Can you wire a Bilge Pump to outlet?

[jvan]

I am sick of bringing batteries to my claim and they keep dying just after maybe a hour of use, so I must be draining them...

Was thinking just to take my 1100 watt 20 pound generator down to my claim so I could just run my 3700GPH bilge pump to the outlet on my generator.. Question is can this be done as the pump only has the positive and negative wire?

I already have a plug, just don't know if this can be done, and would the black(negative) wire go to the neutral spot in the plug or would it go to ground??

Sorry guys I know this does not have GOLD in the topic, but just wondering if anyone else has ever done anything like this??

 

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[Clay Diggins]

If the pump is 12 volt (likely) and your generator is 115 volt (also likely) you will let the smoke out of your pump - maybe some flames too.

Pumps need smoke to run - don't let the smoke out.

Happy Thanksgiving jvan.

 

[Kodiak43351]

If it was an a/c bilge pump all you would need is an inverter to connect to d/c or just plug into generator but since it's d/c it won't work. You would be better off bringing a solar panel out to site to run the pump and charge battery at same time. Some generators have a set of 2 connectors to screw your d/c wires on and will run d/c devices but I take it that isn't the case with your generator. Mine has this option. Wire color codes are different on a/c vs d/c. Black-hot phase white-neutral and green-ground. D/C red-hot or power phase black-ground. It would take a trip to a dedicated electrical store to get everything you would need. You can buy a solar panel pretty cheap and take it out to site and charge battery all the time when lite out and run pump at same time. I hope this helps. Sry

 

[jvan]

Thought so, would over power it... oh well might go with the solar option..

I have a gas water pump, brand new bought it off ebay, wish i could get it to work but looks like ill need to ship it back as it won't start, cant get it to spark even.... not sure if it has a bad coil or bad switch,....

thanks claydiggins you have a good one too..

 

[roadrunner]

Jvan. Harbor freight has a black friday sale for a solar set up,3 panels, 45watt total power, with a charge controller,and 3 lites,$140.
Although they are amphoris cells,, and not the best cells like mono or poly crystaline, they work good.
There are youtube videos of these being used quite a lot..
If you need any solar help pm me. I install solor systems.
And an electrician.

 

[winners58]

you could try a converter I wouldnt get the cheep $5.00 one Might try one like this maybe have a 5amp fuse just to be sure
Amazon.com: Schumacher PC-6 120AC to 6A 12V DC Power Converter: Automotive

oh didnt see it needs to be 14 amp to run that pump those are more expensive
Amazon.com: Schumacher 1216 12V 15 Amp Power Converter: Automotive

you could use the less expensive one with a battery

 

[jvan]

Thanks guys I am going to check into the solar panels from HF, Also I just got my semi trash pump to work YAY! it was a bad on off switch....

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Some generators have a 12V DC outlet, along with the normal 120V. Take a good look at yours...it may have it. They're usually only rated for about 10 amps.
Jim

 

[Rdg Sluicer]

Thanks guys I am going to check into the solar panels from HF, Also I just got my semi trash pump to work YAY! it was a bad on off switch....

You can plug your battery charger into a outlet or generator and run your pump off your batter charger. That's how I run my clean up sluices at home. I never use a battery.

 

[IMPDLN]

Rdg has the right idea. All you need is a trickle charger plugged into your generator and just clip the bilge pump wires to the charger wires and you can eliminate the need for the battery. Dennis

 

[Jimmydolittle]

Why not get a 110 volt fountain pump? One that pumps 700 gph is less than $20.00.

 

[Prospector70]

How long does that pump run on a battery charge jvan? 4 hours? 6?
What kind of battery is it?

 

[AzViper]

You never stated what your amp hours of the batteries you are using or the pump amp draw. If your running the pump at 3700 GPH's I suspect the pump has a amp draw of 12 to 15 amps at 12VDC. If this is the case the 45 watt solar panel kit is not going to handle your needs cause you are drawing from the battery while your charging. On your way to HF you should just roll down your window and release the $140.00 cause it just not going to work.

In reality your best bet is to use a generator and a charger as you already have a 3700GPH pump and generator. Your generator is good for 9 amps at 120 AC volts so you will be ok running a small AC to DC battery charger to run your pump.

