back up sump pump

[Archerysniper]

Another item that interests some of our customers that we put near the sump pits is a water alarm. This is just like a smoke detector but sits on the floor. They are about the cost of a smoke detector to. $15 to $30 on average. These wont stop water from filling up your basement but will let you know what is going on so you can try to limit the damage.

Those can also be wired into a alarm panel for a security company so let say you are like a boss that I used to have and leave the water on at your cabin and the heater goes out in the winter you get a early warning that your cabin is flooding before you go up in the spring.

[Surface Tension]

Have seen this done before and it works great. If you have a floor drain cut a trench in concrete from floor drain line to sump pump. Add a Wye into the line and run it into sump pump tank. Put a trap in the sump pump so that you dont get sewer gas smell but if your pump ever goes out it will go into there and out the sewer. I Believe it is against code because they dont want you to dump your sump into sewer but for emergencies it works awesome.

That was common practice in Duluth.

Eventually and over worked sewer system that couldn't keep up when it rained out lead to the city making homeowners change.

[rundrave]

I recently bought an acreage earlier this summer and I have the waterjet back up, that runs off rural water.

The water table at my property is very high, and my primary sump pump runs frequently. After the heavy rain the the other night (1.5 inches) its running about once a minute but usually slows down after a few dry days and then runs less.

We had a terrible storm a few weeks back and the power went out for a while and I was concerned, but the water jet backup worked flawlessly and I probably used alot of water to pump out the sump hole but it was better than a flooded basement, I didnt notice an increase in my water bill so it couldnt have been that bad. I like that I dont need to worry about batteries it just runs.

I do have one question though, what is the life expectancy of a sump pump. It was bought new April of this year. If it is running often how long should I expect it to last? Or since its used so much, and I pretty much need to depend on it at all costs, when is a good time to just replace it with new one, for peace of mind?

[spearchucker]

I recently bought an acreage earlier this summer and I have the waterjet back up, that runs off rural water.

The water table at my property is very high, and my primary sump pump runs frequently. After the heavy rain the the other night (1.5 inches) its running about once a minute but usually slows down after a few dry days and then runs less.

We had a terrible storm a few weeks back and the power went out for a while and I was concerned, but the water jet backup worked flawlessly and I probably used alot of water to pump out the sump hole but it was better than a flooded basement, I didnt notice an increase in my water bill so it couldnt have been that bad. I like that I dont need to worry about batteries it just runs.

I do have one question though, what is the life expectancy of a sump pump. It was bought new April of this year. If it is running often how long should I expect it to last? Or since its used so much, and I pretty much need to depend on it at all costs, when is a good time to just replace it with new one, for peace of mind?

They will last almost forever. It is usually the float switch that goes out, but the motor is fine. I would suggest replacing the float switch every couple years just to be safe. They are around $10 I think.

[spearchucker]

Schmoe, why even mention something that doesn't meet code? Sure, it'll work but why add more to sewage treatment when it can go out to the gutter?

Not to mention that if some inspector catches it, they'll have to fix it.

The only time water would go to the sewer would be if the pump quits and the basement floods. In that case water is going into the sewer through floor drains anyway.

[Redlantern]

I understand what you're saying, Spearchucker but the OP is wondering about a back up pump, which would eliminate this problem. I still think it's kind of lame to mention how to do something that doesn't meet code but at least he was honest about it.

[spearchucker]

I know, but there was also talk of someone having the backup fail as well. I wouldn't loose any sleep over adding a few gallons to the sanitary sewer if my basement was going to flood.

My house has a recessed drain about 8 inches below the basement floor with a channel to the sump pit. If the sump pit gets full the floor drain will take the water and keep the floor dry.