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Bilge pump switches are all but forgotten, until they stop working.
Bilge pump switch problems often occur when the liquid in the bilge is not just water. An accumulation of debris in the bilge can block the action of some types of switches. Some boats have showers and galley sinks that drain directly into the bilge, a far from ideal arrangement. Even if food scraps are meticulously excluded from the water, the inevitable accumulation of waxy, soap-like material that results from the use of dishwashing detergents will interfere with almost any conventional water level sensing switch.
The most common type of bilge pump switch uses a pivoted float to sense water level. With no water in the bilge the switch is at rest but as the water rises the switch floats up with the increasing water level turning on the pump. As the pump evacuates water from the bilge and the level drops the pump once again returns to the rest position and switches off the pump. It’s obvious that this type of switch can fail if the float's movement is impeded by debris in the bilge. However, an additional failure can occur when a float switch is used in a boat kept in seawater. In virtually every design, the wires connected to the movable float are immersed in saltwater. Over time the insulation on these very flexible wires degrades, allowing a small current to flow through the salty bilge water.
The electrolytic reaction that ensues eventually dissolves the copper wires inside the insulation, leaving behind what amounts to two rubber bands and a totally useless bilge pump switch. Couple that with often incorrect and poorly executed wire connections and failure of the switch is more a question of when rather than if. There are some automatic bilge pump switches that do not rely on the float principle, but instead operate by sensing an increase in air pressure inside a small plastic dome caused by the rising water level in the bilge. The reliability of this type of switch benefits from the fact that electrical contacts and wires are remote from the bilge water. However, an accumulation of debris in the small diameter air pressure sensing tube can cause a failure. Other switches sense the electrical conductivity of the water in the bilge. Although generally reliable, oil or grease in the bilge water can interfere with the operation of this type of switch, delaying or preventing it from activating the pump or failing to turn the pump off when the bilge has been sufficiently dried.
Fortunately, electronic technology now provides "no moving part liquid level sensors" that can reasonably be expected to be immune to accumulations of debris, grease, oil, or virtually any other contaminant that might be found in a bilge or in a galley sink sump. These types use field effect detector cells to sense the presence of water in the bilge. The switch activates the bilge pump when the rising water level reaches a depth of approximately two inches. The pump will continue to run until the water level drops to 3/4 of an inch. The switch consumes power from the battery when in standby mode, however the current drain, 20 milliamps is far too low to be of concern. An eight second delay minimizes pump cycling caused by sloshing of water in the bilge. An alternate approach is based on sensing the electrical capacitance of water is used in the Oil Smart switch made by See Water Inc. The manufacturer claims that the switch will differentiate between water and oil, preventing the discharge of oil from the bilge. Regardless of the type of automatic bilge pump switch installed in your boat it is always a good idea to install a backup switch a few inches above the main switch. Wire this switch to the bilge pump and to alarm buzzers above and below deck and be sure to check the operation of the automatic bilge pump switch every time you board your boat.