Replies

1. 
   Jeff_Clarke | Jun 04, 2007 04:42am | #1

   bbm -

   It depends on a lot of things - subgrade conditions, site elevation, foundation wall type, discharge of leaders, etc.

   My house sits in a 'bowl' of diabase bedrock, has an 18th century foundation with 1932/2007 construction above.   We have 3 sump pumps - 2 inside and one in a 'silo' outside.   When you sit in a bowl of rock, it WILL fill up at some point.  Sump pumps for us are 'mission critical' and backed up with battery (Basement Watchdog) and generator (about to come on line).   All leaders are drained by gravity, independently of pumped foundation drainage.

   If you've been in a house through events such as Hurricane Floyd, etc. without any problems then you probably don't need one.

    

   Jeff

   
   

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   Edited 6/3/2007 9:44 pm ET by Jeff_Clarke

1. 
   bigbossman | Jun 04, 2007 04:51am | #2

   This is going to by first venture into this type of product so any and all info is a plus.

   In Chicago I have only been through bad thunderstorms and lucky our house has never backed up even though some of our neighbors had some problems awhile ago.

   The back up generator is a good idea, thanks again but what is the best name brand to look for in an actual sump pump?

1. 
   maddog3 | Jun 04, 2007 05:17am | #3

   I recall Peabody Barnes from the 70s installed gobs of them in Franklin Park ,Elmhurst,and Beantown.

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   ., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?

1. 
   bigbossman | Jun 04, 2007 05:23am | #4

   Thanks for the name and the heads up

   I didn't know that Franklin Park, Elmhurst and Beantown had major problems.

1. 
   maddog3 | Jun 04, 2007 05:43am | #5

   not major problems , where will the ground water go if you don't have sewers out front ?
   and they didn't have the Deep Tunnel either.

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   ., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?

2. 
   Jeff_Clarke | Jun 04, 2007 05:43am | #6

   Hands down the best sump pumps are by Zoeller - http://zoeller.com/zcopump/products/sumpeff/50series.htm  and the 'all cast iron' Model 57 is one of the best they make.

    

   Jeff

1. 
   maddog3 | Jun 04, 2007 05:50am | #7

   pretty good trash pumps those.

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   ., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?

2. 
   DanH | Jun 04, 2007 06:00am | #8

   You need sump pumps because there's water down there. There's no way to make a basement waterproof, so if the water table rises to floor level you have to pump it out.

   In some areas "provision" for a pump may be required, with the actual pump not installed unless needed. But even if you don't appear to need one, it may be wise to have one if others in your neighborhood seem to need them -- you may get a "surprise" after several days of heavy rain.

   Sump pumps come in two basic varieties -- pedestal, where the motor is elevated several feet above the pump body on a pipe, and submersible, where the motor is inside a waterproof body directly on top of the pump. In general, the submersible form is better but more expensive.

   Standard sump pumps vary by maybe a factor of 4 in terms of their pumping ability. This is expressed in two ways -- gallons per minute, and "head" -- how high the pump can pump water.

   You don't necessarily need the most powerful pump -- one more powerful than what you need will simply cycle on and off mor rapidly and more often. Of course, if the pump is undersized then it will fall behind and you may have to bail.

   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin