Bilge pump switch experiences, good and bad

sdowney717

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 16, 2011
Messages
225
I have found so far just one switch seems fairly reliable the Johnson Pump 36152 Electro Magnetic Float Switch 12V, 15A. I have 2, bought another yesterday. I like the design better as it has no moving parts into the electronics.

My experiences have been rather negative with pump switches after Rule discontinued the mercury switches.

I recently replaced 3 bad AS888. The design is difficult to install due to wire loops.
The wire loops have to be set perfectly and fit the slots in the base. All 3 failed around the same time. Lasted 1.5 years. They also do not like to shut off, so I had to mount them on a 1/4" platform to let the float drop down further. They have a rolling steel ball inside.

Just bought 2 of these last week.
Of which one is defective out of the box. Lift float up, it turns on pump. Keep lifting up and pump shuts off. That is really bad. And the float can be knocked off its hinge, which causes it to get stuck. I was cleaning and did that and noticed float was not dropping down, stuck up in the air. The bad one in the video did not get its float knocked off. Returning the bad one.
Video link showing the fail


The newer design Rule switches all failed after couple years, similar design to the Seaflow. Took one apart, it has a rubber o-ring shaft seal where the shaft turns, it fails and lets in water, or the rubber swells locking the float.
The old mercury Rule were good, I got many years of use. What always failed was the wire insulation broke down and the copper dissolved in the wire. Or the float filled up with water. But those failures took long time to happen. Seem to recall them lasting 10 years or more.
 
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