how good is it in a power outage: Will this unit run my sump pump ?
895006
Just as a car can't go from 0-60mph in a few seconds without a huge engine, anything with an electric motor has a "surge draw" to start the motor accelerating it up to speed in a couple seconds (including fridges, pumps, etc). That surge demands 3-4 times the normal power. I've tried plugging in a small AC fridge (that measures ~18 inches in all 3 dims with only 1 amp AC draw normally or 120 watts) into an inverter. It was a 400 watt inverter with 800 watt surge rating, yet it would go into the overload alarm instantly not even starting. I'd expect any pump to need more power than that and this units inverter according to the manual says "450 watt continuous, 600 watt for under 5 minutes and 900 watts max surge". So based on my trying a similar inverter on a small motor, I'd bet under a 5% chance this would work for you. I've even been reluctant to try running a typical fridge off of a 1200 watt generator because of that surge demand. Also, if going off of just this units battery which is under 30amp/hour, if you could run something like that it's battery will be drained in 20 minutes. So this is a real short term power source for such loads and won't keep your place from flooding all night or such.
2255625
Separate discharge to outside should be installed on water powered pump. Reason is so that it is a complete 100% separate independent system. Your primary electrical sump pump may fail due to discharge pipe clogging. Being a plumber I have seen it many times.
1298441
I would recommend that you call the Humless people in Utah. They can give you the technical specifications of the unit. I just wanted it as a backup unit when the electricity goes out. Hope this helps.John
768607
So I put in a backup sump pump (liberty 24v marine battery kind), if my sensors or wiring fail. I mean, your bottom one is submerged in water, so why not the top wiring too. Same diffetence. Get a backup to be safe. Pumps fail. Power fails. Floats and electronic sensors fail. 500 is cheap insurance for a backup system. You can install it, trust me.
920424
The sump pump on this is 12volts and is replacable but you should still have a main sump for the primary pumping.Hope this helps Dave
2137621
This unit has an outboard power supply so it should be ok. It does not provide power to any other units or lines.
1703984
As others have said, its the battery that goes first. Mine lasted about 3 years although they claim 5 out of them. the pump itself should last you about 10 years, but this all depends on how often its pumping. If its just occasionally when it rains heavy and there is a power outage, then it should last you a great deal of time.....but.....you should always test it on a regular basis. You do not want to be running to the local store looking for one when the power is out and you realize yours isnt working because guess what...so will everyone else and they will likely be sold out, plus you dont want to be changing a pump with a full sump. As others have said, its the battery that goes first. Mine lasted about 3 years although they claim 5 out of them. the pump itself should last you about 10 years, but this all depends on how often its pumping. If its just occasionally when it rains heavy and there is a power outage, then it should last you a great deal of time.....but.....you should always test it on a regular basis. You do not want to be running to the local store looking for one when the power is out and you realize yours isnt working because guess what...so will everyone else and they will likely be sold out, plus you... » Read More As others have said, its the battery that goes first. Mine lasted about 3 years although they claim 5 out of them. the pump itself should last you about 10 years, but this all depends on how often its pumping. If its just occasionally when it rains heavy and there is a power outage, then it should last you a great deal of time.....but.....you should always test it on a regular basis. You do not want to be running to the local store looking for one when the power is out and you realize yours isnt working because guess what...so will everyone else and they will likely be sold out, plus you dont want to be changing a pump with a full sump. « Show Less
22799
Mine makes a little sound but I would say less than the regular sump pump does. As long as your not paying for the water you should be fine. The pump itself is pretty powerful and handles things no problem for me. My sump runs a lot and so the backup is a must. I've never see them used as the primary but I don't see why it wouldn't work?
79744
I connected mine to a 12Vdc power supply that I had from a previous project. batteries should work too, but of course they would require re-charging, kind of a pain. I installed a switch to turn the pump on and off. Also, I plan to use mine for sparging a beer mash. The pump has some gears that are lubricated with some type of grease. I would recommend running some hot water through it several times, before using it for human consumption. but it seems to run well, just a little noisy. hope this helps,
2147882
It depends on how much current the pump draws. If it's less then 5.8 amps, it should be good.
2023829
I have it on a circuit breaker for my sump pump which was checked by the company that checks my basement. It's fine and has worked. Thank goodness. Just don't allow it to get wet, mine got wet and it ruined it but wasn't the fault of mine, it was the plumber's mistake.
195079
I think it would work for a much longer outage than that. I'm not sure what your pump is rated in gpm vs. basepump gpm, but as long as they're close, you should be fine.
24408
These units are made for computers. There are devices (e.g., Laser Printers) that you shouldn't hook up to this. I don't know whether a pump as a load would be appropriate. Even if it would be OK, there are other similarly-rated units that are cheaper because they don't have the features of this unit, and for a sump pump you wouldn't care about these features. APC's number is 800-800-4272, ask for tech support for more information before buying this unit.
2148522
Well your timing is great! It can pump from the bottom of a sump pump crock into a 5 gallon plastic bucket. 'Tis a slight bit slow, but not to worry, it works great! Have an extra set of batteries handy, we were without power for 21 hours. Just a miracle that we had it in our garage. Jjim
309752
We tried using a sump pump but, after awhile, it would trip the breaker and stop working. Now we have a Tera 3600 pond pump. So far it's working great!
1126898
I would not recommend using as a home sump pump. It isn't fast enough for the task, and has lift limitations. I use mine to remove water from a 33 foot round pool cover, does the job but gets clogged easily making cleaning of it often.
765679
It's definitely not as efficient as a 1/2 horse ele. pump, but it works well for it's intended purpose, when the power goes out, it does the job! No rushing like hell to get the generator going! It specific to use 30-100 psi water pressure.