The sump pump in my house, so far as I can tell, is original which would make it about 16 years old. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it and it works like a champ with nature calls, but from time to time I wonder if I should replace it just to be proactive about it.
What I’d really like to do, in fact, is replace it AND put in a back up pump at the same time.
So, first off here’s the pump I have now. The thing I really hate about it is that whoever installed it, used a one piece crock cover like this and then used some brackets to screw the pump to the cover. What that means is that should the pump ever fail (and if I’d be home) I wouldn’t be able to bail the water out or toss my submersible pump in the crock very easily since the cover doesn’t just come off. This also makes installing a second pump a bit trickier.
Anyways, so here’s my questions…
What are the advantages and disadvantages to submersible vs pedestal. The two things I’m reading are noise and life. Noise isn’t a concern. Is the life that much longer? Am I going to need to have a submersible pump in order to get a back up pump to fit in there as well? As I mentioned, my pump is braced to the crock lid. It’s sort of in the way of doing anything else. In fact, I’m not even sure how I would be able to get in there to install a back up pump without removing this one first…I take that back, I remember thinking about this earlier, I think if I get an aviation shears, I can just cut the lid in half, but I’ll figure that out later.
Next, on to the back up pump. The most common one is a battery backup. I’m pretty good about checking up on things and doing maintenance, so keeping an eye on the battery shouldn’t be a problem.
The next option I saw is something like this where the primary and backup pump is all sort of one big unit. I assume it’s really just meant for someone that just wants to be able to drop it in the hole and connect one pipe. It seems like a good idea, but I worry that if one pump dies, the entire unit would need to be replaced.
So, that brings us to the water powered sump pump. In all the years I’ve been in my house (6?) I think the longest I’ve been without power is a few hours (how long do the battery units run?) and I’ve never been without water. On top of that, there’s a water pipe going to my outdoor spigot literally directly over the pump, so the plumbing wouldn’t be a big deal.
So, to sum it up…
Should I proactively replace a 16 year old pump that works fine?
What kind of backup pump should I get?
Do I need to install a submersible pump to get a backup pump to fit?
the water driven backup pumps are really small and would fit along side your existing pump.
make a long H of wood to mount your pump to and free up the lid, cut out one end of the lid slot to make a U slot, so the lid can be removed without disturbing anything.
I was thinking about the lid thing. The sump pump is in a closet (that’s used for nothing but the sump pump) so I could probably do without the lid, unless that’s a code violation.
Having said that this doesn’t look all that much smaller then any other pump, but without the lid issue, it’s not really a concern anymore.
I know there’s smaller ones but I’m lead to believe, based on one random post on a random message board, that Zoeller is THE brand to get when it comes to pumps which is why it’s the first one I looked at (other then that I really haven’t done much research).
I have a water backup and I love it. I’ve only needed it once actually but I was so glad to know it was there and it worked. The power was only out for an hour but it was an hour during which a ton of rain came down.
Also, I know that if I was gone for a long period and the power was out for some reason, the water backup would carry on indefinitely. A battery only has so long of a life.
I never had a backup before in the 4 years I’d lived here, but I did lose 2 pumps and would have really liked to have had a backup for if they died. So the backup isn’t just for power outages it’s also for when your pump dies (and unless you’re Joey P, your pump will die! )
I heard the same thing about Zoeller pumps until my Zoeller pump died in a year and the plumber who came to replace it said “Oh no, not Zoeller you want XXXX that is a much better pump, here’s why” and I bought his spiel and he put it in. Unfortunately I don’t remember which brand XXXX was.
As for lids I don’t think they are required by code but I am in Ohio so it may be different. When my guy put in the water backup he said he had to get rid of the lid and I said “ugh, I wish you wouldn’t…I just don’t want crap getting lost down there and getting stuck in the pump.” He managed to finagle the lid back on, with a new hole in it.
The lid isn’t sealed anymore, but I only had a sealed lid in the first place as part of a radon mitigation system that was installed when I bought the house. Before that it was just two pieces of old plywood. I honestly don’t think the lid does anything other than mitigate the noise. I could be wrong.
That’s all I got to say. I am happy with my setup, finally. I don’t know anything about whether your pump will die. I think it stands to reason that it might someday.
The random post on a random message board was a post that you made here. Honestly, if I were to replace my sump pump, I’d probably just get one from Home Depot/Lowes or Grainger.
!! I wouldn’t do that. I did read a lot about pumps when I was propositioned with this non-Zoeller brand and I did not hear anything good about your run-of-the-mill retail pumps.
