What’s a Sump Pump Battery Backup For? One of the most important investments you will ever make in your life, and definitely one of the most expensive, will be your home. This will be the one foundation that you will work your entire life on and it is the one investment that a lot of people dream of acquiring after all the hard work they have pushed for. It is never easy, it is never a one-way route to get a home but once you do get it, your next concern is to make sure it is well maintained and well taken care of. One of the common problems that can occur, especially if you own a basement area, is flooding. Flooding occurs when your sump pump and its installed backup sump pump fail.

A sump pump is responsibility for keeping your basement dry and runs the majority of your home’s excess sewage systems. When it fails your excess water coming from below your basement as well as the flowing rainwater and other external sources will immediately rise up and flood your basement area. Cleaning that entire area off can be one big nightmare. Your sump pump will turn off or break when the electricity is cut off and this is a common problem during strong storms and electrical maintenances. The best way to make sure you are never caught in a bad situation where your house is flooding is to get a good battery backup sump pump. This backup sump pump will be the unit responsible for ensuring that the system works even when the electrical unit fails and you can expect it to fail or shut off a lot.

sump pump battery backup

sump pump battery backup

How do these sump pump battery back up work? Your basic sump pump, as aforementioned above, is responsible for keeping your basement dry. All of the water that seeps into your lawn has to go somewhere, right? The most likely place that drained water from the rain and others will go under the soil and eventually find their way into your basement. A sump pit is a little underground area that you can direct the water to go to and you’ll need a sump pump to properly direct this system to make sure the water enters the pit, flows through the pipes and out of your house and onto a proper sewage canal system. Most pumps are powered through your electricity line and that means when the power goes out, they shut down as well. Another problem is when it gets freezing cold since you can expect your pipes and the sump pump to simply freeze shut. That is where the battery back up sump pumpcomes into the picture.

You have two choices. You can use an electric pump that has a sump pump battery attached to it or you can get a battery backup for sump pump for emergencies instead. The first is an attachment that will automatically work alongside the regular pump, reducing the amount of electricity you’ll be using but these are pretty complicated to install. Another thing to take note of is that these two pumps, the main sump pump and the sump pump backup will be working at the same time and when one of them fails the entire system can fail. The second choice is by far the more popular choice. By installing a sump pump battery backup unit you’ll notice that the backup unit will only switch one once the main unit is not functioning properly or when it requires maintenance. The good thing is that these backup units that are installed separately from the main unit usually have separate alarms and accessories to ensure that even the pipes will function properly.

What comes in the package? One of the most common alarms is when the main sump pump is requiring maintenance. The backup unit will sound an alarm meaning that it has started to work and this tells you that something was wrong because the main unit has been shut off and you are depending on the battery backup unit. This is a great system because you won’t have to worry about manually checking the system constantly; the backup battery pack will do it for you. You’ll only have to go down to your basement for maintenance when the alarm sounds off.

Sump Pump Battery Backup

Another great accessory is the heating accessory that ensures that your pipes do not freeze over. This is usually a problem during the winter season since the dropping temperatures can cause your entire piping system to just freeze up and clog. This will make your sump pumps to stop functioning and you’ll find water quickly flooding over your entire basement. A good sump pump battery backup unit will have a heating accessory or heating feature that will keep the temperature warm within the entire drainage system. This means you can rest easy with the fact that your pipes will never freeze. No matter how cold it can get, you’ll never find water crawling out of the sump pit and onto your basement floor.

It is complicated to get these units installed. You might want to think that it saves money to do it yourself, but the truth it is you might be there for weeks tinkering with the pipes and numerous sewage requirements to get your sump pump working properly. This can be a hindrance over time and the best idea is to get a professional to have it installed. This will also ensure that your installed unit will follow the basic city requirements and safety standards. You’ll be saving a lot of money if you have the same team behind the sump pump battery backup unit you bought to be the team to install it into your home. They’ll be able to QA the process and run several tests over and again to make sure it works properly along with the main unit and under pressure or on cold circumstances. All of these are steps to protect the home that you worked so hard for. Keep your house flood free with an affordable sump pump battery backup unit today.

