We have 2 sump wells in our basement which are wired to our circuit board (each well has its own circuit). We have 2 pumps in each well (we live outside Boston and got feet of water this past spring). I think we’re prepared for the next 100 yr flood. However, if our power goes down, then we’re not ready. I’ve inquired about back-up generators but would rather not spend the $3000-$7500 for a hard wired back-up generator (I want a power source that will kick in if we’re away). Anyone have any experience with back-up batteries that may do the job cheaper? Can they be set up to kick-in if/when the main power is down?
You can get one that runs on water pressure. You have to plumb a water line to it, and if you’re on well water it won’t work, but other then that it might be an option.
What about installing a pressure tank? IANAP, but we have two pressure tanks in our basement–even when power goes out and our well won’t pump (or when vandals take the handles) we still have pressure. I know nothing about costs, feasibility, or how much time a sump would run on water pressure, but thought to mention it in case it’s cheaper than installing a generator.
The energy you can store in any normal pressurized water tank is going to be awfully small compared to what it takes to move any significant amount of flood water.
The standard around here is a battery backup. My friend lives next to a creek and said creek filled his basement to the ceiling last year during a storm. His protection now is a regular electric pump and 2 battery backups.
I happen to have a water-pressure backup, and it doesn’t kick on because the power goes out - it kicks on because its float is placed slightly higher than the electric one. So if the water is high enough to trip the water-powered backup, this means the electric one is not able to do its job. This most likely would be if the power is out, but it could also be if the electric pump’s motor died, or if the amount of water coming in is too overwhelming for the speed of the electric one.
I would suspect a battery backup would work the same way. You don’t want it to come on only if there’s no power, you want it to come on if the electric one is not able to do its job. If you have two battery backups, each placed higher than the other, then the second would come on only if the first failed - which could be if it ran out of juice or if it is overwhelmed or if the motor died (same as the electric).
IIRC the battery backups are stronger (faster pumpers) than the water ones, for the price. The reason I went with a water backup was purely because I didn’t feel I could trust myself to maintain the battery. You have to fill the cells up with water on schedule.
Water-powered pumps. This.
There’s just something cosmically wrong here. It’s as if someone went back in time, dodged the butterfly but stomped a water strider.
Originally Posted by ZipperJJ
You have to fill the cells up with water on schedule.
Water-powered pumps. This.
There’s just something cosmically wrong here. It’s as if someone went back in time, dodged the butterfly but stomped a water strider.
With two sumps, with two pumps each, it sounds like you have to move a lot of water. Will the batteries give you enough run time for your expected power outage time?
If the water-powered pumps work anything like water-powered RV sewage pumps, it takes a LOT of water - it takes a roughly 1:1 amount of input water to pump out a given volume of sump.
Mechanically, they’re nifty - no moving parts other than the float valve, but if you’re on well water, how much water can your system supply without power?
I’d go with a battery-powered backup. Some brands of these have integrated battery monitoring - they’ll tell you if the battery needs to be topped off.
The residential water-powered sump pumps work on a 1:2 ratio. For every 1 gallon of water used, it pulls 2 gallons out of the pit. If left running for a long time, this can be pretty costly, but probably not as costly as having your basement flooded.
to use a backup generator or batteries you would need to put those circuits onto a backup power breaker box (like a subpanel that can be sourced from the grid or your backup source).
you can get and install backup batteries and size the system to run your four pumps continuously for whatever time period you want to be covered for. i haven’t looked at prices for large battery backup recently and it depends on the number of days you want to be covered for, but you would spend a few thousand probably, depends on what deals you find and who does the work.