BlueStringPudding

You are perfectly entitled to neither read nor comment if my thread is boring you. 🤔 You'll be disappointed to know that I will continue to post here in my own thread and tell long, winding tales of switches and wires, and the general ramblings of someone who actually enjoys learning from other forum members. Expect questions to keep coming. Don't expect to have to answer them.

Well I've been having fun - not. I took down the old plastic light switch that isolates the power to the water pump. While detaching the two wires from it, something broke inside the switch. So I decided I might as well wire in my new posh metal switch. While doing so, I got zapped from the base plate 🤔 Not painful but it was uncomfortable in the knuckle of the finger that got the shock. I decided to finish off wiring it in anyway, which is when I discovered that there's something wrong with the COM screw terminal. Unlike the LOAD terminal, it won't screw all the way down. Unfortunately, neither will it unscrew totally so I can't remove the screw or metal terminal part from the main body of the switch. I think it has a knackered screw thread. B*gger. So I've gone from having two switches to none switches.😭 Then I remembered that in a cupboard somewhere is an unused 13A switched metal clad fused spur. It's not a thing of beauty but I've used that as a temporary replacement until I can get a new, aesthetically pleasing switch with good sized terminals. Unlike the light switches, the spur switch had a lot of different terminals. I want to check with you that I've wired it correctly/safely for now: I've connected the 12v live feed wire to the SUPPLY L terminal. And the pump wire to the LOAD L terminal. I've done nothing else with it. It's working fine as an isolation switch for the pump (and hasn't zapped me). Does that wiring sound okay?

Happy New Year 😊🍾

Happy Christmas, everyone 😊🎄

Thanks. Any idea why the destructions for it say that you have to disconnect the electrical supply to the toilet before using the descaler? 🤔

Thanks all. Bicarb and vinegar works for unblocking sinks because it creates carbonic acid - but only very briefly. It quickly transforms into carbon dioxide and water (and a few ions) - so the bubbles of gas force the blockage out. However I don't see how at a chemical level it can descale anything, because the acid neutralises the alkaline. I use bicarb and vinegar on the sinks on the boat to clear the plastic pipes of greasy or soapy residue. As for the other suggestions above, which of you have a metal tank and pipes? Have you had the tank pumped out immediately after using your descaler of choice or is it safe to leave the tank for a few days or weeks?

Having today had the delightful task (for a second time in the last year or two) of dismantling the macerator toilet to find the non-return valve stiff with scale, and therefore caked solid in 💩, I would like some advice about using a descaler product as part of a regular maintenance routine (preferably recommendations from experience, please). There are a few products on the market containing phos / citric acids, as well as some online mentions of using just vinegar or Coke as a descaler. But none mention about their safety for use in a loo that is plumbed into a steel holding tank, which in turn is integral to the hull of the boat. 🤔 And there are lots of contradictions/options about dilution too, regarding being acidic enough to work on stubborn scale, but not to damage working parts or anything else. I already use just vinegar to clean the toilet bowl, but it's obviously not doing much to help with scale further along the pipes. So for those of you who have used something to descale your macerator pipes, do you have any product recommendations please, that can just be flushed down the loo and is safe for use with a metal holding tank/metal pipes? What dilution have you found effective? How long do you leave it in the pipes/ macerator system before flushing through with water? Does the (steel) tank then have to be immediately pumped out and flushed clean? Is vinegar or anything else that's cheap and easy to come by, an effective descaler? And again, how to use it so that no part of the system is damaged or gets blocked by it? 🤔💩 Please share your toilety wisdom, oh gurus off all things poopy. 😊

See my earlier post ( #8 ) for Jabsco's instructions on how to set the accumulator after changing a water pump. Don't forget that you must have the pump switched off (or disconnected if you don't have an isolation switch) and a tap open.

As I'm currently in on going conversations with Jabsco about water pump problems, I can tell you exactly what they recommend for their accumulator. Firstly, they advise setting the accumulator pressure to 2-3psi below the pump's cut in pressure. Chances are that pressure is probably written on the pump. If not, look up the model of pump on their website which will have a summary of the spec and where you can download a pdf destruction manual if you need it. Their website also has manuals for their accumulators, explaining how to increase or decrease their pressure. The important thing when adding pressure to the accumulator is that the pump is switched OFF and a tap is OPEN. (I forgot the latter first time I tinkered with it and nearly died a bike-pump related death 😁😉) Lastly, here's some advice they sent me last week: "Finally what type of pressure gauge do you have for measuring the air pressure in the accumulator tank? Is it one that you can attached to the tank and leave connected? If you do. Switch the pump off and open a tap. Set the air pressure to 5psi and leave the gauge connected. Turn the pump back on and then close the tap (system re pressurised). Next leave a tap open slightly and watch as the pressure drops in the accumulator tank until the pump switches on, Then watch as the pressure increases and the pump switches off. This will give you the exact switch on and off pressure of your pump. You can then use this to set the accumulator tank to 2 – 3 psi below the switch on pressure (again pump off / tap open)."

*swoon* Those are just beautiful! 😍 If the brass ones mounted on square wood were the right size to hide the faded wood from my old switch, I would MUCH prefer one of those beautiful things to my modern one. But characterful beauties like that don't appear when you search online and need to use click and collect, coz the postman don't come to your boat. 😔

Thanks. Although I'm not changing it for aesthetic reasons. I'm changing it because I want thicker cables to the switch because there's some voltage drop through it, which has only become evident since installing a water pump that draws more oomph than its predecessor did. The old switch can't accommodate thicker cables and the ones currently fitted to it are very thin. It's not a huge amount of voltage drop and I don't know how much of it is attributable to the thin wires or the switch itself, but I might as well improve it while I've got things already dismantled in there. The old switch (which still works) appears to have been installed by a previous owner, and I've had this boat nearly 14 years. So it's at least that old, possibly older, so it's lasted well. How I ended up with a metallic switch was simply down to the limitations of suppliers that offer click and collect from my local town, combined with a single pole switch so I don't have to try and cut a bigger recess in the wall, combined with a high enough amp rating plus a front plate that was about the same size as the one already in place - coz the wood around it has faded. So I've ended up with a cosmetic change because there was little to choose from! But I don't mind that, the brushed steel effect will look fine in the kitchen. 😊

Thanks. 😊

True that it would be very unlikely to need to be switched off while running - I think that's what you mean. But when switching on, if the pipes are empty then the pump would immediately start. Is that a risk when using either a 240v type switch, or one with a metal frontplate?

Why is that not suited? I'm replacing like-for-like except for the cosmetic finish of the switch. Two pumps on my boat use what appear to be standard light switches for their on/off. They've not been queried by either any of the BSS assessors or the surveyor. In fact I vaguely recall that some years ago people on this forum explained to me exactly how to wire one in! (Shall I just leave them to argue amongst themselves on this, or do I need to go get some popcorn in case anything useful comes up?) 🍿 🤣 I'm hoping not even a small one... 🤔😲😭