For the record, here’s what you said in an earlier thread
You had TWO plumbers tell you not to go anywhere near a big box store and you ended up having to replace the pump a year later anyways (of course it could have been a fluke). I have to wonder if part of the reason for that is that to get a Zoeller pump you have to go to an actual plumbing store (or a place like Grainger) which most non-plumbers don’t frequent and probably don’t even realize exist.
The Zoeller lasted exactly 2 years (12/2007 - 12/2009). It was a submersible. It was the type with an arm and a floating ball.
The replacement brand XXXX was Stevens and it hasn’t run 2 years yet (12/2009). It is not the type with an arm and a floating ball but it is submersible. It’s one of these, probably the first or second.
Looking at the Zoeller offerings it seems that all of their pumps have the float arm thing. The guy who sold me the Stevens was not a fan of the float arm because the arm wears out much quicker than however the Stevens works. I think in my case the way the crock was set up, the arm was getting pummeled by water all the time and it did die early.
So in conclusion I believe the argument was that the style of residential pump Zoeller produced was not as long-lasting, in his opinion, as the style that Stevens offered.
I totally hear you about Zoeller and I was all about Zoeller (due to the recommendations) until mine died. And still was trying to get the new plumber to put in a Zoeller until he explained to me his reasoning for Stevens.
Being that I’ve only had the Stevens for 18 months I’m still not completely sold on it being the be-all-end-all. As I said this is my 3rd pump in 5 years.
The guy who sold me the Zoeller worked for the same company as the guy who sold me the Stevens. So I’m not sure if there are any hidden meanings behind which brand they sell.
I am so paranoid and pissed about water, weeping tiles, sump pumps and drains (honestly it’s been what I’ve spent the most money on since I moved here) that I can’t imagine buying something at Lowes and installing it myself. To me, in my situation, sump pumps are serious business that need serious consideration and the loving hands of a professional.
In your case, you already have a solid machine that has worked well for more years than I’ve owned my house, so sump pumping is that has yet to cause you grief and that is awesome. I think we just look at the issue differently, is all.
I’m in pretty much the same situation as you, just about a year behind. (I had the float on my sump pump fail in the on position, but was able to buy a stand-alone float.) I’ve been meaning to add a backup pump for a few years now, and have decided it might be easier to just replace the old one at the same time than to add a backup pump to the existing pump.
I like the idea of that combo primary/backup pump. Because as you say “drop it in the hole and connect one pipe”, although that was my plan anyway by buying the primary and backup together. I had never seen that before. I found the manual online here (PDF). It has sections titled “replacing the backup pump” and “replacing the primary pump”, so that’s promising. There’s a replacement parts list also.
I was able to find the backup pump for sale online here, for $110. No luck finding the primary pump for sale online separately yet.
Apart from when half the midwest went down for a day or so one August, our power’s only ever been out a couple hours at a time, so for me, the battery backup is mostly to have some redundancy, not for power outages.
After 3 floods caused by backup component failures, I am guilty to having spent a tidy amount on junk.
Then I called a plumber who told me that NexPump (which undoubtly you have not heard of this company as I had not) made the only really reliable system. Turned out they are made by a computer engineer in Chicago who tired of the crap in the marketplace.
That was 6 years ago, never a problem or issue. Expensive - but a lot less cost and hassle over time.
As cool as that system is, and trust me, I was drooling over it, I’d be worried about having it be computer controlled. One thing I’d need to know is that the computer is used ONLY for things like email notifications, battery monitoring, basically, it’s for the extras. If it’s in charge of things like switching from mains to battery or (heaven forbid) monitoring the water level and telling the pumps when to turn on, I couldn’t do it. Computers crash, motherboards die, things go wrong etc.
Of course, I suppose it’s just a backup pump though. I did check ebay and the only thing I saw was a replacement board for it. Also, it’s pricey, but not really all that expensive…sort of. You have to remember, a pump and a battery is several hundred dollars to begin with. So, two pumps, two batteries and a small computer should cost $1000-$1500.
I prefer the pedestal models. I don’t have to worry about any electrical parts shorting out. Noise hasn’t been a problem, but it’s in an unfinished basement where theres lots of other noise going on when anybody is down there. There was a submerged pump in our house when we moved in, it didn’t work, it had shorted out. Also, the float switches on submerged units seem to be the problem, and I’m not sure I trust other means of measuring water level. IIRC, some submerged units can overheat easily if they run dry and a stuck switch will do that. My pedestal usually runs at a 50% duty cycle in the worst times, one time almost 100% for a couple of days, with no problems overheating. There seems to be an integral fan in the motor housing. But that’s just my experiences, there are going to be a lot of different considerations in each installation.
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