Bilge Pump Switch

[FocusAndrew]

Hi All,

New to the group,
What would you all suggest is the best bilge pump switch to use please? Fed up with replacing float switches!

TIA

 

[Salty John]

I'd use the Water Witch.
In a test conducted for the UK fishing industry the Water Witch came out on top. The Jabsco air pressure switch also had a positive review. Several others, some very expensive systems, were tested and found unreliable. I don't have access to the report any longer but the switches had to work in the bilge of a trawler for a season, operating a water ingress alarm. Conditions in the bilge looked horrible.
I've also fitted the Water Witch to a charter fleet I worked with many years ago, replacing the usual flap switches, and they worked well.
However, I would say what works for one boat can be a disaster on another, according to reports on here and other forums.

 

[FocusAndrew]

Hi Salty John,

After looking at the options i decided to go for something else, i have a friend who fitted a Bilge Bug last year and has been really happy with it.
I must say it is more expensive but it does seem better built and of better quality, it was very easy to fit and works really well.
Thanks for the pointer though.

 

[Ric]

I have a water witch and have found it troublesome. Sometimes it works, but other times it leaves the pump churning ad infinitum until I give up and switch off the power. I have never understood why it behaves this way.

 

[Salty John]

Hmm. I'm very familiar with the American Bilge Mate which looks exactly like the Bilge Bug.
I have no axe to grind one way or the other, but my experience is that all bilge switches are reliable in their unreliability. I found the Water Witch the best of a bad lot. Difficult to see how you arrive at a conclusion regarding build quality without seeing them side by side.
Andrew, hmm, you wouldn't happen to be Andrew Davenport, would you?

 

[salar]

Having tried various new technologies I have gone back to a simple float switch. Easy to check, easy to repair or replace. They will all go wrong sooner or later.

 

[andygc]

The Rule air operated Eco switch (probably the same switch Salty John mentioned - Rule is part of Jabsco) works well and has the merit of keeping electrical bits well away from water. You can mount the switch on the deckhead if you want to.

 

[Graham_Wright]

If you feel adventurous, you can play with a washing machine pressure sensor. Piped into the bilge with a small diameter tube, they are remarkable sensitive and are well away from the wet.

 

[NickRobinson]

If you feel adventurous, you can play with a washing machine pressure sensor. Piped into the bilge with a small diameter tube, they are remarkable sensitive and are well away from the wet.

+ 1 for the washer switch for the same reasons. (also ,I am a cheapskate..) I'd add that the end of the thin air pipe needs a plenum (eg an inverted funnel or some 22mm pipe) to give volume to operate the switch.

 

[Plum]

If you feel adventurous, you can play with a washing machine pressure sensor. Piped into the bilge with a small diameter tube, they are remarkable sensitive and are well away from the wet.

Another +1 for washing machine pressure switch. Mine is mounted 500mm above the bildge with a 13mm bore hose down to the bottom of the bildge. So far has worked well for a year.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[pyrojames]

I have a water witch and have found it troublesome. Sometimes it works, but other times it leaves the pump churning ad infinitum until I give up and switch off the power. I have never understood why it behaves this way.

My experience too. Now use process control switches connected to a relay. You can control start and finish levels to what ever you like, and it costs much less than the "marine" float switches.