Thinking my bilge pump is going out... Suggestions for replacement?

[trayson]

So, I've been having some very strange behavior from my bilge pump. last Sunday we took the boat out and when we got home I heard a noise that was a motor running. It was the bilge pump and it was going and going and going despite having nothing left to suck up. I didn't have time to mess with it, so I turned off the batteries with the perko switch.

A couple days later I turned the battery back on and.... Nothing. The pump wasn't running anymore.

So we took the boat out and the pump seemed to work fine. I know it was pumping intermittently throughout the evening (I need to replace the packing rope on my rudder, so I take on some water and the bilge runs off and on throughout a trip).

I didn't bother pulling the center plug when we took the boat out (in the dark), but when I got home I decided I would pull the plug. I was surprised to see a few inches of water in the bilge and the pump wasn't doing a damn thing. I flipped the switch to manually turn on the pump and NOTHING. argh!

So today I pull the cover and notice that all the water is gone that had accumulated. The pump at some point came back to life and pumped it out. And I heard it running again when I pulled the cover off and it wouldn't stop running despite it having no water to suck.

I turned off the perko switch again and decided that I probably need to replace the pump.

Currently I have an Attwood Sahara S-500 pump.
http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/product/Sahara-S500-500-GPH--12-Volt

http://www.attwoodmarine.com/UserFiles/store/product/images/875/4505-LA_mn.jpg

So what should I get as a replacement? I certainly wouldn't mind something that pumps a little faster than this one. But I'm open to all advice and suggestions.


EDIT: I'm thinking that the logical replacement would be upgrading to the Attwood S-750. It looks like it has about twice the speed and I'd still be able to use the 3/4" hose and not have to worry about upsizing anything. So, unless someone has a reco for something significantly better, I'll probably go that route.
http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/product/sahara-s750-750-gph

[Cliff]

I am a huge fan of rule 500 pumps they are amasing and last forever
We used to use them in our jet skies. We run the Great Lakes and since the rule has no float switch it does not go off and on every time you get air over a wave. I love not having a float switch to screw up. Only down side is the price and the fact that these pumps turn on for a millisecond every 5 min to check for water if they are left on auto mode.
I have installed dozens of these pumps and have never had one fail

[chris young]

I put one of these in at the beginning of the season, and have no complaints. The auto function is based on differential pressure between two small holes one higher than the other on the housing, so there is no moving float switch. One small thing I don't like is that it needs to have quite a bit of depth before it will turn on, but really I guess that's no big deal.

http://www.marinemart.ca/en/plumbing/electric-bilge-pumps/1000-gph-ultima-combo-pump-jpi07903

[wotan2525]

I've gone through 3 Saharas in 3 years. They keep sending me new ones but I won't purchase another one. I can't figure out what the problem is because they still turn on/run but they don't seem to generate enough lift to get water out of the boat.

[jasun]

Had the same problem with my Sahara. I will not buy another one.

[chris young]

Oh and one nice thing I forgot to mention about the Johnson is that it has a threaded fitting so if you need to pull the pump you don't have to mess with hose clamps.