Another sump question

[Scoot]

I've got a single sump with a single pump in it right now. The current pump is not backed up by battery, but is covered by a generator, which automatically kicks on if we lose power. I want a second pump in my house somehow and I'd like to make it pretty bombproof so I am extremely unlikely to get water in my basement.

I could put in a second pump the the first and put a battery backup on it. However, I'm thinking about putting in a second sump with a seperate pump. I would put this second sump pump on a different circuit so if I ever tripped a breaker on the primary pump, I'd still be covered with the second sump pump. My thoughts would be to put the second sump pump higher than the first and have it function as a true back up pump and not the primary pump. Thoughts?

[delcecchi]

I've got a single sump with a single pump in it right now. The current pump is not backed up by battery, but is covered by a generator, which automatically kicks on if we lose power. I want a second pump in my house somehow and I'd like to make it pretty bombproof so I am extremely unlikely to get water in my basement.

I could put in a second pump the the first and put a battery backup on it. However, I'm thinking about putting in a second sump with a seperate pump. I would put this second sump pump on a different circuit so if I ever tripped a breaker on the primary pump, I'd still be covered with the second sump pump. My thoughts would be to put the second sump pump higher than the first and have it function as a true back up pump and not the primary pump. Thoughts?

That would help. But you need to consider the situation of a power failure. Power failures are more common than tripped breakers.

Will you be home when the incident happens?

[Scoot]

Thanks for the reply, Del. If a power failure happens we should be covered with the generator I mentioned. I kicks on automatically and the sump pump is tied into it, so it runs even when the power to the house is out.

[delcecchi]

Oops. I missed the part about the generator.

If you have a generator, battery backup is not necessary in my opinion. the separate circuits is a good idea as is the redundant pumps. Whether you need two sumps is a matter of physical arrangement for the two pumps on two circuits.

[Tom7227]

You most likely will have to put in a second sump basket as I doubt there is enough room in the one you have for a second pump. That second sump basket would have to be tied in to the drain tile under the basement floor as well as piping to discharge the water out and away from your home. If you put it on a second circuit powered by your generator you would have a pretty solid system.

You said you wanted to put the second pump higher than the existing one. Could be hard as I suspect most sump baskets are a pretty set dimension. You could control which is primary by having a shorter tether on the float switch. Downside there is that would make the pump cycle more often and that is hard on a pump.

My house had a 30 gallon barrel and no drain tile. I had to put in tile and added a second basket and pump. The old one runs most often and does nearly all the work. But when there is a lot of rain both will run, at times about every 5 minutes for the old one and every 7-8 minutes for the new one.

[h8go4s]

"You said you wanted to put the second pump higher than the existing one. Could be hard as I suspect most sump baskets are a pretty set dimension. You could control which is primary by having a shorter tether on the float switch. Downside there is that would make the pump cycle more often and that is hard on a pump."

Just put the second pump on a couple of bricks. Voila! It's now higher!

[WWW]

Got a few customers with more than one sump tank and pump in their homes. Works well for their situations. For setting one higher than the other think I would just look at setting one float higher than the other. Think I would want to run the back up one every now and again just to make sure its still working to. You could also ad a alarm float or water alarms pretty easy for extra security. Some of the water alarms are about as simple and cheap as a battery powered smoke detector.

[Scoot]

Thanks guys- I appreciate the input and info! One other thing- I'm considering running the second pump out of the house through completely seperate lines so if I ever had a problem with my other line (plugged, frozen up, broken line inside the house for some reason, etc) I would be covered for that too. Thoughts?

[delcecchi]

I ran one of those roof heating cables down the line so I can plug it in if necessary and melt any ice that has formed.

[Tom7227]

Although it is prohibited I set mine up so I can dump the water into the laundry sink if the regular line freezes. I can open a valve and the problem is solved. My discharge line runs about 50 feet down a hill and opens into a french drain so freezing is common. But in the winter the only water that gets dealt with is the stuff that comes from the high efficiency furnace.

[StillwaterAaron]

Although it is prohibited I set mine up so I can dump the water into the laundry sink if the regular line freezes. I can open a valve and the problem is solved. My discharge line runs about 50 feet down a hill and opens into a french drain so freezing is common. But in the winter the only water that gets dealt with is the stuff that comes from the high efficiency furnace.

Just a heads up on the condensate going into your sump. That water is very acidic and could wreck your sump.

[Walleye Guy]

I just purchased, but have not yet installed, a sump pump that has both the typical A/C 110 and 12 volt DC back-up. The unit has a built in charger that maintains the deep cycle battery. It appears to be a good concept for power outage conditions. It may work for your situation as well. Proof will be in the pudding so to speak.

[JOHNBIGDOG]

They make a "sump pump" that operates on house hold water pressure. It uses the water to create a vacuum and pulls additional water with it.

It wont hit your electricity bill as much as a battery back up.

[rundrave]

They make a "sump pump" that operates on house hold water pressure. It uses the water to create a vacuum and pulls additional water with it.

It wont hit your electricity bill as much as a battery back up.

I have one of these water jet pumps and it works great when your not pumping a lot of water. However if you get a big rain event and the power goes out it can cause more harm than good.

[Surface Tension]

What does it do to your water bill?

[rundrave]

What does it do to your water bill?

I only have it as a back up in case my main pump goes out. I have only had it kick in twice and it was for a short amount of time in each event.

[Justfishing]

Frank

That all depends on how much it runs and for how many days. Also it only a viable option with city water.

But the bigger question is how much does it cost if it doesnt run. How much does an alternate system cost and what does it cost you to keep it in standby mode. If you use a generator how ill it take over ie do you have to be there to start it. How long will its fuel last. It does no good if it runs out of gas or if you are not there to switch it over.