Finishing wiring up my boat and am trying to decide what to do with the bilge. I bought a Rule-Mate 500GPH pump a few months back at west marine on super sale. My boat has 23" sides and a 23" transom, so I don't have any issues with water coming over the back or sides. It would basically be used in the rain or if a big wave come over the front/side. It has a float as well, but my 6 switch control panel doesn't have a 3 way switch. So my questions...

1. Is 500gph worth installing?
2. Should I wire a 3 way switch into the control box to have the automatic option, or can I just wire both hot wires into one side of a 2 way switch, making it either on/off? Is it possible to wire it into a 2 way? Do I need the float option?

Thanks!

If you have a bilge that is visible without opening hatches and such then I wouldn't worry about a float switch. That is unless you plan to leave the boat in the water unattended at a dock. If you do plan to leave the boat in the water unattended then wire the float switch directly to your battery. Then wire the bilge to the switch. That way if power is killed in the boat and it starts raining while the boat is at the dock then the float switch will kick and activate the bilge pump until the water is drained. While using the boat if you need a bilge pump you just hit the switch or wait till the float switch activates. I would go bigger than 500 gph also. You can get up to 1000 gph without having to change hoses and thru-hulls. Bigger than 1000 gph and hose size goes up.

Nathan

So how do I go about wiring it around the float? Can I wire both hot wires to the hot side of the 2 way switch like I mentioned in my first post, or can I just wire ONE hot wire and cap the other hot wire?

I would run the hot wire from the float switch strait to the battery. The hot wire from the pump run to the two way switch. If you're not worried about having a float switch then just run the hot wire from the pump to the two way switch and coil up the float switch wires to get them out of the way.

Nathan