C-Forum

http://jtkcanoes.110mb.com/

I was thinking about buying one, anybody used them?

I order most of this stuff online for about $80 and do it myself. You don't need a fuse using an SLA battery.

After looking at the website, I'm thinking about buying one too.

Sounds like he's somebody on this message board.

I bought one last year, as did a friend. It's a good system and came promptly with clear directions. The SLA battery is a bit heavy but it works well and is relatively trouble free. No need to keep it dry. You can go for days without recharging. It uses an Attwood 1250 pump, which is the pump that others have recommended on this forum. I think the price is reasonable. You can put one together yourself for less if you know how to do it, but unless you have all of the odds and ends on hand (industrial strength velcro, waterproofing for connections, etc.) you would still spend close to $100.

Now that I have an electric pump, I couldn't live without it. It allows you to play more and practice your roll without continually getting out to dump. It's also a big asset on a more continuous stretch of rapids and for boating with kayakers. This year, I added a second pump (same model) off of the same battery. The two pumps drain the boat in just over a minute.

Ordered the standard 1250 on a Sunday night, got the package delivered on Tuesday.

Put it my old Mohawk Rogue, and took it down the Nantahala on Saturday and Sunday.

It's great to swamp your boat, flip a switch, and have it emptied in about 60 seconds. It's great to be able to head for the meat of a rapid without worrying about taking on water, or having to hand pump after every hard surf.

I suppose if you know more about electrical systems than me, you can build this gizmo on the cheap.

By for my ignorant self, the price was reasonable and the product works great.

Their were only two cons:
1. I got bored sitting in eddies waiting on other open boaters to dump or hand bilge their boats.
2. Don't take it to the airport, the thing looks like a flippin' IED.

cheajack wrote: You don't need a fuse using an SLA battery

.

Do you want to fry a 0.35 cent fuse or a $38.95 bilge pump motor? I'm thinking you would prefer the fuse. A fuse holder is not much money for the protection. You can cut corners and get away with it most of the time, but eventually murphy's laws happens (If anything can go wrong, it will).

jknkboaters

cheajack wrote:
You don't need a fuse using an SLA battery
.

Do you want to fry a 0.35 cent fuse or a $38.95 bilge pump motor? I'm thinking you would prefer the fuse. A fuse holder is not much money for the protection. You can cut corners and get away with it most of the time, but eventually murphy's laws happens (If anything can go wrong, it will).

I'm part of the KISS clan (Keep It Simple, Stupid). I now solder all connections and seal the connections with "Liquid Electrical Tape". I've had problems in the past with various connectors. I don't use a fuse and I mount the SLA battery on it's end so that the connections are up out of the water most of the time. I also use plain toggle switches from the hardware store and waterproof them with "Re-Rack". Re-Rack is a liquid intended to recoat the worn tips on a dishwasher rack.

using a lipo accu allows you to put it in a waterproof box:

http://www.wildwasserboard.de/g6p388-pumpe.html