Sump Pump Switch sticking

I have a Zoeller M53. Twice in the last month it has stuck in the float up position, so the pump keeps running. I think that is a good thing as I would hate for the pump to not kick on, my sump pit would be full and overfilling in 20 minutes if I didn't have my Liberty water powered backup.

Should I be looking to replace the whole unit or replace just the switch? $170 versus switch $35

Leaning toward switch and gasket.

What do you guys do?

How old is the pump?
If you think its still good I've had excellent results using a HydroCheck HC6000 "Hi-Lo Sump Pump Controller". No floats to hang up and no mechanical switches to go bad.
There are two sensors so you can set the on/off height where it works best for your situation and to reduce short cycling.

We quit using the sump pumps with the float type switch that can hang up on the side of the pit just for that reason. We
use either zoeller or hydromatic pumps in the style that's pictured.

Royalwapiti said:

I have a Zoeller M53. Twice in the last month it has stuck in the float up position, so the pump keeps running. I think that is a good thing as I would hate for the pump to not kick on, my sump pit would be full and overfilling in 20 minutes if I didn't have my Liberty water powered backup.

Should I be looking to replace the whole unit or replace just the switch? $170 versus switch $35

Leaning toward switch and gasket.

What do you guys do?

Click to expand...

First off it appears that your sump pump is the same/similar pump as that one shown in post #3.
The first thing that comes to mind is, did you try to determine what was causing the float to get stuck in the up position?
Not that I have any experience with these pumps but I would guess the problem is in the switching mechanism and that it's binding on something sufficiently so as not to allow the weight of the float to pull it back down. If possible, I would look at that mechanism first to see if it's obvious as to what's causing the hang-up, and go from there.
If nothing else, you could add a very small amount of weight to the top of the float. By means of a washer or two. Of course not enough to prevent the float from rising all the way up.

The floats that typically get hung up on something are the tethered types, that can move around a bit. I think it would be safe to assume the only way yours could get hung up, would be to come in contact with the sump wall and i would think that guard would prevent that.

EDIT: If the pump was felt to be old enough, you could get a replacement and keep the old one as a spare, or for whatever.

Thanks, I do hate the short cycling of this pump, considering it runs for 9 seconds and shuts off. In the summer it will turn on every 25 seconds....on for 9 then off for 16....so that switch sees a lot of activity. It is finally slowing down now that winter is here. Every 3-4 minutes. And if I dismantle the setup I want to have a new switch ready to put on. I think I will go with the new switch and see what happens.

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.