On Mar 30, 7:39*am, (---MIKE---) wrote:
A current sensor might work. *I built a current sensor to let me know
when my septic pump is operating. *The pump is in a tank that is buried
next to the septic tank in the yard. *The sensor triggers a clock timer
and a doorbell chime when the pump operates. *Your sensor would have to
be set to trigger only when the current exceeds a set point.

* * * * * * * * * ---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

* (44° 15' *N - Elevation 1580')

Perhaps a more interesting question is why is something getting stuck
so often that this is a real problem? I've used the one in my house
for 17 years and it has not gotten blocked even once. The other thing
I don't understand is how it could stay blocked long enough that the
motor overheats and the thermal cutoff shuts it down. Can't you tell
there is no suction anymore by the way the head behaves and that dirt
isn't being picked up?