Here's today's contribution to the pantheon of dumb questions.
I'm working out my plan to install a new pump. Water-witch switch in the bilge, water-witch 3-way switch panel somewhere close by, and the pump itself under the transom... about 15-ish feet of wire-run between the switch/panel and the pump.
Jabsco manual says that for a 12v run of 1-25 feet I should use 12ga wire. okay.
….but… it appears to me that the wires on the pump itself are 14ga, just eyeballing them, and I'd guess that the wires from the breaker panel to the existing bilge pump are the same (14ga). From the photos, it also looks like the wires on the water-witch itself are pretty small.
If 12ga is required.... should I plan to rewire the whole run so that it is 12ga end-to-end? It seems to me that when the pump is running the "load" will be carried end-to-end (from the breaker, through the switch panel, through the water-witch, to the pump and then to ground)… and if the wires on the actual devices are 14ga or smaller, will I have actually accomplished anything useful when I am done?
Mr. Metzger, can I have another martini's worth of insight?
Bruce
I'm working out my plan to install a new pump. Water-witch switch in the bilge, water-witch 3-way switch panel somewhere close by, and the pump itself under the transom... about 15-ish feet of wire-run between the switch/panel and the pump.
Jabsco manual says that for a 12v run of 1-25 feet I should use 12ga wire. okay.
….but… it appears to me that the wires on the pump itself are 14ga, just eyeballing them, and I'd guess that the wires from the breaker panel to the existing bilge pump are the same (14ga). From the photos, it also looks like the wires on the water-witch itself are pretty small.
If 12ga is required.... should I plan to rewire the whole run so that it is 12ga end-to-end? It seems to me that when the pump is running the "load" will be carried end-to-end (from the breaker, through the switch panel, through the water-witch, to the pump and then to ground)… and if the wires on the actual devices are 14ga or smaller, will I have actually accomplished anything useful when I am done?
Mr. Metzger, can I have another martini's worth of insight?
Bruce