Rule 2000 to Rule 3800 question

[you da man]

Thinking about taking the stock sprinkler valves out and replacing with much larger valves and then replacing the stock Rule 2000 with the Rule 3800. Question is, are the wires powering the stock pump adequate for the almost twice as powerful Rule 3800. I can't find the electrcal specs for either pump

[you da man]

Found it, factory Rule 2000 is 8.4A and Rule 3800 is 17A. Hmmmm, wonder if the factory pump wires are rated that high?

[JesseC]

I just finished mounting my 3800 in the 2000s place this weekend. I do not plan on powering mine with the stock wires. I do plan on adding a fused power source from the starter which is linked directly to the battery. I will use the old positive input from the pump to power a 5-wire relay to turn the pump on and off. The relay is rated at 25 amps and will take the load off of the switches.

[you da man]

So does this mean you're going to have a switch mounted on the dash for just the pump and use the standard 3 ballast switches to activate the new valves as needed?

[JesseC]

So does this mean you're going to have a switch mounted on the dash for just the pump and use the standard 3 ballast switches to activate the new valves as needed?

No, the three factory switches all send power to ONE positive wire for the pump (factory setup). I am going to use that wire to open and close the relay. The switches and the rest of the ballast will function exactly as it used to. The only difference will be the power supply for the pump will come from the starter instead of the switches.

[kaneboats]

I really like that setup, Jesse. Very smart. I'm going to be looking at upgrading real soon but I already own 2 extra Rule 2000 pumps so I'll probably do it a little differently.