Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 03, 1999 07:32am | #1

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   Greg: Some possible reasons why your sump pump does not overflow in during a power failure while your neighbor's does:

   1) The water table under your house is slightly deeper or your basement floor is slightly higher than your neighbor's.

   2) A greater volume of high porosity material (e.g. uniform sand or gravel) was placed under your basement floor and acts like a storage tank, delaying the rising water level as that volume is refilled.

   3) The soils surrounding your house are less permeable (silts and clays versus sands and gravels) than your neighbor's. Like a low-yeilding water well, your basement would yeild water more slowly.

   I'd think reason #1 is most likely. You may not need a sump pump, or may only need it in the spring when water levels are typically highest.

   Should you get a battery-powered pump? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But maybe your neighbor should. Or a generator. Or an invertor to run the existing pump off a 12-volt storage battery or off your car battery. The whole 12-volt pump, controls, and battery is about $200-250. An inverter to run a 1/6hp sump pump would cost about $80 + $60 for a battery if you don't want to rely on your car battery. The invertor set-up wouldn't be as automatic as the 12-volt powered pump, unless you added a second float switch to automatically turn on the inverter if the regular level switch is flooded. Post or email if you want more infomation. -David

2. 
   greg_s | Jun 04, 1999 08:18pm | #2

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   Hey david thanks for the info. it really helped me!

3. 
   greg_s | Jun 04, 1999 10:41pm | #3

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   I have a sump pump with drain tile draining into it as does my neighbors house. In a power outage during a storm my sump did not overflow but my neighbors did. Could someone explain why this occured? I have always heard stories about sumps flooding basements during power outages. Also do I need or is it recommended to have a battery back-up sump pump as many people have?

4. 
   Guest_ | Jun 04, 1999 10:41pm | #4

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   Just a thought... does your neighbor's sump pump lack a check valve? It's possible that water got siphoned back into your neighbors basement...

   A.M.