bilge pump issues

2040huck

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2:30p, 2/2/26

My automatic bilge pump keeps sticking in the on position which eventually runs down my battery. I have changed it twice. Anyone else have this issue? Is there a more reliable pump that you guys use? Thanks

Gunny456

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In reply to 2040huck • 2:43p, 2/2/26

AG

So what brand is it?
Could also be mounting position.

TAMU Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences

"Boat Racing is like a beautiful woman.... expensive, high maintenance....... but well worth the fun!"

2040huck

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2:49p, 2/2/26

I dont remember the brand. I bought the one with the separate float the last time. It still seems to get junk in it which causes it to stay in the up position after the water has receded

Gunny456

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In reply to 2040huck • 3:01p, 2/2/26

AG

Rule brand is not very quality. Johnson and Atwood are USA made. Wale pumps made in UK. Johnson pumps are good quality.
However having junk in the bilge can mess with all of them.

TAMU Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences

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CS78

Joined: Feb 6, 2007

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3:31p, 2/2/26

The problem is that pretty much all bilge pump float switches are junk. Been lots of high dollar boats sunk by cheap float switches. All except one. This is what I put in my offshore boat. Never heard of a failure but not cheap. Supposedly if you have a problem, you can call and the owner of the company will actually pick up the phone.

TEF-GEL - Ultra safety systems - Home page

I put rule gold pumps in my boats and have been happy with them. General consensus is pretty much all the brands of pumps are mediocre.

If you dont want to spend the money on the Ultra safety switches then go with one of the models that senses water level rather than a cheap float.

Gunny456

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In reply to CS78 • 3:56p, 2/2/26

AG

We used to exclusively use Rule Gold Series in our boats till a few years back. They quit making the Gold Series in the U.S. and now get them out of facility in the far east. The rest of Rule's bilge pump line is all made in China.
Their failures were a large % of our warranty calls so we did a running engineering change and tested both Atwood and Johnson because they were both USA made. Depending on the specific application we use both brands now as OEM in both bilge and bait well and/or live well applications. Our warranty calls still happen on pumps but very low % now in comparison.
Rule Gold Series used to be the GOAT.

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sunchaser

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In reply to Gunny456 • 9:02a, 2/3/26

AG

I had a Rule many years ago on one of my boats. I had a single battery. I didn't use a trickle charger and if I didn't use it for a while I had battery issues. It was the type of pump that would come on to check if water was in the boat. If so it would pump it out.....When in storage for a long time it would drain the battery.

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