I seem to remember another heavy duty switch years back, I''m tired of replacing these every 5 months, their getting cheaper and cheaper.

T&H marine sells one too. I have the same problem and there's does last longer. Big foot switches just don't seem to cut it. Both are the same type of switch but the T&H seems tougher. Good luck. I hope someone else finds one that is better and lasts longer.

Why not setup a solenoid?

I assume it is the large amount of current going through the switch that burns it up. No?

When a switch opens while a current load is being drawn, a spark will jump the small air gap. Better hardware (containing a capacitor...more cost) eliminates the spark jump, prolonging the life of the contacts. A capacitor can be added externally to accomplish this.

A side note to this is where in home wall drafts draw dust into electrical outlets. Unplugging items while turned on (drawing power) causes a spark jump in the socket. This, in turn, can ignite the dust and the day goes down hill from there. This is especially dangerous in woodworking shops that have large amounts of dust and electric plug-in motors which are even bigger spark makers (back EMF).

More than you were interested in, right?

Fishbone, I don't know if you've seen the inside of one of these switches but it's not more then two copper tips and the foot switch is a copper coater cone that touches both. Yes there is arcing going on. If you can find something or a manufacturer that makes a switch like that ... let me know. I replace mine like gar-tracker annually. It gets old.

OK thanks guys, T&H has the one I was looking for, much better made and heavier duty then the Big Foot.

However, they make one with the continues switch and one without, make sure you get the one WITH the bar, its a big plastic button, the one without is just like the Big Foot, a rubber cap, they dont stand up to the pressure and it breaks the copper tab inside just like the Big Foot.

http://www.thmarine.com/product8ba8.html?PRID=97

You can see the size difference in the picture.

I use an old conveyor(?)-belt foot pedal on my two-man boat.  It came from an old grocery store; some may recall the age before the electronic "eyes" was introduced as controllers to stop/start the belts.

There are many industrial machines that use heavy steel foot controls. Hobart meat mixer/grinders is one example.

Sure, it's probably pricey, but you will never have to buy another one......

I use two solenoids with my single BigFoot switch to turn on two trolling motors. There is minimal arcing with the low load of the solenoid coil. The contacts of the solenoid is rated for 160A