We've had 3 Rule Electric pumps: In the main bilge (maybe 30" + deep), the forward sail locker, and our shower/AC condensate sump. (We also have two manual pumps -- both pump the main bilge out: one in the cabin; and one from behind the helm.) We have bilge pump counters on the main and sail locker bilge pumps to alert us to leaks or activity.

The main bilge Rule pump is the original 1998 installed pump being driven by a non-Rule Switch. It's worked flawlessly the full time without fail. We get occasional pumping action from severe rains coming down the keel stepped mast, occasional fresh water leaks from various hoses, and draining out the water tanks occasionally to "flush" the bildge. The problem is that unless I vacuum-out the bildge, I have just enough fluid down there to start to grow the goo of life. So I vacuum out the water every week or two to keep it pretty dry and occasionally scrub it a bit. Rule should be proud of the way the pump has performed.

I utilize a prefabricated Rule shower sump kit (container, small pump, and switch) in a self contained box which sits in the bilge. I've had to replace the pump twice and the switches twice. I elected to change-out the whole kit twice because it was less of a hassle. The sump kit serves our two showers and two of the AC units condensate drains. If you drain these into the bilge, you are asking for the goo of life smell to visit upon you. We don't run the AC units except when we are on the boat (or off of it for just a brief time). The pump kit leaves about an 1" or so of water in the bottom of it's container. When we're under way and healing, it probably cycles a bit -- I don't have it on a bilge pump counter.

The forward sail locker on our J/Boat has a smallish Rule pump. Originally it had a Rule Float switch. Unless you secure it hard "back", our sprit pole on our J/Boat will ship some water into the forward sail locker if you are bashing into waves at 9.5-10.5 knots. For the first two long trips back from Newport which involved 18-26 hours of miserable, marriage challenging beats, I discovered this. Also, the Rule float switch tended to be "flipped-up" as we hit the top of short waves (say every few seconds). The effect was to cycle the otherwise dry sail locker's pump over 1500 to more than 2,000 times over a day or so of nasty sailing. The pump didn't fail.

Subsequently I have switched to a Water Witch switch and set-up a set of small blocks to pull-the Sprit pole back and engage the gasket. This dramatically cuts down the "false" switch-ons and keeps the amount of water to a minimum (probably limited to what comes through the anchor windlass/chain hawsepipe.

Over the subsequent years, I've had to replace the switches three times in a decade and the pump twice. It's a test of a bilge pump, switch, and wiring up there.

While the construction and elegance of the Rule pump doesn't immediately cause me a sense of awe, they have been reliable and really seem pretty cost effective to me.