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Luckily we never lost power during the past hurricane, but can anyone recommend a battery backup system for a sump pump? I'm not looking for a generator, rather a rechargeable battery system. I've heard these things exist, but when I asked at Home Depot they seemed to have no idea what I was talking about.
I had the same idea a few years back. Since my current job has close ties to Info Tech I thought "they back up whole server farms with batteries surely I could use a similar tactic to backup my sump pump" -- not so simple!
To begin with the modern backup systems for data centers use a "unified power distribution" strategy so the racks get fed power for EITHER the grid, batteries or a generator. That is expensive and includes ways to change the D/C from batteries to A/C in a well regulated way, far more necessary for tightly scheduled data centers than a sump pump.
Next stumbling block is that the LOAD on a small residential type "uninteruptable power source" is assumed to be a single server. The battery would give you time (or trigger other software via a USB signal) to run backups and shut down the critical apps. A sump pump might need to run multiple times every few minutes for hours and hours during a storm. That kills batteries.
Final stumbling block is often sump pumps fail not just becuase of power outages but becuase they are darn finicky mechanical devices with goofy water sensing switches. The "insurance" you get by having a SEPARATE backup pump with its own switch cannot be overstated.
What I do recommend is to NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY on el cheap backup systems. The various manufacturers all sell some systems that I swear are designed to only fool a newbie. Some wimpy little "wall wart" charger is bound to fail before a nice beefy charger. Get a system that accomodates DUAL DEEP CYCLE MARINE BATTERIES. You want a pump capable of discharging the same gallons per hour as your primary A/C pump. That won't be cheap, but like having a weak bilge pump in a ragind storm the alternative is to need to start bailing by hand.
I have heard some good things about the water-siphon type systems, but they too can fail and have weak points too, as well as needing to discharge additional water that is metered. Could get expensive in areas with high water rates...
Batteries have lifespans. If you buy one and don't replace it about once every three years, you have false protection. For that matter, battery powered units are only good for as long as the battery lasts. That is great for an outage of a few hours, but for one of a few days... fuggedaboudit.
In my house that was like a boat, I had a regular sump pump, a water powered sump pump and a homemade battery powered pump. I used a microswitch, a toilet float arm, a $10 RV water pump, and a car battery. Charging was done when I got aroundtuit. I played around with all systems. The water powered one was by far the most reliable.
This has actually been on my to-do list for a couple years. Gets moved to the top the day before a major storm (when there's not enough time left), and then slides back down after the sump pump doesn't fail and the power stays on.
When I get get around to it, I think I'm going with a Zoeller 507: Basement Sentry® 507, 510 | Zoeller Pump Company
Since it's a second pump, you're covered if the primary one fails when the power is still on, as well as during an outage.
We're currently trying to figure out the same thing. We spent a few hours bailing out our sump pit after Hurricane Irene knocked out our power for luckily only a few hours.
Now we're super paranoid about that happening again. I'm thinking of having one of the water-powered backup sump pumps installed. AND buying a generator. And possibly a battery backup for the existing sump pump. And hiring a small person to live in our basement and call me if our sump pump randomly stops working. Ok, that last one was a joke, but I'm kind of serious about having multiple backup solutions.
The problem with getting a battery backup only is that it doesn't cover you if the sump pump itself fails. IMO, a backup sump pump is needed.
Zoeller is a good company and generally makes quality sump and ejector pumps but the unit above strikes me as weak.
Too many firms do not make quality back-up pumps. The use inexpensive bell shaped plastic housings. Plastic does not disipate the kind of heat that often occurs during heavy storms. A bit of grit or gravel can render a plastic impeller housing useless. (there are some firms that use a different type of pump where plastic won't matter, but you need to see how the impeller & intake screen work. These bell shaped units are NOT QUALITY! They might be better than nothing, but to me that ain't GOOD ENOUGH!)
In parts of the country where a backup pump is likely to be needed to serve through an extended power outage it is much better to get a heavier built unit. This is my current favorite: ESP45 - Wayne 24-Volt Cast Iron Battery Back-Up System at Abt
It is backordered becuase of recent storms near the store have caused everyone to JUMP at the opportunity to get a quality unit for a very attractive price.
BTW I strongly recommend using AT LEAST a "h shaped" set of discharge pipes with multiple check valves. Even better is to run a fully separate discharge pipe -- one more level of redundancy!
Sump pumps cannot be "slid up or down" -- you need to mount them solidly to rigid PVC discharge pipe.
Thanks annie and chet, I'll be sure to check these out. Since my power rarely is out for more than a few minutes, I'm just as concerned about the main pump failing.
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