T&T: Beware: Aqualarm "Heavy Duty" Bilge Pump Switch (fairly long)

[Albin43SDtr]

'Lo All,

Some time ago (Jul 1, 2003) , I posted about Aqualarm bilge pump 
switch failures and my experience with the company. After the 
exchange of emails and phone calls, I installed a new switch and have 
had no additional failures to date (knock on wood).

Jul 1 2003 post follows:

<<<<<'lo All,

Smart Switch is a brand name, made by Aqualarm, of an electronic bilge pump
switch. I got tired of having Rule Super Switches fail, so tried the Smart
Switch. The first one failed after about 4 months (as I recall). I 
took it back to
West Marine and they replaced it. While discussing the failed switch with the
store manager, she called the manufacturer (John West) and he said he would
like the switch back so they could disassemble it and find out why it had
failed. They would pay for shipping and replacement. I told him that 
the leads were
too short and that the failure mode was to run the pump continuously. I was
told later that West Marine did not send it back to them. The local 
West Marine
store still carries the Smart Switch, but I didn't see it in the current
catalog.

The OLD one is pictured on their web page at: 
<http://www.aqualarm.net/>http://www.aqualarm.net/ (I
just called them and suggested that they update the picture in the webpage.)

The second Smart Switch failed after about 3 months. I called the
manufacturer to complain. I talked with the same person (John West) 
when the second
switch failed. He said that after the first discussion with them, 
they looked at
the switch and checked the mode of failure as I had described. They then
redesigned the entire switch because the magnetic reed switch, while meeting
specifications on paper, were heating up and was the apparent cause 
of the problem. I
was asked to send them the second failed switch, which I did. He later called
and said that the magnetic reed switch had indeed failed. I cannot say that
the redesign was solely the result of my conversation with the 
manufacturer, but
from the discussions I had, it seems so.

I received the new, redesigned switch today. It looks entirely different. It
has 5 foot long Anchor (brand) marine grade wires (I had told them I had to
splice in additional wires to get them up to where my terminal block was
located, and that most, such as Rule Super Switch had wires that were 
too short,
also.) The new switch has a cover cap with 6 SS screws on top instead 
of just the
epoxy encapsulation. I imagine that the top is still encapsulated, and that
the new cap serves as a strain relief on the wires to keep from 
ruining the seal
between the wires and the encapsulation.

Recent threads on manufacturers' indifference to problems encountered by
purchasers of marine equipment certainly do not apply to Aqualarm, the
manufacturer of the Smart Switch. I know nothing of the company other 
than to say it is
apparently fairly small, as I talked to the same guy both times, and 
he had the
authority to resolve my problem, and the knowledge of what they had done to
the switch to improve reliability. Actually, my impression was that I was
talking with the Chief Engineer, CEO, Supervisor of Manufacturing and Process
Procedures as well as Head Honcho of Customer Relations. Bottom line: 
he/they/the
manufacturer CARED about what I thought and wanted to make their product more
reliable and meet the needs of their customers. The model number of the new
Smart Switch is SS-209, for the 12 V 30A version. (I don't remember the model
number of the old ones.)

I will install it and test it in service - where the other switches failed -
and report to the manufacturer - per their request!

No connection, other than an impressed customer.

Wayne
M/V Celestial
Albin 43 Sundeck
 >>>>>

Again, I have had no further failures to date.


Take care and be safe.

Wayne
CelestialAlbin 43 Sundeck
Near Panama City, FL