ULTRA Bilge Pumpswitch Mini Float UPS-06, High Water Level Sensitivity Sensor, Reliable Automatic Pump Switch Activation for Boats and Yachts, Durable Construction, 12 Volt - Mini

Quality built product The switch came with a mounting bracket (to attach the switch to a pump) and mounting clamp (to attach the switch to the mounting bracket) but the clamp for mounting the bracket to a pump was not included but that's expected as there are hundreds and hundreds pumps and it is impossible to include a clamp for all of them. This switch is 3/4" differential meaning that there has to be at least 3/4" inch of water from the bottom of the switch Anyway, I was pairing this switch with a Rule 10, 2000 GPM pump and purchased a size 48 clamp which fit perfectly. Once all mounting clamps are tightened, the attachment between the switch and the pump felt very solid. Additionally, my install was for a secondary pump and I ran all new plumbing for it as joining to existing plumbing would sacrifice the whole purpose of the secondary pump and redundancy. I got Attwood Stainless Steel Barbed Short Length Straight Thru-Hull, 1 1/8-Inch, M3 4200 adhesive, and size 12 hose lamps for the hose. I bought the hose at West Marine as finding smooth-walled hose wasnt as easy as I thought - everyone sold corrugated hoses and those reduce the flow by as much as 30%. Installation took me couple of hours stretched between 2 days to allow the adhesive to cure properly.

After replacing several float switches on my 17 Whaler because they never seemed to work when you need them. Or they get stuck and run down the battery, I invested in one of these and could not be happier. I have had it installed for two years now and never had a problem. I actually bought another one and put it in the shower sump on my big boat, as the float switch in the shower sump was not reliable. Now I have both the shower and condensate from my ac units plumbed to the shower sump and it always works. I am a fairly frugal person, but this product is well worth the money.

The switch is well designed and built. With the elimination of mercury, most bilge pump switches are junk these days. The switch came with clear instructions. I was a bit worried about it having 5 leads, but reading the instructions made everything clear. Figuring out my existing wiring took 15 minutes. The mounting bracket is nice. Remember to get your own worm gear clamp for the pump. My pump is a Rule 800. I filed a bit (1/8") off the pump clamp to get the right vertical positioning. Use good crimps and heat shrink the connectors. The installation took 30 minutes.

Great product, it works as advertised. So far so good. Installation was a bit of a challenge, but nothing that could not be resolved using the Internet and youtube…

Update 8/10/21. Spoke to the inventor about why I don't see continuity as below. Turns out this is not a simple reed switch/magnet arrangement. There are electronics inside. BLUF - The contacts that supply power to the pump are contacts off a relay which is energized when the float switch is activated. Power has to be applied for the float switch to close. Bob, the inventor is a gruff old coot... but I think he would get a chuckle from reading that. Changed from 1 star to 4 stars ........ I received a UPS-06-12 Float switch. When installed and tested the pump ran for a moment when the float switch was activated by rising water than blew a fuse and never worked again. The vender sent me a replacement. See photos I decided to test the replacement first before installing. In the MSC ships I sailed on we would install bilge switches which were basically 5ft tall versions of your switch. They had a LOW-LOW, LOW, HIGH and HIGH-HIGH activation which fed a PLC. We would test them first by sliding the float along the rod (By tilting the switch) and making sure we had continuity at each activation point as the internal float passed the reed switch inside the rod. I tried that with the switch that was sent prior to installing and it was no good. See photo "Schematic". The +12V is feed to the bilge switch thru the fuse, than thru the Bilge pump switch in the "Auto" position than to the RED wire on the float switch. When the internal Reed switch is activated via the rising internal float current is than passed via the closed reed switch contacts to the brown wire than to the pump. See photo "RED to BROWN". I simulated a rising water level by placing the switch in a bowl of water... but there is no continuity between the Brown and Red wire as can be seen on the ohm Meter. Photo Brown to Brown shows continuity as it should, and is a test my meter is working OK. I tried lowering the float switch into the water slowly just in case the float rose above the reed switch. Still no continuity between the RED and BROWN wires at any point with slowly rising water. I'm not aware of the internals of these switches so decided to switch multimeter polarity just in case there was a protective diode inside to protect the pump from reverse polarity. No change Something appears to be wrong with these switches. The first one worked for a moment running the pump, than blew the fuse and never worked again. This one shows no continuity through the reed switch with a rising water level.

This is the best float switch i have found and have tried them all. Pricey but you get what you pay for.

Broke after only 5 months of usage !!!!

These are expensive but they work and they last. A failed switch could cost me my yacht, these are cheap insurance.