Customer Reviews

Electronic Sump Pump Control & Alarm (AU5ES)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have 2 zoeller pumps (1 is a backup). I love the pumps but my sump runs often enough that I have worn out two of the standard switches ($30 each). I saw this device and thought it would be a great replacement since there are no moving parts. Let me say, I love this switch! It should come with every sump pump. I zip-tied the float so that it is on all the time, set the contact wire to the proper height and was up and running in 10 minutes. Actually it is better than the original because I was able to set the wire further up in the pit. Now my pump cycles once for every three times it did previously. I have not tested the high water alarm feature, but I am sure it fuctions just as well. If you have searched other sites you might see reviews saying that the timer feature is not a good idea. I disagree. There is only one little wire that goes in the pit. Similar devices use two probes - one to turn on and one to turn off. To me, this is twice the trouble. With this unit, zip-tie the wire to your discharge line, adjust the timer, and you are done.

My sump pump cycles very frequently, this pump controller worked flawlessly for about the first year. Now it does not function, due to the contact on the mechanical relay being burned out. Much to my surprise the relay is not even replaceable so the entire unit must be now replaced. I would never buy this unit again.

I really hated the idea of paying for this -- it costs more than my sump pump! However I have a sump hole in my crawl space that manages to collect a lot of junk, the pump jumps around a bit and its guaranteed to jam the float and require me to crawl on my knees in water to fix it. So I took the plunge -- it is the best switch I've ever used, with its delay adjustment, it is capable of emptying the sump hole every time it fills up. Since the relay is sensitive to the AC line, it switches only when there are 0 volts going through the relay -- this same trick is used in the good computer UPS systems, thus it eliminates arching between the contacts, and any indication that the power source has changed. You average float switch won't do that!

It uses a wire to sense the water level, and it expects that your pump is grounded. This wire must be fastened to a reliable place to sense the water level correctly. The timer should be adjusted to empty the sump-hole, but avoid pumping air into the output hose.

This was well spent money, I just wish Amazon sold it directly, so I could have gotten free shipping :-)

I've had it installed for a couple of weeks, so far, and its been a pleasure to see it work flawlessly.

I bought this because my brand new Wayne pump had a pressure switch that didn't work at all, making the pump useless. This was the easiest thing to install -- just plug it in, run the attached wire to the sump, and adjust to where you want the water level to be when the pump goes on. Then you time how long it takes for the pump to run out of water, subtract a second or two, and set the timer. End of problem. The best part is, now I can leave that pump running forever and just replace the switch should it malfunction, instead of having to replace the pump again because of a bad switch. No more plumbing fix. Just a plug-in switch replacement should it fail. Well worth it! Best of all, if the pump should ever fail, a loud alarm will come from the switch if the water doesn't drain below the wire within 10 seconds. So next time the pump fails I will KNOW ABOUT IT before the water reaches 2 feet :-(

I found this to be an excellent product and an excellent idea. I've had problems in the past with the Wayne float rod breaking off at the bottom due to rust. With this product, you completely eliminate the float and the rod. The alarm is nice and loud and can easily be heard when you're not in the basement. I don't have any complaints about the product.

This product does every thing it claims to do. no float switch to fail you, also set a accurate timer to empty max water from your tank.
only down side for me the alarm is not as loud as i would like. with my coldroom and basment doors shut it isn,t audiable on the ground floor so no chance for the second floor which is what i wanted.

I bought this product because my sump crock was extremely narrow and deep(about 8" wide and 6' deep). I hooked it up and it has been working awsome. It has an adjustable timer for how long it runs after water has receeded below the level that you set. This allows for longer pumping intervals, and less starting and stopping which burns out a pump. I showed this product to my plumber friend (master plumber in the trade for nearly 30 years) and he was very impressed. I just hope the switch lasts a long time as it was kind of pricey if you have to replace it, though definitely worth the money if it lasts a few years. I believe it should outlast the pump as there are no moving parts. I have been running it for nearly 2 months to date without issue.

Bought this control just over a year ago from Grady's online through Amazon.
Worked fine till a couple of days ago when I believe the relay failed with no warning alarm so I got lots of water in the basement.
I tried to contact Wayne but I can only fill out forms and hope that someone will get back to me soon.
I tried to contact Grady's and you can only fill out a form and tell them the story of you life hoping that they get back to you.
I tried calling Grady's and got a "mailbox full" message making me wonder if they are still in business.
Amazon shows this item "Unabailble" which makes me think my suspicions are correct.
It cost me almost $80.00 for this control and I don't think it should fail in a year!
Put the float back on the pump and hope that someone will get back to me some day with a replacement!

UPDATE

Amazon gave me the contact info for Wayne , I called 20 minutes ago and was put on hold listening to some horible chamber music.

Still on hold!!!!!

UPDATE to the UPDATE:

Hang up and called back then after another 10-15 min on hold I got connected to a CS rep and convinced her to send a replacement even though the warranty was 2-3 weeks over

Thank you Wayne!

Electric Switch has worked flawlessly every spring for the last three year. The controller is mounted in the crawl space with the pump plugged into it. Even though I have the alarm located in the crawl space is loud enough that we can hear it go off.

Application:
I use this to keep ground water inside of a concrete pit in my crawl space to no more than say 6". It is extremely critical that I keep this level low. If the water level gets higher than say 12" in this pit I will flood my gas water heater. The dimesions of the rectangular pit that is installed in are 6'L X 3'H X 3'W. I have the sensor wire zip tied to a vertical mounted piece of PVC pipe and then position the pipe to the maximum level I want water to be.
Every spring when the water table rises the pump (Wayne Submerisble Utility Pump)cycles about every 30 minutes, for 60 seconds or longer if the pump has problems getting a good seal due to the low static head on the pump inlet. In that event an alarm on the controller will sound, and once the pump seals and begins pumping the water level will go down below the sensor level and the contoller conductivity sensor will stop sensing water and will stop alarming and then will run for 60 seconds. In the event the controller loses power (say GFCI receptical trips off line) the battery back up will ensure the alarm sounds.

Abnormal Operation:
This spring I had an issue with the pump not getting a good seal and not operating. I heard the alarm (Ok my wife heard the alarm). When I pulled all of our stuff out of the coat closet, opened up the floor access to the crawl space and got down there to look I found that the water level was above the sensor lever, but the pump was not operating. Upon examination of the pump I found it was hot. This meant that the pump had turned on but wasn't pumping ou the water, and had kicked out due to a thermal overload inside of the pump. This overload saved the pump, and the alarm notified me of the problem which saved both my water heater and my pump. I found that the PVC pipe that hd the wire sensor attached to it had sme how managed to slip down to a lower level in the pit. I checked the pump to make sure it was operating correctly after it cooled down, and I moved the pipe & sensor wire back to the desired level and once the water level came up to that level the controller relay closed, the pump started, the water level dropped and the pump ran for 60 sec and shut off.

I have this control installed for 2 months. It works beautifully. The sump pump's built-in floating control is not reliable. My basement got flooded several times. I fixed the built-in control to the always on position so that bypass it, and installed this one. Before install this, the sump pump was very loud and works 7 seconds per stroke. This control works 42 seconds per stroke, and amazingly, the pump is now very quiet. I even don't know when it worked, but the basement is always dry, no matter how big the rain is. Other reviewers mentioned that it works only for one year, not sure about that yet. But for now, it is a much better control.