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Rule pump meltdown

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by Pascal, Jan 25, 2023.

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  1. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2008
    Messages:
    8,120
    Location:
    Miami, FL
    Had a small 800 gph rule pump burn up yesterday. It was only 3 months old and used to pump the very bottom of the bilge. 3amp breaker didn’t pop… mate was outside the ER and smelled something. Took us a few minutes to ID the source as it was under the floorboards and smoke wasn’t very thick. Plus I wasn’t expecting a bilge pump to smoke so we checked all the other equipment first. As soon as I cut the power the smoke stopped.

    First time this happens to me… I ve had many pump failures but not smoking. opened up the pump this opening and interestingly it was the black negative wire terminal that melted.

    15C38EAF-1606-4142-B47F-05E6CD364B6A.jpeg 46234458-7CFA-4171-88AA-9173F01D068E.jpeg
  2. Fishtigua

    Fishtigua Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2007
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    Location:
    Guernsey/Antigua
    In the last few years I've had small Rule pumps and the float switches not work straight from the box. The quality of old is just no longer there. They must be pumping (pun intended) them out by the million in China.

    I now refuse to fit them.
  3. Lunderic

    Lunderic Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2018
    Messages:
    71
    Location:
    Oceanside, NY
    Wow a little scary. I've had a few of those pumps fail and I keep a spare "in stock". I had a Rule -Mate 2000 do that once brand new but the breaker did trip. Only guess is it ran dry for a long time. My big pain point is those float switches. I am switching to Ultra switches on bilge pumps. They don't fit in shower sumps unfortunately.
  4. Lunderic

    Lunderic Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2018
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    71
    Location:
    Oceanside, NY
    BTW that is the newer style pump (garbage) sometimes you can still purchase the older style that hold up a little better.
  5. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
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    2,905
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Had a Rule float switch melt a few years ago.
    The fuse finally popped but it smelled like the boat was on fire in the meantime.
    F5B4016A-E29A-4934-A06C-0539D10C83BA.jpeg
    Fishtigua likes this.
  6. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Sep 8, 2004
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    12,649
    Location:
    Satsuma, FL
    It can't melt unless power was on it.
    How long was it dry running before it melted?
  7. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Miami, FL
    I don’t know how long it was running. That’s what’s odd about this. The float switch was free. I m guessing the float switch didn’t stop the power whenever it ran last. I don’t have an indicator light or alarm on this one as it is just there to pump the bottom of the bilge which the primary 3700 can’t


    I usually replace the switches with ultra switches but we had a couple of rule switches left over.
  8. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Location:
    Satsuma, FL
    Could still be a bad switch in constant run mode.