Prosideus
Active Member
- Jun 5, 2012
- 635
- Boat Info
- 1995 220 BR Signature
Prior Boat:
400 Sedan Bridge 1996 Cats 3116
- Engines
- Mercruiser 5.7
I am hoping to tap into some of our electrical minds with this question.
This weekend we had a great time out on the boat and overnighting at another marina, with the exception of the head pumps that kept running. I finally had to shut of the head system at the main panel so that everyone could get some sleep.
I will be replacing the seals, and the balls (two heads) to make sure it is not either of these items. I will also be replacing the hoses from the heads to the vacuum tanks - I believe there could be leaking in the hoses that are now aging. I have replaced seals and valves, but to no avail. So really, the flush ball and hoses are all that are left. The frustrating part is that I can hear the leak at the base of the toilet - but this is all a different topic for another thread.
On to my question. Our guest head has a switch that the PO installed to turn the pump on/off. It is a simple toggle switch. I got to thinking about this and would like to design a solution in case my remediation activities do not work out.
My ideal solution would be this:
A switch that would function like the engine start switch: OFF/ON/Momentary ON (starter)
I would like to wire the switch to do the following: ON/OFF/Momentary ON. The idea would be that ON would be the default flow of electricity to the pump that would function as normal operation. OFF would be the interrupt of electricity to keep the pump from cycling - basically the off switch at the head in addition to the switch at the panel. Momentary ON when depressed (without holding) would ideally initiate the vacuum pump for one cycle until it cut off with enough vacuum (as in normal operation), but would not start pumping again until the Momentary ON was again depressed. Additionally, I would like to have the switch be lighted so that if the pump is running, the switch is illuminated to indicate that the full vacuum has not been reached and the "head user" needs to wait before flushing until the light goes out. The light would function unilaterally when the pump is active, regardless of switch setting (of course in the off position is would not be illuminated since the pump would not be running).
So I am wondering if there is a way to wire a switch to keep electricity flowing to the pumps after the momentary on has been initiated? I am thinking I may need another device wired into this solution to allow the electricity to continue until it is cut out. Any design thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
A momentary on switch that illuminates. The idea being that when someone wants to use the head, they hit the momentary on button (without holding it depressed) and the pump motor kicks on to build the vacuum and then will not turn on again until A rocker switch three settings, just like the engine start switches: off/on/momentary on(for the starter). If the
This weekend we had a great time out on the boat and overnighting at another marina, with the exception of the head pumps that kept running. I finally had to shut of the head system at the main panel so that everyone could get some sleep.
I will be replacing the seals, and the balls (two heads) to make sure it is not either of these items. I will also be replacing the hoses from the heads to the vacuum tanks - I believe there could be leaking in the hoses that are now aging. I have replaced seals and valves, but to no avail. So really, the flush ball and hoses are all that are left. The frustrating part is that I can hear the leak at the base of the toilet - but this is all a different topic for another thread.
On to my question. Our guest head has a switch that the PO installed to turn the pump on/off. It is a simple toggle switch. I got to thinking about this and would like to design a solution in case my remediation activities do not work out.
My ideal solution would be this:
A switch that would function like the engine start switch: OFF/ON/Momentary ON (starter)
I would like to wire the switch to do the following: ON/OFF/Momentary ON. The idea would be that ON would be the default flow of electricity to the pump that would function as normal operation. OFF would be the interrupt of electricity to keep the pump from cycling - basically the off switch at the head in addition to the switch at the panel. Momentary ON when depressed (without holding) would ideally initiate the vacuum pump for one cycle until it cut off with enough vacuum (as in normal operation), but would not start pumping again until the Momentary ON was again depressed. Additionally, I would like to have the switch be lighted so that if the pump is running, the switch is illuminated to indicate that the full vacuum has not been reached and the "head user" needs to wait before flushing until the light goes out. The light would function unilaterally when the pump is active, regardless of switch setting (of course in the off position is would not be illuminated since the pump would not be running).
So I am wondering if there is a way to wire a switch to keep electricity flowing to the pumps after the momentary on has been initiated? I am thinking I may need another device wired into this solution to allow the electricity to continue until it is cut out. Any design thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
A momentary on switch that illuminates. The idea being that when someone wants to use the head, they hit the momentary on button (without holding it depressed) and the pump motor kicks on to build the vacuum and then will not turn on again until A rocker switch three settings, just like the engine start switches: off/on/momentary on(for the starter). If the