 

It is important to have a sump pump for basements to save you from being drenched whenever heavy rain and natural water ground seeps in your crib. These are usually recommended to be maintained for at least once a year, for anticipated debris and mud exhausting the capability of the sump pump to carry out its task. Though, sometimes heavy water invades the dryness of your basement surface right before your scheduled maintenance arrives. A need for battery backup sump pump must therefore be considered in order to keep your basement dry all the time. Preparedness for tough times like this means having outfitted backup equipment constantly. Notably, one must be able to determine the specification of the existing sump pumb to be able to decide for the accurate type of backup to purchase.

The only specification you have to know is the amount of power output or HP. Successful utilization of battery backup sump pump depends on its compatibility with the existing one. To determine the HP, come across its data plate or cord and from there you will see the power output. Now, there are two types of battery backup and these are the standard output and high output, respectively. Remember, if the power output is not compatible with a specific backup type, then it is as good as ending your investment in a garage. Buy a standard output battery backup sump pump if the power output is 1/3 HP. In addition to that, a sump pump of ½ HP which seldom runs during rain is also considered for this type of backup. However, if it is of ½ HP consistently run during rain, high output backup must be used to sustain the aptitude of its performance. Therefore high output backup is just perfect for a ¾ HP.

battery backup sump pump

battery backup sump pump

The standard output battery backup sump pump normally has DC systems. Using this type of backup is more effective if gallons per hour or GPH capacity. This way, backup will be able to pump more water within limited time or until the battery drains. On the other hand, high output backup generally uses AC system. Nonetheless, there are still high output backups which use DC pumps. It is possible to pump water during power outage or if it is jammed if DC pump of battery backup sump pump is combined with AC/DC system. The only problem with this set up is that the pumping power turns down as the battery drains. If reliability to pumping water from start to finish is the main concern during tough times, use of high output back up AC pump with inverter is recommended. This is possible because this set up converts the DC power of the battery to AC power which perfectly carries out the battery backup sump pump job just like the normal performance reliability of the main. Just make sure to only purchase from a reliable hardware store and only use compatible items to keep your basement dry and out of disaster.

 

Sump pumps are normally installed in basements or other low level areas, where there is a chance of water accumulating during storms or floods. Quite often this sort of situation arises when the weather is very bad, and can have storms that can knock out power supplies. At such a time, sump pumps stop working and can cause flooding that can cause a lot of damage to property. This where having a battery backup for sump pump can save the day. It will enable the sump pump to continue to function and thus keep the required areas dry.

Things to Consider when You Look for a Battery Backup for Sump Pump

The battery life for the system needs to be one that can work for at least 7 to 8 hours without any need to recharge it. Such periods are long enough to hope for the storm that is causing the water to come in to die down. It is also long enough to ensure resumption of power supply. In case longer periods are anticipated, arrangements can be made for standby generators during the period.

battery backup for sump pump

battery backup for sump pump

Any battery system that comes with such a sump system needs to have the proper monitoring units that will sound alarms when the battery is running low, or there are other situations that are causing distress to the sump pump or system. It also needs to be one that is designed to handle the load of a motor. Starting loads on motors are quite heavy and these need to be catered for.
The sump pump being used must  be able to easily remove the water and must have a very efficient device that allows the pump to switch on and switch off automatically. Sump pumps that have dual float switches ensure that there is rarely any breakdown of the system. Sumps from which water is pumped do have a tendency to collect dirt and litter, as they are at the lowest point of the area being pumped from. This does create situations that can cause the switches to get clogged and stop functioning.
The charger must be able to recharge the battery quickly so that the battery gets quickly charged as soon as the power comes on.  This depends on the capacity of the charger which can vary from 4 amps to 20 amps.

It is quite common for homeowners and other property owners to consider a battery backup for sump pump, even where they have generators installed as an alternate power source. This is because generators do need time to be started, and the sump pumps can continue to function until such time as the generator power kicks in.  Battery backups are best fitted with inverters that can convert the DC power from the battery to AC power for the motor of the sump pump. This same inverter also enables the mains power to charge the battery whenever the charge in it becomes low. Many manufacturers suggest that batteries are duplicated so that the system is ensured of power at all times. Installations of such systems also need to be made in such a way that they remain clear of any expected water level from flooded areas.

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