Shower sump pump

[dhill]

Hi everyone,

I am debugging the shower sump pump on the Ericson 35-3 I recently purchased. There are three yellow wires and two black wires that are present in the wall cupboard in the head that look to connect to an auto/manual three way switch, that is currently disconnected. The switch is simple enough to wire up, but the yellow wires have no voltage on them. I don’t see them going back to the main circuit panel or the main house batteries. The owners manual I downloaded from this site doesn’t indicate where the power to the sump pump comes from. Any guidance on the source of power for this circuit would be great!

Thanks!
Dave

 

[markvone]

My 1981 E36RH shower bilge pump is powered by yellow 10 ga wires. They go direct to the back of the battery switch not a breaker since I have a fuse in standard bilge pump switch in the head.

My guess is that some PO changed the wiring. Can you see where the yellow wires go? Are they 10 ga? Can you see them disconnected behind the DC panel?

Mark

 

[dhill]

Thanks Mark,

The yellow wires in the head cupboard look like they might be 10 ga. They seem to go into the headliner, but it is hard to tell. I need to get a small mirror so that I can peer around the corner of the wall cupboard. The headliner zipper in the adjacent main part of the cabin is stuck so I haven’t been able to get back there. WD40 hasn’t loosened it up yet. I didn’t see any wires coming out of the battery switch up in that direction. There are yellow wires for 3-4 realer son the panel, but they are a lighter gauge and are for seemingly unrelated circuits. I don’t have any disconnected wires at the panel.

Perhaps the power goes to the sump pump directly and the switch in the head is on the return? Have to look into that when I’m back on the boat.

Dave

 

[Afrakes]

My shower sump is powered through the water pressure breaker. Np power for water pressure is no power for the shower sump. I s it the same with your boat?

 

[dhill]

My shower sump is powered through the water pressure breaker. Np power for water pressure is no power for the shower sump. I s it the same with your boat?

Thanks Al,

I'll try that when I get back to the boat.

Thanks!
Dave

 

[Loren Beach]

For whatever little it worth as trivia, my '88 boat came factory wired with two identical Jabsco bilge pumps, each with a float switch and separate "Rule brand" control panels. One control by our main DC panel, and the other one in the head compartment. Idea was apparently to be able to say the the head shower did have a separate sump pump, even tho the water from the grating there would actually run, in the bilge, several feet over to the main bilge where the second pump intake was located along with the second float switch.
Nice to have redundant bilge pumps, but calling the aft one the 'shower pump' was just advertising hype.
Both of these DC pumps are fed by one DC breaker in the main distribution panel. I do leave that circuit energized all the time.

 

[Dave G.]

Nice Dave, you bought Ben's boat ! That's great, It looked like a good one and the $$ were definitely right. Maybe ask Ben what he did with the wiring ?

 

[RCsailfast]

We have one of these in the sump and despise it. We use the shower drain for the dehumidifier hose so a reliable pump is essential.
Whale Supersub Smart Electric Bilge Pump - for Fresh or Salt Water Use https://a.co/d/g1bSXw3
It’s too smart for its own good. It has to mounted so the water drains out and will shut off. If it changes angles water won’t drain and it stays on and runs the battery down. Antares is on its 3rd and last pump! Time for something different. Is there a good pump that fits between the keel bolts?
Toying with the dry bilge setup, but not ready to reinvent the wheel yet

 

[Christian Williams]

For the shower sump I have a small pump wired to a two-pronged water level sensor, an ancient equivalent to the current Water Witch models. It does work, and at least relieves need for a float switch in tight quarters.

...

 

[Prairie Schooner]

Hi everyone,

I am debugging the shower sump pump on the Ericson 35-3 I recently purchased. There are three yellow wires and two black wires that are present in the wall cupboard in the head that look to connect to an auto/manual three way switch, that is currently disconnected. The switch is simple enough to wire up, but the yellow wires have no voltage on them. I don’t see them going back to the main circuit panel or the main house batteries. The owners manual I downloaded from this site doesn’t indicate where the power to the sump pump comes from. Any guidance on the source of power for this circuit would be great!

Thanks!
Dave

Hi Dave,
On our '86 E35-3 that sump pump is part of the cabin light wiring. With those on the switch will operate the pump. Our season was too short to take showers or use that pump. But see if you have power with cabin lights on.
Good luck,
Jeff

 

[dhill]

Hi Dave,
On our '86 E35-3 that sump pump is part of the cabin light wiring. With those on the switch will operate the pump. Our season was too short to take showers or use that pump. But see if you have power with cabin lights on.
Good luck,
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I'll have to try that once I'm able to get back on the boat. Unfortunately, the boatyard does not allow me to go on the boat while it is on the hard, so it will be next spring! I have a frozen zipper over the port side salon settee, so that complicates the tracing. I'll have to work on fixing that as well!

It looks like you are doing fabulous things to your boat - very inspirational!

Thanks!
Dave

 

[Dave G.]

the boatyard does not allow me to go on the boat while it is on the hard

Wow, what is the reasoning behind that rule? I'd be way behind come spring launch time without access.

 

[dhill]

Wow, what is the reasoning behind that rule? I'd be way behind come spring launch time without access.

Yes, exactly. Unfortunately, more and more boatyards in Maine are steering away from allowing DIYers to work on their boats. As best I can tell, the reasoning is two-fold:

1) Liability / Insurance - I believe this is the main reason they don't allow people on the boats while on the hard.

2) Revenue - Boatyards I've talked to look to maximize revenue per square foot of space, outdoor as well as indoor. If they allow DIY work, their revenue per square foot goes down.

When I was shopping around for boatyards, those that did allow DIY work qualified the statement with a "for now" at the end.

So, I prioritize work that requires the boat to be out of the water for the boatyard and try to do the rest myself. I'm hoping to put the boat back in a bit earlier this spring so I can tackle boat projects before summer, when folks, including myself, want to go out in the boat. I try to take as many pictures as I can so I can plan things during the winter...

Dave

 

[Christian Williams]

But they'll let you board the boat on the hard, right? I mean, I need to drain the tanks? I left my sunglasses?

 

[Filkee]

Yeah, the little throw away line about no more painting your own bottom got dropped into the holiday greetings email this year under the guise of “environmental concerns”. Because you wouldn’t want to spill any of that ablative paint before it got a chance to come off your hull in the lake.

 

[Dave G.]

Yeah, the little throw away line about no more painting your own bottom got dropped into the holiday greetings email this year under the guise of “environmental concerns”.

So how in the heck do you get the bottom painted ? Truck it somewhere else ?

 

[Filkee]

Pay a lot of money to the good people at Safe Harbor and then wait because they have no staff to do the work. Or apologize for failing to read your corporate holiday email?

 

[Dave G.]

Pay a lot of money to the good people at Safe Harbor

Wait a minute, are you saying that if they apply the paint the "environmental concerns" magically go away ? Hmmm sounds like ALL the "paying customers" should have a sit down with management.

 

[dhill]

But they'll let you board the boat on the hard, right? I mean, I need to drain the tanks? I left my sunglasses?

Retrieving your sunglass - yes, with permission. Draining the tanks - no, the yard needs to do that.

 

[Dave G.]

Retrieving your sunglass - yes, with permission

Well, I guess I couldn't/wouldn't own a boat in the northeast as the yards up there seem to have conspired against their own paying customers. I don't like paying people to do things I can do easily and I also couldn't afford the $100+ an hour they would charge to do them. They may sight liability and environmental concerns but it sure smells like pure greed. I'm sure hoping this isn't a sign of things to come everywhere.....