Wiring Accessories for an Outlet

[Pusher]

I need to wire a 3amp water pump to run off of a standard household outlet. It will eventually run through an inverter, but for now I'm testing it on a household outlet.

I bought a cheap extension cord and cut the female terminal off. I then installed an in-line 3amp fuse followed by a rocker switch to the water pump.

The 3amp fuse blows when I plug into the outlet. I tried stepping up to a 5amp fuse with the same result. Do I need to step down the power source with a 30amp in-line fuse and then again to the 3amp? I'm not sure how the available supply versus the draw of the accessory works with fuses.... and I guess electricity in general.

 

[Pusher]

Thanks for the redirect admin! Maybe I should clarify that this is a water pump to run the sink in my campervan conversion which will be my tow vehicle.

Thanks again for redirecting to the appropriate location

 

[dennis461]

My first thought is that you miswired something creating a short circuit.
Undo everything and start over

 

[Pusher]

The rocker switch is gsw-48
http://www.gardnerbender.com/en/gsw-48

I have the wide spade on the electrical cord routed to the copper colored "Neutral" post of the rocker. The water pump's yellow wire is also connected to this terminal.

The narrow spade of the extension cord has an in-line 3amp fuse which then is connected to the "Line Post" of the rocker switch.

The red wire of the pump is running to the center "Load" post of the rocker.

When I touch the extension cord to a square 9 volt battery the pump works :-/

 

[dennis461]

the wide spade as you call it is the neutral.
It should go straight to the pump white wire (if the the pump has white and black wires)
The narrow spade should go to switch post #1
post #2 should go to the pump black wire.

If it runs on 9 VDC, you may have bought a 12VDC pump not a 120VAC pump.

 

[Pusher]

No Title

the wide spade as you call it is the neutral.
It should go straight to the pump white wire (if the the pump has white and black wires)
The narrow spade should go to switch post #1
post #2 should go to the pump black wire.

If it runs on 9 VDC, you may have bought a 12VDC pump not a 120VAC pump.

Wide spade is hooked directly to the pump yellow wire.

Narrow spade is hooked to post #1

Pump red wire is hooked to post #2

(Post #3 is now empty)

The fuse popped :-/

 

[Pusher]

No Title

If it runs on 9 VDC, you may have bought a 12VDC pump not a 120VAC pump.

Sorry Dennis, you nailed it!

Do I have any options other than wiring directly to the battery? Is the inverter Outlet still an option?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Pusher]

Here is my inverter.

https://m.harborfreight.com/2000-watt-continuous4000-watt-peak-power-inverter-63429.html

It looks like the inverter transforms the battery's 12vdc to 120vac. I think you've given me the crumbs needed to lead me to realize I've been approaching this wrong. I just need to wire an outlet up to the battery so I have 12VDC with in-line fuses as needed.

Thanks for all the help Dennis! I'll see what I can do tomorrow.

 

[tpenfield]

From what you described . . . It is a good thing that you had a fuse in line when you were plugging 120 Volts AC into a 12 Volt DC motor(pump) . Otherwise, you would probably be buying a new pump. There may be some damage to the pump, but hopefully not.

 

[Pusher]

Let's hope not. I tend to learn things the hard way

 

[Silvertip]

You don't need and "outlet" to feed the pump. Hard wire it to the 12 volt electrical system with an appropriate size fuse (unless of course you have a specific reason why you feel the need for an outlet).

 

[Pusher]

I thought about wiring it up to a bus bar and fuse panel like my boat, but I pictured my wife craming something under the bed and contacting the fuze panel which gave me the chills.

My insurance agent also said if items are permanently attached then she would have to request an outside rate which would likely cost more.

I think in the end it will be easier to unplug from an outlet than unclipping wire connectors. I appreciate the question though. Sometimes the big picture is easy to overlook

 

[Silvertip]

I give up. Just what is this pump for, why is it being tested on house power and if it is for home use why did you buy a 12 volt pump.

 

[Pusher]

All good questions, which I wish I could have answered when I began this part of the project

I previously owned a Toyota Tundra and lost interest in climbing into the bed with canopy to sleep. I recently tried tent camping on my last fishing trip, but unlike my days in boy scounts, the nearby campers were loud drunks who kept me up until 2:30. This all led me to the idea of getting a van and living down by the river... well almost.

I'm putting a removable sink in my van and didn't realize the difference between 12vDC and 120vAC. Now you know my level of understanding ;-) I want it removeable so the insurance agency can't ding me for not disclosing a "fixed" fixture in the event of an accident (Side note - loose fixtures seem more dangerous). I wanted it to run on 120vAC so that I could run it either on camperground power or on my inverter, powered via battery.

As is, I'll be connecting directly to battery via extension cord plug-in

 

[Silvertip]

OK then. Makes sence. In forums it's all about details since we can't see what posters are dealing with.