Looking to upgrade my manual operation Johnson 500 gph bilge pump to something automatic.

What brand of bilge pump do you have on your bass boat?

Is it a manual operation or is it automatic (float switch, electronic sensor, etc.)?

How reliable has it been ( premature pump failure, float switch or sensor sticking etc.)?

I have a mayfair pump, and it works everytime I hit the switch!

Jff

You ADD a switch to automatically turn the pump on/off.

Either a float operated switch or an electronic one that has a couple of probes that detects water to turn on the pump.

I used the electronic ones in my fiberglass bass boats--they have no moving parts.

The float type can break or malfunction in rough water.

The pump itself can be any brand. The cartridge type are the easiest to maintain.

If you fish in the rain a lot, get one that has a capacity of more then 500 gph.

If you fish the Great Lakes, one over 100 gph is better and two of those.

Wayne is spot on about the auto switch. Go with electronic if possible. My 21 ft Stratos stayed airborne more than not and I constantly broke the bilge pump switches and they were almost impossible to get to. Finally went to electronic after talking with a friend and end of problem up until I sold the boat several years later. That was the one and only boat out of 25 I have owned that ever had auto bilges.

I wish I had known about the electronic switches five years ago when I owned an 80's vintage riveted Bass Tracker. The boat leaked like a sieve so I installed dual float switches and bilge pumps for fear that one of the float switches would fail. The electronic switch would have saved me a lot of time and effort.

You ADD a switch to automatically turn the pump on/off.

Either a float operated switch or an electronic one that has a couple of probes that detects water to turn on the pump.

I used the electronic ones in my fiberglass bass boats--they have no moving parts.

The float type can break or malfunction in rough water.

The pump itself can be any brand. The cartridge type are the easiest to maintain.

If you fish in the rain a lot, get one that has a capacity of more then 500 gph.

If you fish the Great Lakes, one over 100 gph is better and two of those.

I agree 100% dealing with this issue right now. I have a broken switch I need to fix.