Anyone here use a back-up battery operated sump pump?

[yy4me]

We have a regular sump in the basement of our 200 year old house. Part of the cellar is on ledge and dirt. When we get severe rain, the water table rises to the point where water will come in and drain into the original sump well. Last year, the original sump stopped. We don't know if it was a power failure, dead pump or what but the cellar flooded, ruined the furnace and of course, insurance would not cover the new furnace. A friend said we should look into one of these pumps that will kick in if you have a power failure and your regular pump won't work. Any advice will be appreciated. I'm concerned about spring rains. If it happens again, we're $$$ sunk.
Thanks

[trotsky]

1. There are two things to be concerned about.

1) How long the battery will last.
2) How much water the battery-operated pump can move.

When that water starts coming in, how often does your regular pump cycle? Is it working hard to keep up? If so a backup pump might get overwhelmed.

I just hung a large (3000VA) computer UPS on my regular pump (my previous company had several of them to get rid of), even though our power is pretty reliable. I also always replace my pump the year after the warranty expires, even if it's working fine, just for peace of mind.

Another solution is the water-powered sump pump. If you have a municipal water supply (i.e., you don't rely on an electrical pump to get water out of a well), you might want to check this out:

http://www.radonseal.com/pumps/water-powered-pumps.htm

[Kolesar]

2. I would be real tempted to put in some solar cells (photovoltaics) since you are buying batteries

It could charge up for 2 to 4 hours a day while the sun is shining. There are DC (direct current) sump pumps on the market: I think they are 12 volts.

You would have a solution for a week without electricity like we had in 2003. You could use the power to run other appliances in the house when you have "excess" power on the long summer days. To do that, you would buy an inverter and add it to the system.

Just musing. www.repowersolutions.com