Looking for safety float switch to turn pumps off

[1brent1]

Hi to all!

looking for a couple inexpensive float switches that will turn my return pump off if the water level gets to high, safety measure. Just incase my return siphons gets clogged.

I search and search but only came up with your standard auto-top off switches.

I know I saw something out there that I could of just plug my pump into the switch or a section of the unit and then mount the switch where ever I wanted. When the switch was activated it would turn off my pump or what ever I had plugged into it. It was very basic and simple.

 

[tecwzrd]

Most Auto Top Controllers will also stop your pump if the sump goes dry which would happen if your overflow became clogged.

You should keep your water level low enough in the main tank to handle the full load of your sump regardless.

 

[1brent1]

Most Auto Top Controllers will also stop your pump if the sump goes dry which would happen if your overflow became clogged.

I don't care if the sump goes dry. I don't want to over fill the tank if the syphon gets disrupted and flood my living room.

Looking for some type of safety float switch I can install in my main tank that will shut off my return pump if the water level gets to high. Please Help!

You should keep your water level low enough in the main tank to handle the full load of your sump regardless.

I never heard of that? the water line would have to be way below the trim then. 180 and 40 gal sump/refuge-

 

[tecwzrd]

"Pump Safety Protection: The A.T.O. Controller automatically stops power to your top off pump in the event that your reservoir is low on water." You can set this level in the sump so it's just a little bit lower then the top off water.

The full capacity of the sump (40 gal) is 5” in your 180 gal tank. The reason you need to be able to handle that load is because if your overflow did become clogged you would flood as it’s currently set up. You can raise your sump pump closer to the surface in the sump so it doesn’t drain the entire sump if that happens. For example 15 gal from the sump with no drainage would only require 2” from the top lip of your main tank.

With the A.T.O. controller it wouldn’t be an issue since it would turn off the pump before any flooding occurred.

Lastly you should also have enough room in the sump to handle all the water coming from your overflow in case your pump does get turned off for whatever reason ie: ATO turns it off, it fails, or with power failures.

If for example your overflow has 1” of drainage off the main then that would be about 8 gal of overflow protection needed in the sump.

 

[tecwzrd]

Found a flaw in my plan :| When I read the ATO manual (pdf file) it states that the ATO device sounds a small alarm when the pump runs which would be all the time if it’s always waiting for the water to go down in the sump. (overflow loosing siphon/getting clogged) I’m not sure if it can be turned off.

If you use the ATO controller as it’s intended for topping off the sump and raise the sump pump intake 2” below the water level then the main would only have to be ½” below the top (equals about 5 gal) before the sump would drain to the point of the pump and run dry.

Of course then the ATO would kick in and keep filling the sump until the reservoir ran out of water though and it would still flood :|

If you are that worried about it then just raise the pump 2” below the water in the sump and lower your main water level ½”. You will just have to be diligent about topping off the sump.

 

[robertfah]

I just bought a ATO switch from my LFS. It's a pretty simple setup in that the float will turn on or shut off anything that is plugged into it. It cost my $50 bucks and it's some off brand, all it says on the box is "Ultra Float Switch". I tried to google the name, but nothing came up.

 

[tecwzrd]

I think this one from premiumaquatics.com

 

[robertfah]

I think this one from premiumaquatics.com

That is the one I have. So far, it seems to be pretty reasonable for the $$$.