The Sump pump is a very effective devices for keeping your basement free of excess moisture. The electrical powered device sits in the lowest part of the basement, the “sump pit,” and begins to pump when it detects the presence of moisture. Occasionally, however, the very event triggering flooding in the basement may also knock out the electricity in your house. Therefore, to really protect your home from flooding, you should also have a backup sump pump.
Backup sump pumps sit in or above the sump pit, and are triggered by a mechanical float switch, which is set to turn on when the main pump has already failed. Since back up pumps need to work when there is no electricity, they must rely on alternative energy sources. The two types of devices are battery powered and water powered. Battery powered machines, as the name implies are run on stored energy in an electrical cell. Th batteries in the newer pump models are hooked up to the house electrical system and continually recharged when not in use.
Water powered pumps are powered by a vacuum created by liquid flow, and are entirely dependent of any type of battery or electricity. The principle of the water pump is based on the mechanical principle that pressure inside a tube containing running water is inversely proportional to the speed of the flow. As the flow is increased, the pressure inside the tube decrease, and this creates a relative vacuum. In the water pump, the water flow inside a special nozzle is accelerated, and this creates the vacuum effect.
The water flow nozzle has a hole in it which is fitted with a tube that comes up from the bottom of the sump pit. When the pump is triggered, the water begins to flow, the vacuum is created, and it sucks up water like liquid in a straw. Subsequently the city water and waste water flow out of the basement via an exit tube.
When evaluating the effectiveness of a backup water pump, consider how much city water is used to pump out one gallon of sump liquid, and how gallons per minute can be sucked out of the pit.
While loss of water is a consideration, many back up systems have an alarm which sounds when the pump is triggered. This alerts the home owner to the failure of the main pump. The owner can then repair the main system, and the backup apparatus will only be needed for a limited time.
Thanks to A-1 Plumbing of Baltimore for sponsoring this article. A-1 is a Baltimore plumber Company. Our licensed plumbers are trained in the repair and installation of sump pumps and backup sump pumps. If you happen to live in the Metro-Baltimore area, give A-1 a call. A radio dispatched plumber will come out to your house to help you with your problem.
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