Your properly installed primary basement sump pump should do 99.99% of the pumping to drain your basement, and this should be an ac electrical powered unit. However, even with a high-quality primary sump pump, you really need a high-quality reliable backup sump pump to minimize the chance of flooding in your basement.
So how do you decide which type and model of backup pump will work best in Your basement? Read this article to help you decide which technology represents your best option for protecting your particular basement and it’s valuable contents.
A Battery Powered Backup Sump Pump is a relatively complex piece of equipment, with an electric motor, electrical connections, batteries, and battery charger. As with any other complex system, over time, there is significant opportunity for corrosion and wear to degrade the systems performance. So regular maintenance is an absolute requirement if you want your battery powered backup pump to work when your primary sump pump fails, or you lose power for any reason.
We have sold high-quality Basementsaver battery backup systems for many years, and the most common reason for failure that we have seen is that the owner did not maintain or replace his battery, as it sat forgotten for months or years in his basement.
Your battery powered backup pump system may not be required to operate for many months, or even several years, but you have to remember to test it and maintain it on a regular basis. Otherwise, when it is eventually required to work it will not operate and you will experience a flood.
The second most common reason for failure that we have seen is during extended periods of power loss, when backup pump batteries become completely discharged, run out of power, and can no longer operate the backup pump. To get through an extended period of power outage you would have to buy many batteries and maintain them all. This would be a very expensive and onerous option that most people will not even consider.
In practice, it is painful just to listen to the awful stories that we regularly hear from people who have experienced a flooded basement when they thought that they had it completely protected by an expensive battery backup pump system.
In comparison, a high-quality Water Powered Backup Sump Pump is a very simple piece of equipment with very few moving parts, no electrical connections to corrode, no batteries to maintain, and essentailly zero requirement for maintenance of any sort.
Such pumps from Basementsaver and Basepump are able to very efficiently evacuate your sump using the flow of city water from your plumbing system to power them. Since there is no battery to exhaust, they can continue to pump for extended periods when necessary, so long as your city water supply still runs.
If you have a consistent (40-90psi) city water supply, the Basementsaver / Basepump Water Powered backup Pumps will probably be your best emergency sump pump choice. With this ultra-reliable backup pumping system in place, you should always be able to protect your basement – even if the electrical power fails for an extended period.
Our water powered backup pumps come in 3 different sizes:
Many municipal water departments now insist that any system connected to their water supply must be provided with an “approved” backflow prevention device to protect the water supply. However, different water departments often require different specifications for the backflow prevention devices that they will “approve”.
Each Basementsaver / Basepump backup pump model is available with a range of backflow prevention options, to satisfy your local plumbing department, as described below.
Pumps with Dual Check Valve (DCV) backflow prevention devices are our most popular option. These pumps are accepted by most plumbing departments and the residential models are highly popular with homeowners because they offer the simplest DIY installation, coming with integrated shut of valves and push-fit connectors that do not require soldering to connect to your city water line.
Pumps with Vented Dual Check Valve (DCV) backflow prevention devices are offered specifically to provide “approved” backflow prevention in the State of Illinois. These residential pumps also come with integrated shut of valves and push-fit connectors that do not require soldering to connect to your city water line.
Pumps with Atmospheric Vacuum Breaker (AVB) backflow prevention devices are are offered specifically to provide “approved” backflow prevention in the States of Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. These AVB equipped pumps cannot share a discharge with your primary sump pump and must be installed with their own dedicated discharge pipe.