C-Forum

so does that mean ya'll have to plug yer boats in at night? Kinda like my car!
will

where cold?

what's wrong with plugging yer boat in at night? I do.

I started looking into the pump idea because of this thread- The battery is my big question.

attwood 1250gph pump $48.00 -$30.00(??)
5.0 amp hour sealed lead acid battery $25.00
2 prong conector $7.00

What voltage is used with the attwood pump.

also instead of a toggle switch I saw a automatic switch which starts when there is 2" of water in the boat-

I'm also not sure if the pump system is premature since I cant roll an OC1 yet, but I've been getting 20-40 rolls each of the last few days in a C1.

Anyway, I was going to buy everything on line and wanted to make sure I get the right battery-

Bill

Bill, 12 V battery works just fine. If you want some more power (battery is also more expensive) you can get a 14.4 V NiCad battery pack, I think they are used in RC car models.

martin

the float switch is not as good as toggle switch. because you can turn on the pump before you get any water in the boat. and start pumping it out as soon as it comes in. so you will be more stable and maybe you wont need to roll.
and a sealed toggle switch can be mounted any where you want to put.and the float switch has to be put on the floor where it wont be disturbed by the air bags or the outfitting

Thanks for the info- I need a pump now.

I got my first two OC1 rolls this weekend after a week or two training in the C1.

Martin - Either 5/7 Cheat Fest or 4/30 Lehigh PA work for a demo. My wife is working both those weekends so I'll have my son with me, so class II with a 3 or so should be fine, or you can take the boat out on whatever you want.

The WB likes to be active. See you soon.

Bill

Bill,

I using a water proofed switch and float switch in series, with the option (changing a few connections, in case there should be a problem with the float switch) of ruuing wit manual switch only.
I usuallyuse the manual switch as master switch only, the float switches on with ~2 " of water in the boat and off with ~ 1 inch, pretty much around the point when th pump starts to suck in air.
The beauty of this setup is that you can pretty much just concentrate on your paddling, and the pump olny runs when it's needed.
Waterproofing a toggle switch is easy:

- get a toogle switch that has preferably leads already on it and a matching rubber dust boot.
- attach the dust boot and put the switch into some kind of small container (I just used the plastic thingy the switch came in)
- pour in epoxy until the switch is submerged and only the toggle is in the air. Let it cure thoroughly and you are done.
I made mine 2 years ago and it is still perfect.

I can't come to the Lehigh on 4/30, but the Cheat is good. I will call you next week.

I bet the WB likes some action !

martin

someone was asking about waterproof toggle switches, i went to a boat repair shop and got one for about 3.50, also noticed radio shack has them. good luck

Question about batteries for the bilge pump - Atwood 1250 GPH. I've got a 12 V, 5 Amp battery, and it seems to work too slowly. I was thinking about upping the voltage to 14.4 V's using a rechargeable battery from a cordless drill.
Does anyone have an idea if this will work, or if there's a better source for +14.4 V batteries.
Geoff

Geoff,

I used a cordless drill battery initially, they work great initially, but due to their small capacity (~1.5 Ah or less) they tend to fade very quickly.
If you want to go to a 14.4 V battery pack, look into NiCad battery packs for RC models (cars e.t.c.), they are, as far as I know available in either 7.2 or 14.4 V and have substantially bigger capacities than cordless drill batteries.

martin

Geoff,

Sounds like you've got what most people are using.

If you want to try for more, you could try asking Eric N. from Colorado over on Paddling.net, I think he's done a fair bit of playing around with pumps, batteries and chargers.

P.

I just purchased a pump setup from Steve and put it in my Zoom. It works great and surprises the kayakers when you back up to them in an eddy, flip the switch and dump water on them. It empties most of the water in about one minute. It's hard to pump or bail the Zoom manually because you can't put your paddle down or it will get mad at you and quickly put more water in the boat. I got another Atwood pump and installed it in my Blast. I can switch the battery and switch between the two boats. You can get more info from:
riverrat4fun@comcast.net

and am very happy. At first I had a problem but they fixed it quickly and at no charge. I have the lithium battery. This past weekend I ran the Ocoee twice, the Hiwassee and the Lower Tellico twice, rolling and playing on all runs. The battery did not run down till most of the way through the last Tellico run.

It is a bit pricey but is well put together. I can switch it from boat to boat and pop it in and out or drive with the battery and pump still in and the boat up on the truck.

I am a happy customer. Chris Kelly

Shelly, I am glad you like your pump system. oyu should get alot good use for a long time out of it. And if you do have some problem out of it let me know and we will try to work it through.

to any one interested i am trying to work it out so I can sell the system for what the parts cost at retal price. That way I can save you the trouble of hunting the parts and running around to get them. When you could be out paddling.


get your buddies together if I can get an order for 3 systems I can buy alot of switchs and save a lot of money and make you a specal deal (the switch has to be ordered from the manufactor then made to order so it takes time to get them and amount ordered makes a big price differance) I do have 7 switchs now so I can ship you a system now.

Steve
Canoe Pump Systems
oc1dude@yahoo.com
riverrat4fun@comcast.net