Bilge pump in R-21

[R21]

The float switch started to act up: failing to shut the pump off once the water was pumped out. Don't make the same mistake I did expecting a solution by ordering the exact same make/model for replacement: The Rule-Mate 500 still specifies 500 gph but the physical size has become larger and the unit will no longer fit in the space allowed. (I note also that the plastic case had failed on the other side of the pump - just under the hose clamp attaching the discharge hose and not visible until the hose was removed.)
The only pump I could find thin enough to fit in this space was a Whale Supersub 650 gph pump, made in Northern Ireland.

 

[sheral]

Not sure what kind of pump you had stock in your boat, but in our 2015, you can simply replace the pump, within the bracket/case. Ours has a Johnson SPX pump and if I recall you can change out the pump and change it to either a 500, 750 or 900 size. The pumps are all the same size and slip into the bracket/case. You just have to reconnect the wires to the sensor. Just a fwiw. A lot of us have found that a good soapy rinse of the bilge / pump exterior fixes the problem of the sensors keeping the pump running. Here’s a link to the Johnson pumps, which should show how the pumps can be changed around within the existing holder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txwtppn ... gs=pl%2Cwn

 

[GA-Midnight Cruise]

You are correct on the Rule Mate 500 gph. I realized this on the R21 and found two of the old, Rule Mate sku's in West Marine's current inventory and bought them both last year.