I had posted this info. before so here it is again,

Here is a great link to understanding Deep Cycle Batteries, Deep Cycle Battery FAG. For what your after you may want to look into a means of charging the the battery or batteries while in the field so that you can extend your run time. Depending on your location, time of year, size of panels used, and sunlight available. Solar is a means of charging those batteries. Here some food for thought.

First off, you don't want to go below 50%. That means a 100 Amp/hr battery has 50 Amp/hrs available. Second, replacing the Amp/hrs used is the easy part. A panel's output is more like this:

200 Watts of solar panel @ 80% derating = 160 Watts * 4 hours of 'good sun equivalent' means 660 Watt hours potential harvest. On a 12 Volt system this is roughly 55 Amp/hrs so it could replenish a 100 Amp/hr battery at 50% providing you are not also drawing loads while recharging. That's the part most people forget about. Third, there is the peak charge current issue. It's necessary to have current of at least 5% of the battery's Amp/hr rating in order for proper charging to be achieved. 10% is better, and 13% is typically the maximum. In this case, 100/10 = 10 Amps. The 200 Watt panel would provide this: 160 W / 14.2 charging Volts = 11 Amps. Just over the 10% target so there's room for efficiency losses, providing they aren't too much.

Another option is to run your pump without any batteries, but it gets costly due to the amount of solar panels and additional equipment needed to run the pump directly from solar. Then you have the issues of have sunlight throughout the day.

 

[Prospector70]

You never stated what your amp hours of the batteries you are using or the pump amp draw. If your running the pump at 3700 GPH's I suspect the pump has a amp draw of 12 to 15 amps at 12VDC. If this is the case the 45 watt solar panel kit is not going to handle your needs cause your are drawing from the battery while your charging. On your way to HF you should just roll down your window and release the $140.00 cause it just not going to work.

In reality your best bet is to use a generator and a charger as you already have a 3700GPH pump and generator. Your generator is good for 9 amps at 120 AC volts so you will be ok running a small AC to DC battery charger to run your pump.

I had posted this info. before so here it is again,

Here is a great link to understanding Deep Cycle Batteries, Deep Cycle Battery FAG. For what your after you may want to look into a means of charging the the battery or batteries while in the field so that you can extend your run time. Depending on your location, time of year, size of panels used, and sunlight available. Solar is a means of charging those batteries. Here some food for thought.

First off, you don't want to go below 50%. That means a 100 Amp/hr battery has 50 Amp/hrs available. Second, replacing the Amp/hrs used is the easy part. A panel's output is more like this:

200 Watts of solar panel @ 80% derating = 160 Watts * 4 hours of 'good sun equivalent' means 660 Watt hours potential harvest. On a 12 Volt system this is roughly 55 Amp/hrs so it could replenish a 100 Amp/hr battery at 50% providing you are not also drawing loads while recharging. That's the part most people forget about. Third, there is the peak charge current issue. It's necessary to have current of at least 5% of the battery's Amp/hr rating in order for proper charging to be achieved. 10% is better, and 13% is typically the maximum. In this case, 100/10 = 10 Amps. The 200 Watt panel would provide this: 160 W / 14.2 charging Volts = 11 Amps. Just over the 10% target so there's room for efficiency losses, providing they aren't too much.

Another option is to run your pump without any batteries, but it gets costly due to the amount of solar panels and additional equipment needed to run the pump directly from solar. Then you have the issues of have sunlight throughout the day.

Aha! So around 3 hours of charge in his instance to the 50% of battery? Does that formula change if he say added say two additional batteries jumpered together? Or does that just increase the run time by the number of batteries you add? just count up all the amp hours total and that's that?

 

[fowledup]

Pump, charger, generator, gas can, cord(?)
Pump, solar panels set up, battery, hopefully sun
Pump, inverter, cord(?), generator, gas can
Gas pump, gas can- lighter in weight comparetively, self contained, effecient - kiss principal

 

[DDancer]

Before you get to far along~ no ones asked what is the make of the pump and what is it rated at ie: 12vDc/115vAc at how many amps or watts *amps for dc watts if its ac*. I'm seeing a lot of assumptions and I doubt you want to damage your equipment or buy stuff that just wont work.

