OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

[mike64]

We bought a 3-person tube for the family, the kind you sit back on. Thing is freakin' huge-- it's a floating couch. I tried inflating it with a 12v air pump and fitting it into my little 16' runabout in the driveway, but anyway I fitted it in, it looked ridiculous and completely blocked my view behind.

So I had an idea...went to Radio Shack and paid $7 for a socket for a 12v plug-in. Wired it to the boat battery. It even came with a mount I used to attach it to the boat at an unused bolt hole in the boat, so it was up high, away from any water that might get in.

So we took the deflated tube out on the water and I ran the air pump off the battery, hung the tube off the side and blew it up. It worked great! When we were done we just deflated the tube and back in the boat.

I'm just wondering if there's any potential problem with this setup. I make sure the battery has a full charge, and it seemed to handle the power drain from the pump just fine. Could I short the battery if waves get over the boat and hit the 12v socket? Any risk of shock? Anything else I'm not thinking of?

 

[TommyA]

Re: OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

There should be a fuse added to the connection just for safety but it is highly unlikely that enough water could cause a connection to short out the socket.

 

[cmcpherson]

Re: OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

No problem, I do this multiple times everytime we go out with large tubes. The outlet s/b protected with a fuse so there really should not be a problem. My boat has multiple 12v plugs as standard equipment.

 

[mike64]

Re: OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

Sounds good, thanks for the replies guys. Adding a fuse is a good idea TommyA since it doesn't have one. Will do.

 

[mike64]

Re: OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

Question about the fuse-- I found an inline fuse holder, what type of fuse would I use for a 12v battery?

 

[tredragon]

Re: OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

The outlet should have a max amp rating on it. Or the pump will have an amp draw on it. You just don't want to go any higher than you need.

 

[TommyA]

Re: OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

Look on the pump to see what the amp draw is. Most a 15 amp fuse would be plenty.

 

[mike64]

Re: OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

Thanks, I'm not too good with electricity...it's not the source, it's the draw. Got it!

 

[duner]

Re: OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

fuse it to match the wire size and you'll be fine.

 

[myoung84]

Re: OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

Another option, I have a Coleman cordless air pump for stuff like this and airing up air mattresses for camping. They can be found in the camping sections for like $25. You just plug it up ever so often to charge, it actually lasts a very long time.

 

[submerged]

Re: OK to run air pump to fill tube from boat battery?

ok guys you just cant go putting in any ol fuse that matches the amp rating on the outlet, first off the outlet has to be the correct amp rating for what you want to use it for, then you have to make sure the wire(wire size...i.e. 16,14,12ga) is rated for the ampacity(or more than) of the outlet and then have the fuse match the load of compressor. otherwise you could end up with a fire or burning out the compressor. hope this helps. by the way im an electrician.