Water Powered SUMP PUMP

[larryinnewyork]

Anybody install a Water Powered Sump Pump ? ? ?
Any advise ? What to watch out for ? Installation ? Pros & Cons ?

Currently, I should be all set to handle any water emergencies so as not to have water in the basement.
I have extra Sump Pumps all plumbed and set to go, Water Alarm,
and even a Hand Operated Sump Pump (think Water Well).

But, if I'm not home, there could be problems.
I don't want the maintenance of a Battery Backup System.

I'm thinking of installing a Water Powered Sump Pump.
It runs off of Municipal Water and uses 1 gallon for every 2 gallons of sump water.

Here is one Company that makes them.
http://www.basepump.com/products/basepump/

Other main suppliers are Liberty and also Zoeller.

I would get a Model with Back-Flow prevention.

 

[earlyre]

several family member with city water have them. they work as advertized.

we are on a well. no power=no water. so we have a standby generator. power goes out, it kicks on. pump still pumps.

we previously had a battery unit. installed by a plumber. NEVER WORKED.

 

[pandus13]

This Old House had 2 episodes where they show one installed and tested.....

 

[Linctex]

I'd imagine they can't handle much head height. I'd like to see a performance graph with head height/flow-gpm.

What is the minimum water pressure needed?
If you don't have at least 50 psi to work with, I'd be leery about its effectiveness.

 

[Arob]

I had one installed several years ago when a plumber was here to do some additional work. In the past, we had had instances where the conventional sump pump had failed due to a faulty switch. I never had another type of backup pump but my son had a battery-powered backup pump and it barely made it through an emergency activation.

The water-powered pump actually activated this past fall but we didn't know it until the city called us to alert us that the recent water meter check had shown excessive use and we might want to check for a leak, etc. We had recently been going through a week of heavy rain.

It dawned on us then that a new sound that we had been hearing for a week was the water powered pump. I looked in the pit and the conventional pump had water above its float and the water-powered pump was running. I jiggled the regular pump and it started up and drained the pit immediately.

Our water-powered backup is a Wayne model, made of high impact plastic or pvc, not sure, but it works. The plumber had to install a larger water line to the pump. It does pump slower than the conventional pump but saved us a wet basement.

 

[Arob]

I see Wayne no longer shows a water-powered sump pump on their web site.

 

[gomes512]

We've installed about a dozen of the WaterCommander brand pumps in residential setups. Two of our customers have told us it saved their basements from flooding. The WaterCommanders look almost identical to the ones on the basepump website. Great idea, but of course, not so great for the neighbors.

 

[Dadillac]

I used to have a home in a flood zone. I installed a water powered sump pump after Superstorm Sandy took out my foundation. I bought a Liberty. Big mistake. The thing had an issue with shutting down after running. I threw that piece of [censored] away and spent the big bucks on a Basepump. Best money I spent. That is until the govt. bought my house and leveled the neighborhood. Now I am in a house that is high and dry and no basement. Anyway I recommend Basepump based on my personal experience.

Don

 

[JTK]

Larry, my parents had one in their home in Orchard Park 30yrs ago. They work very well provided you've got good water pressure and a good sump drainage system.

 

[SatinSilver]

I had a cat that would keep yanking on the string which kept giving me high water bills. It didn't seem to work properly either.