A water powered sump pump uses high pressure municipal water supplied by a dedicated water line and is triggered by a second float switch in the sump basin positioned higher than that of the primary.
Water powered sump pump vs battery backup.
A water powered backup pump uses water pressure to siphon water out of your sump.
And that s created a lot of controversy.
A water powered sump pump uses 1 gallon of your city water to pump out either 1 or 2 gallons of water from your sump pump basin.
Battery backup sump pumps have been available on the market longer than their water powered cousins and they are generally easier to understand.
Most use 1 gallon of city water for every 2 gallons of sump water they remove.
Battery backup pumps are generally run by marine deep cycle or similar batteries.
This model is installed above the sump pit and activates when it detects the water levels rising due to pump failure or power outage.
Dual power systems may also run alternately on a regular basis with the primary sump pump.
It does require a medium amount of water pressure so make sure your intake hose has some power too weak of a flow and it won t generate any.
I personally favor the water powered backup systems because as long as you have water pressure you will have a functioning pump.
The price you ll pay for water consumption during a power outage is a pittance compared with the cost of a flooded basement.
A pump run by a battery a fairly straightforward concept.
The battery backup sump pump works faster and removes more water per square inch than water powered battery backup sump pumps.
But if you re on a municipal water system a water powered backup pump may be a better option a well pump won t work if the power s out.
Any backup sump pump is useful in emergencies.
Unlike water powered pump battery backup works when there is no water supply.
This type of sump pump kicks in to run until the main pump problem is fixed.
When there s no power supply it will pump water quickly out of your basement.
When a power outage occurs the backup system runs on battery power.
A water powered system will continue to run for very extended periods of time as long as your city water continues to flow think days or weeks.
One is powered by a marine battery kept next to the sump while the other works off the municipal water system.
I have installed many battery powered and water powered backup sump pump systems.
So a pump that s capable of removing 1 500 gph will use 750 gph of city water.
During severe flooding such that main sump pump can t handle all water volume the battery backup pump will help to drain fast.
Advantages of the best water powered sump pump backup versus a battery backup sump pump.
Water powered sump pumps are also very expensive to run compared to a battery backup electric pump.