Hi,
I want to run up to 3 12v bilge pumps, from a standard house wall plug if atall possible. And I want somebody more knowledgeable than me to make sure it’s not an rcd blowing experience.
The pumps are Seaflo 1100gph bilge pumps , automatic start and stop based on water levels (cut in about 5cm deep , drop out at 3cm or so)
From the manufacturer
12v
3.0 amps, 6.0 max current draw
ive found a transformer , which is apparently for led lights , but it “seems” appropriate The led zone 12 v converter is
In
100-250v
2.8a
350w
Out
12+-.5v
25a
300w
does that sound like it will
a - work
b - not explode
c - on the very remote chance (pumps will be slightly height staggered, which should make their auto startups at different times) all 3 pumps kick in together not trip out etc
ta
Bilge pumps work on 12dc.... is it going to be OK if your LED transformer puts out AC?
Car battery for the 12V, with a trickle charger? Would also give an element of redundancy.
What about something like this.
it’s not an rcd blowing experience.
They shouldn't cause an RCD problem unless they're faulty.
Battery back-up/primary source is a good idea if the pumps are at all critical.
The cable is quite short (1m) so you might need to consider distance to the power source
Assuming the output from the transformer is d.c., it would seem to be adequate. If not, the battery/charger suggested above would seem to be a better bet.
Leisure battery and a solar panel ( and controller) would seem a far more resilient solution.
How good are you at twisting wires together?
I use an XBox 360 power supply for my garage diesel heater. Cut D.C. plug off, strip back the withers. Black is -12V, join red and yellow for +12V. Plenty juice for starting the diesel heater as it uses a glow plug initially
Cheers
now looking at the battery options. Can get a 20ah battery etc easy enough and a smart maintenance battery charger. Prefer tinkering with 12v
- ? can you charge 2 or 3 batteries from the same smart maintenance charger , I suspect not , but if I could pair a say 6ah/8ah battery to each pump (much smaller and lighter) , as I want it to be easy to maintain, swap and lift out etc. maybe a 3 way timer switch so the charger could swop from battery to battery, will keep investigating
thanks
Cheers
now looking at the battery options. Can get a 20ah battery etc easy enough and a smart maintenance battery charger. Prefer tinkering with 12v
- ? can you charge 2 or 3 batteries from the same smart maintenance charger , I suspect not , but if I could pair a say 6ah/8ah battery to each pump (much smaller and lighter) , as I want it to be easy to maintain, swap and lift out etc. maybe a 3 way timer switch so the charger could swop from battery to battery, will keep investigating
thanks
In theory a battery or three batteries are the same thing.
A battery is a group of individual cells. Connecting three batteries just makes a larger battery of cells.
I don't have any experience of how that works in practice and what a charger would make of it, but there's a blog covering safety aspects here https://www.ufinebattery.com/blog/charging-batteries-in-parallel-safety-efficiency-guide/
