Sump pump - Preventative maintenance and backup

2 pumps. 1 battery backed up is what I commonly see in larger custom homes.
We also put sensors in them attached to the alarm system, so if the water gets too high, you get notified through your alarm monitoring company.

BuildingHomes wrote: ↑2 pumps. 1 battery backed up is what I commonly see in larger custom homes.
We also put sensors in them attached to the alarm system, so if the water gets too high, you get notified through your alarm monitoring company.

The thing about battery backup is that it will eventually run out of battery. Backup battery runs out in about an hour or so...so if you are out of electricity for a day...your house is still flooded...I think there are some sump pumps that don't need electricity, but works on incoming water ... check with the plumbers is the best guess...

I didnt watch the whole video...but I think this is it...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS0AhlNY ... re=related

stt55pot wrote: ↑The thing about battery backup is that it will eventually run out of battery. Backup battery runs out in about an hour or so...so if you are out of electricity for a day...your house is still flooded...I think there are some sump pumps that don't need electricity, but works on incoming water ... check with the plumbers is the best guess...

Battery backup should last longer than that... the unit I have says 8.5 hours continuous duty, and longer if it isn't running full out. It also allows me to connect up a regular car battery instead of the deep cycle battery that's on there, so if the power outage is localized enough I can take the deep cycle out and charge it up on a fast charger while it runs off my car battery.

CompWizrd wrote: ↑Battery backup should last longer than that... the unit I have says 8.5 hours continuous duty, and longer if it isn't running full out. It also allows me to connect up a regular car battery instead of the deep cycle battery that's on there, so if the power outage is localized enough I can take the deep cycle out and charge it up on a fast charger while it runs off my car battery.

The point I was trying to make is that suppose I go on vacation, and the electricity goes out for a few days and the place is flooded, I would not be there or even know about it without an alarm...as someone said about an alarm...so I would go with the water sump pump thingy...Ps...I'm just like the op, i'm looking for a backup...I got my pump for over 10 years now (with no backup)...thank god it is still good....

Macross_Freek wrote: ↑ -battery backup for power outages
-backup sump system?

FYI, I bought a Liberty sump pump with battery backup for my house last year. It seems to work very well (just tested it out by pouring water into the pit because the pit was always dry even when it was raining very hard).
Just go to Ebay and search for "Liberty PC457-441". There are two pumps in this combo. The main pump runs on AC and the second one (smaller) runs on 12V (Marine battery).

Total cost for the whole package is around $550.

Macross_Freek wrote: ↑ I guess these don't have to be pump related. Some things I've picked up on the to do list:

-diverting downspouts further away from the house (currently not very far)

Grading around the house! Surface water flowing back towards the foundation is a very frequent cause of flooded basements. Adjusting the grading to keep surface water >3' away from the house can completely eliminate a flooded basement issue (due to precipitation). I would trust that the builders did it properly....that sort of detail work isn't a big concern to them.

stt55pot wrote: ↑The thing about battery backup is that it will eventually run out of battery. Backup battery runs out in about an hour or so...so if you are out of electricity for a day...your house is still flooded...I think there are some sump pumps that don't need electricity, but works on incoming water ... check with the plumbers is the best guess...

I didnt watch the whole video...but I think this is it...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS0AhlNY ... re=related

Batteries last much longer than an hour plus, at about $80 a pop, you can connect as many as you wish together to get the level of coverage you're comfortable with.

The water powered pumps are great for people on municipal water but useless for the many of us that have well water - no power = no water.

Personally, I have 2 electric pumps, a generator and a gas powered pump on standby. Fortunately our pumping season is short and predictable.

I actually have a website, and we sell power inverters (they connect to your battery) and they have an automatic transfer switch built in. So you plug in your sump pump into the inverter, have it attached to a battery then plug it into the wall, so you don't have to worry about power failures because it will detect a failure and switch auto to your battery than back to your house power when you regain it. PM me if you want more info.

If you want to go the Sump Buddy route Costco.ca currently have them with $20 off.

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.asp ... d=10292153

So the power has been out almost two hours and I lucked out that it's not raining heavily right now. When I created the thread I was thinking more along the lines of getting a battery backup for the current pump to plug into. I don't know how much a setup like that costs. Is the 2nd pump with battery backup a more cost effective solution?

