Battery Backed-up Sump

 Because our basement was built with stone walls, water has an easy job getting it. Back when we bought the place, that was one of Dad's main concerns. In fact, after we had committed to buying, he happened to drive by and see Sam (the previous owner) hauling a hose out the south door. He was pumping water out of the basement.

 So an early purchase was a sump pump. Dad wanted a sump pit installed in the basement and a dependable pump always at the ready. That was easier said than done. First, the basement leaked water at a rate that most portable pumps couldn't handle. And when a plumber installed a sump pit (a plastic container, about the size of a small garbage can, set into the concrete  floor) we found it mere hours later lifted up out of the floor as though it had returned from the grave.

 Needless to say the plumber came back and did the job over again. How? The plastic container was weighted down while the concrete set in place. One disaster averted.

 Over the years, I took care of part of the problem but burying an underground discharge pipe that empties into the driveway. As it was, the water was pumped out and the same water quickly flowed back in. Once we got the discharge far from the house, the amount of water subsided.

 Problem solved? Not quite. We found the next weak in the chain to be Dayton Power & Light. They had - and still do - a serious problem keeping the electric on. Without power the sump was useless.

 Once, within the past year, the power went out on a rainy day. I went to the Y as planned, thinking that not too much water could seep in in about two hours. But while I was gone there was a deluge. I came home to find the power back on ... but a telltale water mark on the basement walls that was a full 5" above the floor.

 Through the years we've had an 1800 watt generator to handle those power emergencies. But recent;y that unit failed and I found it is no longer made (it was a Toro circa 1984). Parts are no longer available.

 What to do? Here's the sump that we've had for 32 years. It's been very dependable - when it has power:

 The discharge pipe is in the middle. The smaller white PVC pipe coming in from the left carries condensate from our HVAC. The mercury float switch (left side of pit) has never failed.

 Last fall I talked to a local friend who had the same problem. She said they bought a battery backed-up sump. They had it installed by Pester Plumbing. I asked for details and found that their pump was a Glentronics Inc. PHCC-1000 Pro Series.

 Glentonics makes three models - 1000, 1850 and 2400 gallons per hour. The smallest pump should handle our needs. On April 1, 2019 I signed a contract to have one installed. On April 11 Brian was sent to do the installation.

 After working in the basement for a short while he came back up and told me, "I've got some bad news". The unit had been broken in shipping (one of the two float switches was broken). He said he'd get another ordered and they'd call me with a new installation date. That was April 25.

 Here's the sump pit with the two pumps side-by-side:

 The battery-operated pump is on the right and the control unit is attached to the white PVC pipe on the right.It is smart enough to alert us of a power failure and pump as needed. The unit can pump for 50 hours at a 10% duty cycle. It has an audible alarm.

 I was happy to have it installed just before a heavy rain event. Since it was installed we've had 1.77" of rain.

 Friday night, though, the rain stopped for a bit and the stars came out. At 2:15 am I awoke and saw that we had no power. The new pump was beeping to let us know. Though the power was only off for an hour, I heard it pump once.

 So the timing was right.

 At $799 installed, this was quite an investment. A new generator would have been much cheaper. But a generator requires starting and this system is automatic. That's worth the extra cost to me.

 I hope this gives us good service and peace of mind with our constant power outrages.

Update: 04/18/24

 Last week we had a four hour power outage and the pump just gave me an audible alarm. I had to replace the battery ($155 at my local car repair place). All is well again. I've made a note to test the battery more often, unplugging  the power pack before I do.