Sump Pump Back up systems

[Fueler]

The neighbor lady asked me to check her sump pump back up battery. Grabbed the appropriate tool. Yup, an inch away from being roached. The rest of her system looked rather tired since it was installed long before we had city water available here. That puts it over 30Yrs old.
SO I decided to study up on these before advising her of her next purchase.
I also do not have a system on my own sump pump but should. Just been lucky until I just mentioned it.

I don't think much of this DC battery deal. We don't get many outages but IF it should last a day during a rain period I suspect the battery can't keep up.

Therefore I am looking at the city water driven sump pump backups. I figure to be the local Guinea pig.

Seem to be a bunch of them with widely varying pricing.
I want quality, price is secondary.
Anyone here dealt with one of these and any particular brand you like?
Pitfalls and hangups?

Thanks

 

[carlite65]

i put one of these in last year. have not needed it yet but testing worked fine.

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to...?comment_page=2&comment_sort=ASC#toh-comments

 

[Dominico]

This is what I have, Liberty SJ10 Sumpjet a water powered back-up sump pump that will protect your basement in the case of a power outage. Well worth the money, approx. cost $175.

http://www.libertypumps.com/Product/SJ10-SumpJet

 

[Streetbu]

My FIL has one for the last 4 years or so. Not sure which brand but it has worked fine with no problems.

 

[tipsy]

I'm a handyman. I've installed several of the Zoeller brand pumps, have one in my house that worked exceptionally well during a storm/power outage. That being said, all the licensed plumbers around here install that Liberty model.

 

[Dirtydan69]

I've installed a couple of the water powered ones when I was in illinois. The biggest cost initially is the 3/4" water line to the pump. I've had to run over 50 feet of copper to get to the pump. Customers seem to think it's expensive never mind it's a much better install than battery pumps. As for battery pumps I've installed quite a few of the Barracuda 2 in 1 pumps from Menards. Including battery and battery box they come in at around 525. Not bad and they have held up well.

 

[Fueler]

What is the deal with the copper feed line? Is there any reason I cannot use Pex?

 

[jchetty]

I have well-water so a city-water driven pump was not an option. After the terrible reviews from the Home Depot Watchdog system, I installed a Wayne lead-acid battery system from Amazon. Knock on wood, so far so good.

I bought the full kit that come with the battery, battery box (with smart charging), 1/2 hp primary pump, and a back-up pump. You can just buy the kit with the backup pump only, but my pump was seeing better days. It includes a check valve but that I did upgrade.

 

[Dirtydan69]

What is the deal with the copper feed line? Is there any reason I cannot use Pex?

Crook county. Need I say more? I would have been happy to use pex believe me.

 

[Bustedwheel]

Crook county. Need I say more? I would have been happy to use pex believe me.

So it's a building code thing? I was wondering the same on why not pex.

 

[Dirtydan69]

Yes a code issue. This was a few years ago. May have changed by now.

 

[engineer2]

I had a Simer Ace-in-the-Hole and it was ****. It would blow the SCR on the circuit board every 18 months and leave the battery dead without warning. Got tired of fixing it.

Now I have the Basement Watchdog. It likes to overcharge the battery so I have to refill it every month. It also has a trigger-happy alarm beeper that goes off at random times or with any power glitch. I know when my power is off due to absence of lights, I don't need an annoying beeper too. One of my projects is to wire a timer to the charger and an on-off switch to the alarm beeper.

 

[BleedingBlue]

I had a Simer Ace-in-the-Hole and it was ****. It would blow the SCR on the circuit board every 18 months and leave the battery dead without warning. Got tired of fixing it.

Now I have the Basement Watchdog. It likes to overcharge the battery so I have to refill it every month. It also has a trigger-happy alarm beeper that goes off at random times or with any power glitch. I know when my power is off due to absence of lights, I don't need an annoying beeper too. One of my projects is to wire a timer to the charger and an on-off switch to the alarm beeper.

I also have an Ace in the hole and it is a POS. watching this thread to find an upgrade!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[snappytom]

I have an Aquanot (now owned by Zoeller) battery backup pump that was New In Box from eBay, but still branded from the original company. It appears identical as the currrent Zoeller model and was a significant upgrade from the Basement Watchdog or Ace in the Hole ..... which I think are both ****.

 

[D45]

I have a Simer with an AGM battery, no issues and its over 10 years old

I just had to replace my main 3/4 HP sump, thankfully the battery back up kicked on after the main pump died

It worked so hard it drained the battery to nothing and set off an alarm

A new main pump and an 18 hour slow trickle charge and I am back in business

 

[kbs2244]

If she was happy with the installed system until the battery went bad why not just replace the battery?

 

[trukkins10]

Basepump.com

Had installed for about 2 years now. No issues, straight forward install. Utilizes a ball float, similar to the one for a toilet, to turn on/off. If there is only one pit, might not fit with the primary pump also. Just something to think about.

Problem I see with battery back up is the maintenance, and the fact during long power outage battery will be depleted.

 

[JRC3]

Was at one of my local pawnshops the other day and saw this NIB:

...$90 out the door. (It is the most current version of the BWD Special +)


Researched batteries and finally came up with this from Sam's for $94.

Here's the best part, the Basement Watchdog fluid sensor plug screws right into it just like their battery.

I basically got my system even with the core charge and taxes for $211. If I'd bought it all from Home Depot it'd been about $449.



Below: Actual box and fluid sensor plug.

 

[n20junkie]

The battery backups have one huge flaw, run time. They are good if your getting the generator out and need some time. But they won't keep the basement dry all day on a wet day. The power always fails on a wet day!

The water powered backups are the cats *** IMHO.

 

[JRC3]

The battery backups have one huge flaw, run time. They are good if your getting the generator out and need some time. But they won't keep the basement dry all day on a wet day. The power always fails on a wet day!

The water powered backups are the cats *** IMHO.

Well, that's fine and dandy...But, well, I'm on a well. Keep in mind, people, there are many different systems in place in our homes...More than 20% of us have a well supply our water.

One minute of run time every five minutes for 4 days is what mine will do. If at some point I go past 4 days I guess an idling vehicle will have to recharge the battery.

 

[fivespdcat]

I've had the BWD for four years now and it's worked fairly well. The only time i got worried was when it rained for a week and our power was out for four days. One other thing i did was mount the battery on a wall with a water sensor on the floor.

 

[CKS1955]

Researched batteries and finally came up with this from Sam's for $94.

Here's the best part, the Basement Watchdog fluid sensor plug screws right into it just like their battery.

Thanks for posting, I purchased my Watchdog last spring and haven't installed yet. Was looking at that exact battery.

Like you we are on a well. We also have a stand-by generator, so for me this is sort of belt & suspenders approach.

Jay

 

[D45]

I have a battery back up.............I only drained the battery once, after the main sump stopped

I am running two AGM batteries now, which should hopefully help with run time

Yes, I did successfully re-charge the AGM after it was drained.........slow trickle that took 18 hours

 

[willf650]

The battery backups have one huge flaw, run time. They are good if your getting the generator out and need some time. But they won't keep the basement dry all day on a wet day. The power always fails on a wet day!

The water powered backups are the cats *** IMHO.

I question that with our water supply. Me neighborhood is on a large well ran by a utility company. I believe the pump house may have a generator but if my power is out I'm sure theirs is as well.