Aft bilge pump lets water in?!

The rule super switch, or any rule switches build in the last 10 years are worthless. I redid all my bilge pump system 5 years ago with 5 new 3700s, rule switches, new wiring, new alarm panel etc. I have already replaced 2 of the switches, one of which burned one of the pump by constantly sending some low voltage to the pump

the only switches I use now are ultra switches. Yes they’re almost three times the price but worth it. Some of them are 15 years old on the lazzara 110 I run and still working great

Been using these for well over a decade after learning all the "big name" ones were crap. Made here in Florida and when the oem vessel wires were different then the paperwork diagrams that came with the Ultra Switch, a call to the company brought the owner on to quickly trouble shoot. Not cheap but IMO worth it.

Must have been a design change between 2005 and 2008 hulls switching the discharges from the stern quarters to the transom.

I have seen those "Ultra Switches" on many commercial ships I have worked on. Very simple and it looks like they have brackets to hook right onto the bilge pump they are servicing. Thanks for the info on those float switches.

During a recent trip on the Cabo I jumped down in the steering compartment area and noticed the port fish box macerating pump leaking between the motor and pump casing. This only happens at slower speeds/not on plane when overboard discharge goes awash. Time to fix that issue.

The Ultra switches are the only ones that I use. Any discharge capable of back-siphoning (like on the transom) should have a simple check valve installed in a position where it can be maintained. Helm should have an activity light to indicate pump function. You can see cycles and note short cycles that could be indicative of a problem.

I had the same problem with one of my Ultra switches: Called the manufacturer in Palm Beach, he said to get a model for Deep Bilges.
(I never got around to it, installed a small sump pump that sucked up all the residual water in the bilge and pumped it to the head, also had check valves in the main bilge pump discharge lines. Sailboat, most of the bilge water came from rain entering openings on top of the mast)
I installed red lights showing when each bilge pump activated so I could see it from the helm, Rule 2000 and Rule 3700. If both came on at the same time, it would be bad, they never did..

here is what I did on my 53 seven or eight years ago, it was the first I did before installing the chillers and repowering .

I ripped all the old pumps and wiring and ran new harnesses to each location.
Each compartment has a rule 3700, float switch, high water float switch. The panel has a breaker for each pump, an over ride manual switch, a red high water and pump running LEDs. Plus a green showing each pump breaker is on and a breaker for the high water alarms. I left a spare in case I want to add an extra pump aft and included controls and LEDs for the shower sumps. Haven’t gotten around to adding a buzzer… one day

I sleep better at night

I've been fortunate to have had no failures on the Ultra's over the past 20 years or so. Four are aboard now, with two spares tucked away. My theory is no failures are due to having the spares.

Also added a very nice dry bilge system that soaks up any remnant water and keeps everything dry as a bone when I'm not running. That's terrific confidence to have when away from a metal boat...dry is your friend...