So if I ran my bilge pump all the time I would never see this water, but
sometimes there would be no water for the bilge pump to suck out and it
would be running dry. Will this hurt the pump?


Yes.

You need an automatic switch for that bilge pump to turn it on and shut it off
depending on the water level.

Float switches can be a pain in the butt, and usually don't last very long.

I think my next pump switch willl be a:

www.waterwitchinc.com

Also Sprach Gould 0738 :

You need an automatic switch for that bilge pump to turn it on and shut it off
depending on the water level.

Float switches can be a pain in the butt, and usually don't last very long.

I think my next pump switch willl be a:

www.waterwitchinc.com

I had a water witch, the orange model 257 shown on the website. It
sucked. It would turn on just fine, but quite often would not turn
off. If I cleaned it well with windex, it would work for a few weeks,
then start sticking on again. I got sick of climbing in the bilge to
polish a switch, so i went back to a Rule Super Switch with the Super
Switch Guard, it's been running fine for 3 years now. Only maintainence
has been checking under the guard for stray bits of fishing line once a
year. My pop has a Rule fully automatic pump, it starts every 15 minutes
or so, and if it detects load on the pump, it runs until the water is gone
and the load goes away. Has been pretty reliable for 5 years or so, but
kind of annoying to hear the pump spin up every 15 minutes.

Dan


--
I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican.

-- Dan Quayle