how the wiring should be !!!!!!!!

[gingyer]

If you bring it down to the club I will explain

[cakes]

cheers colin,,,, does that mean u will wire it for me     

[gingyer]

cheers colin,,,, does that mean u will wire it for me     

Straight to the local 11,000volt supply
no problems  PM me when you are coming down to the club and we can see what
we can do

[cakes]

probably wont be at club till sunday at earliest colin,,, will catch up with you asap...........

[portside II]

I have a switchable pump in my tug (water gets inside when i dip the decks) and it is switched on a servo switch ,
make or break activated by a cam on a servo ,graupner do them  i think .
daz

[Martin (Admin)]

You need a water detector circuit...   

http://www.aaroncake.net/circuits/pumpcon.asp
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Water-Sensor/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Water-Sensor/step6/12-VOLT-CIRCUIT/
http://www.hobbyprojects.com/S/Moisture_Water.html
http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=water+detector+circuit&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=w3s&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=CBRITLbqDo-RjAetgqjYDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDYQsAQwAw

[cakes]

i already got a pump which will be switched  switched from my transmitter, but when i wired it up it wouldnt switch off from the transmitter, just kept going !!!!! i reckon i aint wired it properly and any advice would be most appreciated......

[pugwash]

Cakes - why do you need it to work from your transmitter - why not do what a yacht does and have a
float wired to a micro-switch - water enters float goes up switches on - water pumped out and the switches off
again - very simple and you can make a float that is a perfect contour of your bilge so the slightest amount of
water will activate the switch

Pugwash

[6705russell]

I mounted one of these in one of my boats, with the vertical version you can fix them in a better position rather than the horizontal float switches...


http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=221982


Russ

[Drkomen86]

they look perfect, may even use one for my boat

[cakes]

sounds too good to be true pugwash,, but i do like the sound of it.......     any info, diagrams, drawings would be ideal mate !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Drkomen86]

The one on the left is the one you should be looking at, or you could just glue 2 bare wires to the lowest point of the hull so when water bridgest them the pump kicks in.

[cakes]

the problem i got is that i need one to sit in the hull of the tug at the aft end of the keel,,, and there aint much room !!!!!!!!!!!

[6705russell]

I have the same problem, went for this one...

http://www.reuk.co.uk/Understanding-Liquid-Sensors.htm

Russ

[cakes]

that one looks as if it might just do the trick as it can sit horizontal in the keel, meaning it will respond to the slightest drops of water......  was it easy enough to install and wire up russ ?????????????

[6705russell]

Yes, just remember to wire it through a relay as these normally only have a switching capacity of  0.5 - 1.2A


Russ

[Boomer]

G'day Mates,
Been reading this thread with great interest. I was on a recent quest to find a way to set up an on-board auto-matic bilge pump system for a few of my RC boats. I thought I would have to make it myself. Got lucky, and I found a company here in the US that produces exactly what I needed. I have attached a photo of the system (battery not included - to reduce shipping costs) and a picture showing the devise installed in my Classic Runabout.

I included web addresses for Tower Hobbies and for RAM products direct - Tower sells it for a few dollars less than RAM @ $26.99USD. It is small and very light, so shipping it across the pond shouldn't be to costly. I shopped around and found I couldn't build one for less, so I ordered two of them. One for the runabout and the other for my Motor Life Boat. You would be surprised at the volume of water they pump, very impressive! I worked for the company that manufactures "Rule" bigle pumps and and can report these little guys work just like the big ones.

I go to great length to seal my boats and I honestly don't think the bilge pumps will ever be necessary, but you never know when an unexpected typhoon or Tsunami might show up on the pond. One can't be too careful!

Windchaser

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDZ48
http://www.ramrcandramtrack.com/rcfails.html

[malcolmfrary]

An auto water sensing device is better than a remote controlled one if only because some pumps dont like being run dry.  If it must be controlled from the TX, then there are various switchers available, some non-latching (presume only runs while the button is pressed), some latching (either dab for on and dab again for off or dab this for on and dab that for off).
Whatever type, it needs to be rated for at least 3 amps, pump motors tend to be greedy.

[Boomer]

The RAM unit is activated when water touches the two contacts and shuts off when the water level inside the boat falls below the location of the switch. When the pump is on it also turns on an LED light which has enough lead wire install it in a logical location. The light can be seen in day light. As you can see in the picture in my previous posting, the pump and light is powered by it's own 9V battery, so there is no drain on the boats battery. So with this unit you get a warning light, and you will see the water discharging out of the boats bilge pump discharge port to let you know it is time to bring your boat in to figure out why there is so much water in the darn thing.

Does any one have a picture of a bilge pump made from a windshield washer pump? I would be interested in seeing a completed set up. I have been told they work well but have never actually seen one in person.

Stay dry
Windchaser

[Landlocked]

I don't have a good picture of my setup with a windshield washer pump (all you can see is the round top, the rest is buried in the bilge). 

The generic replacement pumps are usually vertical units with a bottom nipple for pickup hose and a horizontal nipple at the bottom for discharge. 

I use the landing gear channel with a small servo and a contact switch.

As discussed earlier, when you're controlling remotely, you're guessing and will cycle the pump frequently to be safe. 

The centrifugal units don't like running dry.  The rubber impeller vanes heat up and jam.  I've smoked two already.

I'm thinking of switching to an automatic system.

[PMK]

Mr Cakes,
Further to those nifty circuits that Martin had mentioned above, might I suggest that you also grab a grok of this one:





Our man FLJ had accquired this particular circuit from the illustrious Malcolm Frary (above), then handed to me.  For my part, I added the over-ride function for in case I should need to operate the pump motor manually, but apart form that, the circuit remains exactly as Malcolm designed it. It works beautifully, and being that it's fully automated means that it should do all that it you want it to do.
Holler if you should need help with building it, or let me know if you want a ready-made unit.

[Martin (Admin)]

Nice one PMK, very neat.
Why the high/low level detectors?

[exvtop]

Thank you PMK for the circuit.

Do you or anyone else, know where to obtain Q2 - NDP6060L or know of an equivalent?

Can't find it with Radiospares and Farnell say no longer stocked.

Thanks,
Mike

[PMK]

Thanks, Martin. Appreciate the comments but all due credit really should go to Malcolm.
To answer your question, it works thus: The ground probe should be located and permanently fixed at the very lowest point in the hull. The hi-level probe should then be fixed at a level of where the pump is to operate (as soon as the water reaches the high probe is when the motor kicks in). Then, when the water level falls below the lo-level probe is when the pump turns off again.
Using a simple 3-way terminal block means the probes can easily to adjusted for any particular situation.

Mr exvtop,
Q2 does not need to be the one specified. I only used that particular part number because FLJ was good enough to send me a few. As long as the FET is capable of handling the necessary currents, you should be good to go. A fairly standard part would be an IRF540 or suchlike.