"Tyhe smart man, know what he don't know".

So my boat has an automatic bilge pump. And it has a bilge pump switch on the drivers switch panel. The pump is wired direct to one of 2 main engine batteries and so will work even if the battery switch is off (not on 1 or 2).

With the battery switch off, I put some water in the hull, and the automatic bilge pump blows it right out.

I turn the battery switch to "ALL", and then go to the helm, and hit the Bilge pump switch, and the light on the panel lights up, but, I can't hear the pump running. So even if switched on, will the pump not work unless it's internal float sees enough water to work with? If the float has to have enoough water for the automatic pump to work, what do I need the switch for?

Confused. What good does the pump switch do me, since it there's water in the hull, the automatic bilge pump will blow it out automatically. What is the manual switch for? Can I dump that switch and use if for other more important stuff?