Sump pump installation with battery backup

The pump is the part of a drainage system that moves water out of the house. It works only while it has power and somewhere allowed to send the water.

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The parts, and what each does

The pit. A plastic basin set into the floor at a low spot, with holes in its sides so groundwater can enter.
The pump. It sits on the bottom of the pit, under water when it runs.
The float switch. It rises with the water and starts the pump, then stops it when the pit is nearly empty.
The check valve. A one-way flap in the pipe so the water already lifted does not fall back.
The discharge pipe. It carries the water up, through the wall and away from the house.
The lid. A fitted cover keeps damp air, toys and debris out of the pit.

A sump pit cut open. The green pipe at the left brings water in from the floor drain. The dark pump on the bottom starts when the round brown float lifts, and pushes water up the grey pipe, through the green check valve and out through the wall on the right. The small green pump beside it sits higher and runs from the battery box on the wall when the power is off or the main pump stops.

Why the battery matters

The storms that fill the pit are the storms that bring down power lines. A battery backup is a second, smaller pump with its own float and its own battery. It starts when the water rises past the level the main pump should have held.

It is a bridge, not a second mains pump. How long it lasts depends on the battery and on how often it has to run. Ask for that in plain terms: how many hours, pumping how often. Ask whether there is an alarm you can hear upstairs, and how you will know when the battery needs replacing.

Where the water may go in Clifton

Clifton's code names basement sump pumps among the sources of clean groundwater that may reach the city's storm drains, and its sewer chapter does not let foundation drains be tied into the sanitary sewer. So the pipe must not end in a laundry sink or a floor drain.

The details, and who to ask at City Hall, are in where a sump pump can discharge in Clifton.

Signs an existing pump is on its way out

It runs every few minutes in dry weather

The pipe may end too near the wall, so the same water returns. Or the float is set too low.

A thud after each cycle

Water is falling back down the pipe. The check valve is missing or worn.

It hums and nothing moves

The impeller is jammed or the pipe is blocked or frozen. Unplug it before it burns out.

Rust, or nobody knows its age

Pumps wear out. One that has sat unused through dry years can seize just when it is needed.

An open pit

No lid means humidity, smells and things falling in. It also suggests the rest was fitted in a hurry.

What to ask about a new one

What size is the pump, and how was that worked out from the depth of the pit and the height it has to lift?
Is the body cast iron or plastic, and what kind of float switch does it use?
Is the battery pump a separate unit with its own float, and what battery does it take?
Will the pump have its own outlet? New wiring is an electrician's work in New Jersey; ask who is doing it and under whose licence.
Exactly where on the lot will the discharge pipe end?
What keeps the outside section of pipe from freezing shut in January?

Sump pump questions

Will a sump pump on its own dry a basement?

Only if water can reach it. A pit in one corner drains the ground near that corner. Water entering along a far wall needs a drain to bring it to the pit.

How do I test the one I have?

Pour water slowly into the pit from a bucket until the float lifts. The pump should start, empty the pit and stop. Then pull the plug on the main pump and repeat to see whether the backup takes over.

Is a louder pump a failing pump?

Not always. Noise often comes from the pipe knocking on framing or from a hard-closing check valve. Grinding or rattling from the pump itself is the sound to worry about.