On Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 10:10:51AM -0400, SteveW wrote:
> That's waaaaaay to much to think about, Ben <g>!
>
> Besides, given the size of our boats compared to Norm's, I'm sure you
> couldn't fit a milk jug float into your bilge as I certainly couldn't!
Sorry, I should have been clearer. What I meant was the general
principle of removing the switch from the wet, possibly oily, etc. muck
in the bilge, which solves a large number of reliability problems *and*
lets you use better quality, industrial-duty switches (instead of
whatever the float switch manufacturer sticks you with.) Shallow bilge?
No problem: use a long lever - say, a piece of SS TIG welding rod - and
solder a carburetor float (or even glue a ping-pong ball) to it. Twist a
single loop into the other end of the wire, about an inch from the end,
and put a screw through it and into one of your frames right above the
bilge. Float rises, back end of your "see-saw" comes down... fairly
obvious how to proceed from there, right?
Bonus: if you use the after-run circuit as I'd suggested, you already
have a high-gain "switch" in place - the MOSFET. This means that you can
use a low-power switch on the above float - a standard magnetic door
sensor, with a sealed reed switch. No moving parts to wear out. All
that's left is using a good-quality pump - say, a Johnson, with one of
those nifty "run-dry" neoprene impellers.
There ya go, a free engineering session for your dream bilge pump. :)
Ben
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