I cannot fail hearing in any discussion concerning bilge pumps how important they are to boat safety. The facts are that bilge pump failures are quite common but boat's sinking directly attributable to such failures are nil. The small electrical bilge pumps used in today's boats are convenience items which were designed to automatically expel incidental water collected in the bilge so the owner does not have to manually scoop it up. They are easily overwhelmed and incapable of contending with any significant influx of water. Pumps are bench rated (new pumps with no hoses in ideal conditions) in gallons per hour (GPH) but their performance in a real world installation drops the capacity considerably. It is not unusual for a pump rated at 500 GPH to actually deliver closer to 100 GPH. The length and shape of the hoses, the heads of lift, motor heat losses, voltage drop and other factors contribute to the difference in rated and actual capacity. The professed importance of the small electric bilge pump in the safety of a boat is a myth. At best they could be relied on to buy some time in minor water intrusions. As logic would have it, it would be the smaller boats that would need the larger pumps as they would fill faster and sink quicker. Once we understand that the small electric bilge pump is not really that important then we can perhaps assign a more realistic value to the switch that operates it. I do not mind replacing the switches every 3-4 years so for me a $20 switch is quite adequate. I do not trust my batteries to it, so I run power to the bilge pump through a breaker switch at the panel which remains off when the boat is unattended. I know all about the recommendation of hardwiring the bilge pump directly to the batteries but that has resulted in more dead batteries than any saved boats. You want a more effective bilge pump for use at the dock get a 120V sump pump. The USS pump looks sturdy and well designed and I have heard they are reliable. Whether they are worth the cost is a matter for each to weigh.
