Solar panel to batteries connection.

[Nicholas123]

The wiring of auto bilge pumps is an ongoing debate. Some say this should be wired direct to the batteries. If your boat develops a leak whilst you're away, you'd probably want your bilge pump to keep the water out. Better a flat battery than a sunken boat!
On the other hand, some bilge pumps (well, the switches in them) seem to use a sizeable (in the long term) amount of power checking to see if there is water about, so could potentially flatten a battery even if there's no water about.

If you have a solar panel keeping things topped up, it could be a good idea to have the bilge pump wired up direct, I guess.

That's precisely the situation I face.The drain from the automatic bilge pump was possibly negating any benefit from the solar panel & I'm not sure that an automatic bilge pump is all that useful.I visit the boat almost daily so am on top of small leaks.A situation where the bilge pump would be useful would have to be catastrophic & would drain the batteries in only a few hours anyway.Certainly overnight when I could'nt do anything about it so what use would it be!

 

[Nicholas123]

One of these perhaps?
http://www.maplin.co.uk/dual-16a-solar-charge-regulator-266145

My present controller possibly does that duel function thing I don't know.For now I am just trying to deal with the absolute basics,thanks.
PS:What I shall do is make sure the solar panel gives any charge it is outputting to the domestic battery.That is the dodgiest as my main battery is an AGM that seems to maintain it's charge well.

 

[VicS]

One of these perhaps?
http://www.maplin.co.uk/dual-16a-solar-charge-regulator-266145

That would supply two battery banks independently but is is just a basic on/ off type. Swtiches off at 14.4 volts and back on again at 13.4 volts. None of the advantages of a PWM controller