basementsump-pumpwater
I've got a pretty basic 1/3 hp sump pump that does the job quite well. However, i'm concerned about losing power and just the wrong time. Or worse the pump goes bad!
What sort of features do you look for when pricing battery backup sump pumps? Would a water powered backup be better? I'm not familiar with the water power solution at all.
As kkeilman points out, your pump is fully submersible, so that part should be no problem.
You can easily just piggy-back a float switch like this one on your existing pump. It has a special plug that you plug the existing sump pump into (no wiring necessary), and this one in particular handles up to 1/2 HP, which is more than enough for your 0.3 HP Zoeller.
The nice thing about these tether floats is you can adjust the heights depending on where you attach it, and how much tether you give it. Just be sure to test it manually moving up and down to be sure it's at the right heights, and it's not going to get hung up on anything (causing it to either stay on, or not turn on when needed). I highly recommend you secure all the wires going into the pit with zip ties or electrical tape to be sure they're not going to fall down in the future.
You can leave the existing float working, which is fine - it will act as an extra safety to shut it off if the pit is dry, but also be sure this one doesn't get hung up - because both floats will have to be "on" to make the pump turn on -- if either is off, the pump is off.
If you don't want to use the existing float, there may be a way to bypass it internally by rewiring the pump, or you can simply zip tie it "up" so it is in the on position all the time.
Your best answer would be to try to eliminate the water before it gets in. Your best options will depend on the reliability of your electric source. A battery pump will only last so long. A watered powered pump will require a steady flow of municiple water. If you have a well it obviously won't work without power. The other consideration is how easily can you run a water supply line to the pump in your now finished basement. Water powered pumps are expensive to run interms of the cost of the water used and the amount pumped. The best models are close to a 1 to 1 ratio. The less expensive ones use 2 gals to pump 1 gal. In my area water and sewerage are combined in one bill. I would be paying a sewerage surcharge on the water the pump uses even though it would discharge in my yard. The water bill would still be less than your insurance deductable, and your rates won't increase due to a claim. I would use the electric as a primary pump and get a water powered unit as a back-up.
Best Answer
A battery backup sump pump is a device with a very limited scope of benefits - for a short power outage, the capacity of the sump itself will be adequate until power comes on again. For some particular scope of power outage and water flow a battery backup that's actually working well will keep you dry, and then for longer power outages or higher water flows the battery will expire before the power returns, and you get flooded anyway. Backup batteries eventually fail, and battery test routines are not always reliable, so you can never be quite sure exactly how long the battery will last in practice until you need it. Things to look for and/or ask about are the battery testing routine, the continuous run time or pumping volume from a battery charge at your required discharge lift (stats for 0 feet look great, but have no application to real life use) and whether an additional battery (preferably generic, such as golf-cart batteries) can be easily added, or if the pump is somehow dependent on a specialized and often expensive manufacturer-specific battery pack. At least check the cost of the replacement battery, and how often replacement is recommended, to get some idea of what you are getting into for ownership costs.
Are you on (city/town/some sort of public utility supplied) water? Does it provide water pressure when power is out? If so, a water-powered backup sump pump is going to be far more reliable than a battery-powered one. No batteries to fail, and few moving parts to fail, either.
If your water pressure vanishes with a power loss (ie, you have an electric well pump), that's not an option.
For possible failure of a normal electric-powered pump, having two pumps with different float settings can be sufficient, though it works better if you are the sort of person who will actually remember to change the float settings every year, so each one gets used as the "primary" pump. A smart pump controller that actually alternated pumps every time water needed to be pumped, and which ran both when one was not keeping up (or not working) would be nice, but I don't know if such a thing is actually made, other than having one custom-made. (Evidently they are made, though I have the impression that the market could stand a bit more competition to get the prices down to a more reasonable point.)
If there is any way to fix your drainage to not depend on a sump pump, that will cost you less in the long run even if it's fairly expensive to begin with. When that's not possible, it's arguable that a design error was made in the placement or depth of your house, and your mitigation options are on the one hand to make and maintain a considerable investment in battery backup sump pumps (and replacement batteries over time) or some type of auto-start generator and regular sump pumps, or to decorate and furnish (or simply use) the affected area in a manner that minimizes the impact of infrequent flooding when power outages and water ingress align (ceramic tile rather than carpet, etc.) You may also be able to increase your sump capacity (more, deeper, or larger sumps) to increase the amount of time between power loss and actual flooding at floor level.