DC pumps in the 3700gph range are running 14A from what I can see.

If its a DC pump~ I suspect it is if your running off a battery with no inverter~ your 1100watt generator *an AC device* would need a regulated DC rectifier or DC power supply plugged into it. The power supply will have to be rated for the same voltage and a higher output amperage than the pump is rated for to prevent damaging the power supply. ie: Pump rated for 12-18vDc at 14A coupled to a supply of 12-18vDc at 15-20A.
A device like the one winner58 put up in the second add would work : Schumacher 1216 12V 15 Amp Power Converter: however it does not look like its very robust for outdoor use~ my thought. As others have said you could use a 20A rated continuous charge automotive battery charger as well. Choices~~

An AC pump would just be plug and play with your generator. You'd probably just need to extend the cord.

Solar: Just using the guess work of a 12vDc pump at 14A, 14A=168Watts you'll need 4 45W solar cells or two 100W cells a regulator and plenty of clear sky. Its not suggested that the cells be tied to the working battery if you go with a charger set up as you may damage the regulator when the battery falls below operational levels during operations. A dual battery set up would be preferable.
My thoughts.

Late Thought:
AZViper got one up on me Like the link

Prospector: Adding batteries in parallel increases the time till 50 % is reached as you are making a deeper current well so the result is additive.

 

[Reed Lukens]

From what I can see jvan you need to do some reading. What is the difference between AC and DC Power?
If your battery is dying then stop using it°°° The link above explains the difference between your house electricity and your car electricity. They are 2 different types of power. You should take a course in "Basic Electronics".

 

[jvan]

From what I can see jvan you need to do some reading. What is the difference between AC and DC Power?
If your battery is dying then stop using it°°° The link above explains the difference between your house electricity and your car electricity. They are 2 different types of power. You should take a course in "Basic Electronics".

Don't think I need to take a course in basic electronics's... I was asking a simple question and got the advice without someone being negative, not all of us have electronic's background so give me a break, are not allowed to ask stupid questions here and there? That is how we learn... Before I asked I googled for an hour and could not find what I was looking for....

Anyhow my problem is solved I got my semi trash pump to work last night, however will keep others advice on here for backup...

Also the batteries I have been using were brand new $40 riding lawn mower batteries everstart, most I could get out of them is about 30-45mins running time then they would die....

 

[goldenIrishman]

Yup... We can't do the equation if we don't have the info to fill in all the blanks! Pump type (AC/DC) voltage rating and current draw need to be known before an honest answer can be given.

That being said, in the field I run my highbanker off of a 12 volt battery that has a 100 W solar panel hooked up to it to keep the battery charged. Between the two pumps (1 each 1250 gph for header box and 1 each 1500 gph for main box) I'm pulling about 13 Amps. I can run all day and still have plenty of power left in the battery with this setup. I leave the panel hooked up even while I'm digging and classifying so the battery is being charged. Once I get my new mining trailer setup up and running, I'll have over 3Kw of solar power to run anything and everything off of. Battery chargers, 110V-AC tools, you name it I'll be able to power it with no problem.

When I'm running materials at the house, I use a automotive battery charger to power the pumps. It is of course plugged into a regular outlet.

Even though the majority of 12 volt bilge pumps are supposed to be water proof, it's also a good idea to take them out of your water tank when you're not using them. Run some clear water through them to rinse the crud out and then put them somewhere out of the sun for storage. Also be sure to check/read the instructions that come with your pump. Many of them are NOT designed for constant service/use!!! These are the ones that will give up the ghost on you real quick!

 

[AzViper]

Aha! So around 3 hours of charge in his instance to the 50% of battery? Does that formula change if he say added say two additional batteries jumpered together? Or does that just increase the run time by the number of batteries you add? just count up all the amp hours total and that's that?

Both... The run time will increase but the time to charge the three batteries will increase. Solar is great but it has its drawbacks. Bottom line he would need about 400 watts of solar panels, two 100AH batteries. Use one battery while charging the other battery.