Macross_Freek wrote: ↑So the power has been out almost two hours and I lucked out that it's not raining heavily right now. When I created the thread I was thinking more along the lines of getting a battery backup for the current pump to plug into. I don't know how much a setup like that costs. Is the 2nd pump with battery backup a more cost effective solution?

Second battery operated pump is the best way to do it.. if your main pump fails, having a battery on it won't help you... if your float jams up, the second float that is on your battery unit may save you. Consider having a sensor put in and connected to your home alarm system.

Also, if you end up with a battery backup pump.. read the manual, know the manual. If it says you have to add water to the battery(many units use a "serviceable" battery), do so!

I discovered last month the previous owners of my house had apparently never touched the unit, and for some reason the battery water level sensor didn't operate.. had a short power outage, and when the power came back on, my unit started beeping that the battery was no good.. checked the battery, and the water level was at less than a third.. plates were exposed. figured it was dead, but filled up the water and put it on my charger.. wouldn't charge properly.

Looked for prices for a new battery, $170 for battery + $25 for acid, plus 13% tax in Canada. Lowes in the US sells the one I have to use for 123+17, and the border people didn't charge my wife any tax when she brought it back. The manufacturer is sending me a new battery water sensor, even though the unit is out of warranty.

Had the power failed during heavy rain, my defective battery could have cost me tens of thousands in repairs to the basement... Get a unit, keep an eye on the battery, and test it now and then.. shut the main pump off, pour water into the sump and make sure the battery one kicks in... Figure on replacing the battery every 3-5 years even if you take care of it.

I really did my research on this one as I have the same issue. In the spring, my pump was running every 3 or 4 minutes for a while, pretty scary water in there.

Battery is no good for me for many reasons. I don't want to worry about the space, the cost, the maintenance and frankly, the limited amount of time it would actually run (which probably decreases as they get older).

Get yourself a water-driven sump pump like I did. I got a top of the line Basepump, which has better reviews than a couple of the ones listed above. You can get some really beefy models if you have a ton of water to remove. In my house the base model 750 worked. You should do a bucket test to see what water pressure you have before ordering though.

Here's the Amazon.com link that I bought through.

http://www.amazon.com/Basepump-Water-Po ... 368&sr=8-1

I did the install completely myself with PEX piping, PVC going outside (you might need to rent a rotary hammer if you have brick or concrete to go through). Mine works perfectly, I've tested it by pouring a bunch of water in my sump. One lady on Amazon.com reviewed it and said hers ran for 2 months straight...try to see if battery will even last 12 hours! Not that you would want to run it for any length of time like that

Im curious, how many of you have your sump pumping out to the yard/road vs into the sewer drain?
I think its against code, but the previous owners of our house have it plumbed in to the sewer drain ...pros and cos to both IMO...for routine pumping this way seems best...but in the event of a catastrophic sewer flood, we're f-ed.

FWIW, in the spring, our neighbours bought a large Generac power backup device for their home...They apparently have a 2nd pump as a backup, but were mostly afraid that now that theyre kids have all grown up and moved out, of noone being home ie. on vacation during a flood and power outage. so the generac gives them some peace of mind.

Keep in mind if you're using a municipal water powered one, the water you're using to run it has to be drained as well.. if you have it drain into the regular sewer system, and you have a backwater valve installed, you'll flood your own basement, so you'll need to dump into your sump or outside.

also, don't forget you'll need to run a water source to the sump.

Stealth: does it drain into the sewer line, or into a storm line? my old house didn't have a connection to the storm lines(though they exist at the street, but were put in long after the house was built so the city never connected it up), and my new house has a separate line for storm drainage, so it would be legal to do so.

Been playing with fire the last few heavy storms. The sump basin has been full with the pump on for about 15 mins straight. In addition to getting a backup, should I look at upgrading from the current 1/4 hp pump too?

Also, does anyone know if I can drain my sump pump into the street in Scarborough? If not I'll just drain onto the front lawn which slopes down onto the street anyway. Right now it goes to the side of the house to which is just an alley of rocks and stones. I suspect that during heavy rain the water is cycling constantly.