folks,
lots of people do it, BUT reading some of the BOAT/US case reports,
a disturbingly high number of fires involve the 110 system!....also, if
you DO, have a galvanic isolator installed on the green /ground wire
after it enters your boat.......lastly, if you have a t-boomer, there could
be surges which will be carried aboard in the 110 line....i blew out my
inverter/charger that way......my recc would be AGAINST leaving the
boat plugged in.....if the battery is charged, you should have enough
amp hours to provide normal and reasonable protection......
the pump should be wired (unlike every other item on the boat!) onto
the battery directly with an inline fuse.........no switches or other nonsense
should be between the pump and the battery......most sinkings have to do
with scuppers too low, too small, or too clogged......if you have any thru
hulls below the waterline , be certain that they have solid bronze seacocks
with top notch hose connected with AWAB ONLY clamps...do not use any
other brand ever.......but if a hose gose, your pump wont be the salvation
they really can only handle small amounts at low rates of entry.....
my own approach is to have NO thru-hulls below the waterline at
all, and i changed out my 2520 standard scuppers for MUCH LARGER
scuppers now......lastly, the FULL TRANSOM provides significant protection
if the scuppers are quanitatively adequate......two other tips.....put a
CYCLE COUNTER in the circuit on your pump(s) so that you can see what
they have been up to when to come to the boat....they frequently provide
early warning of a problem with increased cycle counts BEFORE the big
gush occurs......also, i strongly recc LOOK IN THE BILGE at the start of
every trip, and at the end!!.....this is fast, easy, and promotes the safety
of the vessel as much as anything you can do......if the pump has clogged
and then (as they normally do) burnt out, you MAY NOT HAVE ANY PUMP
aboard.....my check of the bilge is both test, ie make them WORK FOR
YOU, the pumps and see what is IN the bilge....i test the alarm once and
sniff for gas.......i can guarantee that nothing is cheaper, safer, or will
find more EARLY trouble than frequent "bilge snooping".......
this is really only the logical extension of lawrence berra`s famous
dictum, "you can tell a lot by looking"......dan
