Sump Pump, Prostormer 3500 GPH 1HP Submersible Clean/Dirty Water Pump with Build-in Float Switch for Pool, Pond, Garden, Flooded Cellar and Irrigation

Worked fine through hurricane Milton. Here it is about 9 months later had a big rain and it did not automatically start up. I tilted it and it started right up. The float was not rising to the top to activate the switch. There was an air pocket in the front float area so I removed the float area cover and drilled 4 small holes in it to release any air that may get trapped in the chamber around the float. Started filling the pit with water and the pump came on automatically. Tested 4 times, looks like the issue has been resolved. The cover that is around the float was set in there so tightly that no air could escape. Just in time for the next hurricane season.

Extremely satisfied with the Pump. My question is it sturdy enough to spend the winter underneath my deck ? THX

UPDATE! 7/16/2025 After almost a year now we guesstamated over 800 hours and it still pumps water. This pump in on a concrete block 2' 19" deep inside a 55 gallon drum with the top cut off and the bottom side up with a hinged door. It has pumped sand and leaves with more water than I can imagine from storms, hurricanes and a broken pipe for a week. I am buying another one just like it to be sure we don't flood out. After all that it has done I can not trust it to keep going. It has paid for itself more times than I can count. Used it for an automatic lift station for my new french drain. Out of the box it pumped far more water than expected but the auto would not function without shaking the pump. This was during a 4 inch downpour. Took it out of the hole, tinkered with the float and it began the auto great as seen in the video. Checked it today and the hole was filled, pump completely submerged. Shook it and bang! It began working perfectly again. The problem is, I am not going out in a Florida thunderstorm to kick-start it every time. I'll keep it for something later, but it's getting replaced with a REAL, reliable automatic sump pump.

I have a sump pit I installed. Now "Gravity" will allow this pit to let water flow out but only after it fills to almost full. So in my case, it's kind of a fail over. Only if we get heavy rain do I even worry about it. That said, i wanted to put a pump in to help keep it lower because the GROUND around (and even under) my house/basement is saturated and I wanted to try and help it out quicker (relatively speaking). Additionally, I want to be able to avoid the overflow of my sump (natural drainage) on the heavier flow. THus I needed a Sump that would come on/off automatically. This one looked like a good fit. I purchased it, got the appropriate adapters needed to hook up my hose (for now) and let it go. Worked like a charm. After about a week, of going down and checking on it periodically, I started to notice that my sump basin was near full (at the level where it would drain naturally out the top pipe). The pump SHOULD have been running and SHOULD have come on when the basin is only about a third of the way full. Just shaking the hose attached to the sump, which jarred the sump pump, was enough to cause it to kick on. Then it would work fine (on and off) for a short period. (It's easy for my to check because I get about .5 gallons of constant flow into my sump basin on a regular basis). However it eventually would no longer come on. I left for almost a week to go hunting, came home after a few good rain storms, went to my basement and the floor was all wet. We had gotten enough rain to overwhelm my sump basin's natural draining (without the pump) which is why I want the sump pump in the first place. I tried to like this pump. I like it's power, I like how well it pumps out. I like how quiet it is, but in the end, I need a reliable pump that will turn on and off reliably, and this pump is NOT it. If it cannot do the main thing for which I needed it for, it's no good to me. I submitted my return/refund request and will look for a different model.

Worked to drain a huge pond that forms in my yard whenever it rains. It would drain an area about 15x15, maybe 6-8 inches deep, in about 2 hours. At one point, it did get clogged and I took it apart to free the float, but given it pumped out a LOT of dirt and leaves, I was pretty happy with it. I had to put it on a flat pan in the deepest part of the yard, because it didn't have enough clearance not to immediately clog on the bare ground, but the pan method worked well. You can set it to run constantly (and burn up when it's dry) or turn off when the float gets low. It was a little hard to figure out which way was which, as it's a raised bump on the plastic which was hard to read. The hose comes out straight up, which is fine for a well or deep pond, but i had to muddle together an elbow to connect my hose, otherwise it just folded over and cut off flow. It would be great if it came with an elbow piece along with the other two attachments. It's a little hard to get it going, as dropping it straight in will keep air inside, and it won't start. But with a bit of practice, I figured out how to angle it so all the air came out as it entered the water. Hope it works as well for next year.