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[ScooterVDub]

Tomorrow marks our 1 year anniversary with our 2008 Yamaha SX210. We love the boat and have had a great time with it.
So far I have replaced the scupper valve with a stainless one because our first launch of the season let me know the stock plastic one broke. Bilge pump doesn’t keep up with a 1.5” hole in the hull.
That leads my to my question. The previous owner installed a two battery system which has worked great for us while hanging out on the water all day. My lack of trust in peoples abilities resulted in my testing the amp draw on each batter in each setting. I was surprised to see that it was wired properly! However, the bilge pump only works when a batter is turned on. We got an in/out slip this year and we may have to leave out boat in the water overnight.

Should I just leave a battery on so the bilge pump is on? Or should I hardwire the the bilge switch to both batteries so that I can turn off the batteries but the bilge stays on? It is a fully auto pump.
I appreciate any help!

 

[HangOutdoors]

Hardwire the bilge directly to the battery. That is a must.

 

[sunbyrned]

I’m curious about this. I too have to have my batteries on to have the bilge working. With the two options (turning the battery on or hard wiring), why is hard wiring better? Not debating. Just wondering of the benefits.

 

[ripler]

The battery switch has to be on, that's how it came from the factory. You don't want to wire the factory bilge pump directly to the battery, since it cycles on and off it may drain your battery. If it were up to me I would install a second bilge pump with a level switch wired directly to a battery. Or you can use the existing bilge pump and wire it directly to the battery, but you should install a level switch that only allows the pump to come on when there's water in the bilge.