shower sump float switch

[jack boats]

I have Attwood sumps which aren't pumping water because the float switch isn't sensitive enough. Is there a way to adjust the tolerance of the the float switch?

 

[Fred T]

Pumps

Have you contacted Atwood? If anyone has a fix for this, I think it would be them.There has to be some tolerance,or delay (usually determined by how far the float has to "float up" before electrical contact is made) or the pump would eternally cycle on and off or just keep running until your batteries died. You could experiment with a different manufacturer's switch (could be a costly experiment) or .........Try one of the Rule Company's fully automatic pumps. They cycle on for one second every 2-1/2 minutes, whether there is water present or not. If there is no water, the pump shuts off after one second. If water is present, it gets pumped out, and the pump returns to its cycling. Very low battery drain if no water present: about 1/4 amp-hour per day.Fred

 

[Lowell]

Shower Sump Troubleshooting

I also had difficulty with my shower sump that I thought was related to the float switch not turning on occasionally. Sometimes the float appeared to not go high enough to turn the pump on so I would take the cover off and clean the sump and float as there was no way to adjust it. It would cycle perfectly with the cover off when I tested it. Yet, everytime it was reassembled it would malfunction and overflow when the shower was in use. After taking it out for the third time I discovered that the plastic tab on the underside of the lid which holds the long perforated plastic screen filter in place was the cause of the intermittent operation. This plastic tab deflected the screen filter downward just enough to interfere with the required up travel of the float so the pump would not cycle. The fix was to cut off the bottom 1/8" of the 1/2" deep plastic tab. This leaves enough tab to hold the screen in place yet eliminates the deflection so the float always rises enough to cycle properly. Hopefully this may be the same problem you are experiencing.Lowell

 

[jack boats]

Attwood shower sumps, maybe not so good....

I'll take a look at it and see if thats my problem too. However, when I test it out with the cover off and filter out, by filling it up with water; the float seems to just never rise high enough to turn on. When I manually lift it up i'm surprised just how far I have to pull it up and the resistance I feel. Seems like a poorly designed switch. Anyway, could be a heads up for anyone looking for a shower sump especially with the bad design flaw you found.

 

[Lowell More]

Another Solution

If your certain the problem is the float not travelling high enough to trigger the switch you can try this. Take a piece of double sided vinyl waterproof tape and stick a thin piece (1/4")of closed cell foam to the bottom of your float and it will lift sooner and higher. As I was troubleshooting my shower sump problem I did this to ensure my float was going high enough. As noted in my earlier post, it was not the issue in my case but it may solve your problem if you do not want to spring for a new sump.Lowell