AC pump trigger workaround

[carolinacoast]

I'm meeting a friend on his boat, and the AC RW pump is apparently not firing on either unit. I suspect bad triggers, but how can we wire the pump to stay on as a temporary fix in the relay box?
Its a mid 80's hatt like ours. Thanks in advance.

 

[rwaldrop13]

I actually had this problem with a brand new unit from MarineAire that they refused to warranty. What I did was simply wire the pumps to their own breaker so they ran continuously, which also gave me a good barometer for how clear the intakes were. It essentially bypassed the relay trigger, and was actually a suggestion from a local vendor when they heard about my issues with MarineAire.

 

[Pascal]

Simple. Pull the wires bringing power to the relay box and connect the pump to that…. I never understood why these relay box don’t include and override switch which would be very useful when troubleshooting a flow issue

here in sofl AC there is always at least one unit running even with chillers ao my pump Is on a breaker and runs 24/7 except a few days every winter after a cold front

 

[firbanks]

Previous owner wired in a toggle switch on each of my two seawater pump relay boxes. They are labeled “bimini switches” and bypass the failed relay to power the seawater pump directly, presumably to “save” a trip home from Bimini due to a failed pump trigger. I’ll post a link to a new trigger supply that has worked very well for us.

 

[firbanks]

https://www.microair.net/products/replacement-marine-pump-relay-triggers-tr115-and-tr230

 

[madhatter1]

I put a whole new relay box in my boat. I did jump out the pump and had it running 24/7 for a while but found the constant flow of fresh seawater caused growth in the basket and probably the lines as well as I had to clean them out with acid. Bypass is good for temp fix but replace the triggers or the whole trigger box.

 

[carolinacoast]

What gauge wire would we need for this?

 

[Hat4Shay]

So, all my triggers are bad. I have not been able to nail an AC guy down yet, so to work around that for a temporary fix, I pulled the hot wire going into the trigger out and put it to the recptacle so I can turn them off and on at the breaker.

Not permanent, but way better than nothng coolng. =-)

 

[CGHOST4]

I replaced all of my triggers years ago with simple plug in relays. The relays are easy to find and can be purchased by the box. They come in 120 vac or 240 vac. I also installed an on/off switch for the pump, which is useful for flushing, priming etc. This is a simple conversion for any AC professional, or DIY, if you are comfortable with basic wiring. They do burn out, but not as often as my triggers did, and I just unplug the bad one and plug in a new one.




Caesars Ghost
1980 58YF #472

 

[madhatter1]

I replaced all of my triggers years ago with simple plug in relays. The relays are easy to find and can be purchased by the box. They come in 120 vac or 240 vac. I also installed an on/off switch for the pump, which is useful for flushing, priming etc. This is a simple conversion for any AC professional, or DIY, if you are comfortable with basic wiring. They do burn out, but not as often as my triggers did, and I just unplug the bad one and plug in a new one.

View attachment 72835View attachment 72836


Caesars Ghost
1980 58YF #472

Nice job. Those are very good relays. We do control’s conversations where the legacy system is 25 years old but the relays are covered in dust because they have never been changed. I use the relay on the new system just as an interposing relay to trigger those and leave them in place.

 

[rwaldrop13]

I put a whole new relay box in my boat. I did jump out the pump and had it running 24/7 for a while but found the constant flow of fresh seawater caused growth in the basket and probably the lines as well as I had to clean them out with acid. Bypass is good for temp fix but replace the triggers or the whole trigger box.

I was afraid of that at first, but where we were in Ft Myers, I only had to clean the strainers/flush the AC water lines about once/week in summer, twice/month in colder months. I did have this cap for my strainers, made it easy... Amazon.com: Trac Ecological 1285-B FLUSHcap - 2.5" (Medium) : Sports & Outdoors

I used dockwater pressure to flush thru from the strainer to the discharge, or closed the inline valve between the strainer and pump to force-backflow the intake itself. Worked great.