Remote water pump switch - latching relay?

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
It ain't just the cost.

Crap doesn't fail until you are 88 miles north of Eastjesus. All expanded and set up. Comfortable. Your one and only vacation...

THEN your truly cerebral doo-dad decides to stick it's middle finger in the air.

And guess what? That doo-dad whether you know it or not controls the most vital object in your better-half's RV lifestyle.

"Welcome to heaven here's your harp. Welcome to hell here's your accordion" time...

Gotta great sofa? You're gonna need it.

Simplicity. How to manage breakdowns. I happened to choose the PhD level of learning location. Ask for a "latching relay" and they're going to look at you like you're asking to buy a Geiger Counter, or directions to the local satellite launch pad.

Sorry, I don't have 150 dollars to spend on a unique article that is less reliable than 3 five dollar Bosch-type relays, 12 or so .250" faston connectors and maybe a foot or so of 16 gauge wire. Now if the load was serious, say above 30 amperes, that's a horse or a different color.

Most of the electrical issues I read in this Tech forum involve items that are far and away too complicated and unique for the job they do. Read susceptible, vulnerable, and expensive. Throw in a bucket load of "A Pain In The Ass To Replace" and you have a loaded 12-gauge with a quarter ounce pull trigger aimed right at your vacation, your piece of mind and possibly a good chunk of your sanity.

Just Sayin'

I like your posts Mexico, but I can't quite figure this one out. Are you saying that a simple latching relay is a "cerebral doo-dad" that's likely to fail in the boonies, or are you saying that the Intellitec circuit with it's solid state FET and transistorized switching circuit is the "cerebral doo-dad"?

Personally, I consider the Intellitec to be the complicated device that's likely to fail from transients and spikes. I've fixed enough solid state devices to know that good old 1960's tech relays are incredibly reliable as compared to the save-a-buck circuit designs I'm likely to find in most modern fancy devices that don't spend the extra buck to use decent components.

The link I posted above to that latching relay is as simple as you can imagine. The solenoid pulls in and the microswitch changes state. You can even manually press down on the solenoid rod to change state on to off. I'll probably also wire the main water pump switch so it bypasses the relay switch for emergency use. When the pump is on using the solenoid or main switch, it will light the "pump on" light on my main panel. If the main power switch is turned on, the pump is on regardless of the latching relay. If it's off, the pump can be switched with the remotes, or turned off by pulling the fuse. I'll never be in a situation where a failure of this system interferes with the water pump.