I need to attach a water pump to the underside of my BlueROV2 and control it topside. Has anyone done this or have any recommendations on how to do this? I’m new to this and dont want to screw anything up. I just need to be able to turn the pump on and off from my controller, but I don’t know what pumps would work and how to connect it up. Any help is appreciated.
Hi @TheCollector -
What do you plan to use the water pump for? There are many types of pump, and submersible ones typically rely on shaft seals that may not have the same depth/pressure rating as the rest of the system…
Generally, you’ll want to find a DC voltage pump that works well in the range of the systems Battery voltage, 13-16.8V. You can use a FET like this and configure the Navigator with a Relay output mapped to a button to turn the pump on and off! It’s important to match the power/current rating of the pump you use with the FET used to switch it. The FET also needs to be triggerable by 3.3V and a fairly low mA limit drive current provided by the Navigator.
NOTE- the ratings on that example FET are likely for very short, intermittent duty - a lot of heat sinking / dissipation would be necessary for sustained loads at the ratings claimed. Investigate the datasheet for the ICs used, and/or test the unit in your application with an eye to voltage drop / heat of the unit in your application for the best change of success!
Hi @tony-white ,
Thanks for the reply. The purpose of the pump will be to shoot small jets of water downward. I plan to operate the BlueROV2 just above a riverbed that has a sandy bottom. Basically I just need the water spray to blow the sand around to reveal anything hidden just under the surface. I don’t know if a pump like this exists. I’m guessing it would need to be some kind of modified bilge pump.
Hi @TheCollector -
Sounds like a cool application! You could also use an additional T200 thruster, mounted to blow the area clear - if in depth hold mode, the BlueROV2 will automatically run its vertical thrusters to offset the thrust being used to clear the area. You can map the control of this thruster to a pair of buttons to increase/decrease the throttle, mapped as an output servo.
That is brilliant!!!
Thanks, @tony-white