Please help!

The plumber installed/glued a water powered backup sump pump on top of the main sump pump's cover. When the main sump pump was making noises, the plumber had to cut off the pipes from the backup one to reach the main sump pump. Was the backup sump pump installed correctly?

The same plumber installed a same water powered backup sump pump for our next-door neighbor. However, he cut a big hole on the main sump pump's cover to put the backup one. Are both of the installations acceptable?? Thanks!!!

Since the customer(s) paid for the installation(s) they were, de facto, accepted and therefor acceptable.

However, were they good practice ?

Not hardly.


Code compliant ?

Permitted ?

Signed off Certificate of Occupancy ?



I would guess not

==============================================

"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Good Morning, Bernabeu!

The backup sump pump was a complimentary gift from the builder for "thanking" us being very patient and not complaining during the whole building process and 2-month completion date delay.

Does a water powered backup sump pump require a permit? Thanks!

the back up pump be it battery powered or water powered gets installed above the primary pumps check valve.
a check valve being a 'one way' valve.
this way if the primary pump loses power and can not run, the secondary pump can pump and its pumped water will not go back into the sump tank.
in the same way, the secondary pump must have a check valve to keep the water pumped from the primary pump from going the wrong direction.
so yes it is installed in the correct place as long it is above the primary check valve.
if you are unsure, post a picture and we can tell right away.
BTW, if i went down to town hall to apply for a permit for a sump pump it would take me about 1 hour.
55 minutes for the inspector to stop laughing and 5 minutes for him to throw me out.

Many thanks, Packy!

Here is the picture.

Another pic...

it appears that they installed the backup pump independently from the primary pump.
looks OK to me.
they did use a good brand of pump.

Many thanks, Packy!

I feel much better now.

Have a nice weekend!



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Those are great little pumps but not for my area unless you don't mind spending $200-$300 per storm on your water bill . they use 1 gallon of water to discharge 2 or 3 gallons of ground water, it really adds up during big storms.



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nohub, try these numbers for expensive water.

unless you have a separate ground water meter, we pay a sewer and water charge.

water rate....... $12.81 per 1000 gallons
sewer rate....... $17.92 per 1000 gallons

yup over 30 dollars for 1000 gallons.

from the internet..
"The average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day at home."

so that is about 10 bucks a day for water/sewer for the average family.
BTW, the town has our own water source from a granite quarry. we have our own water treatment plant and our own sewer treatment plant.



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Exactly. I believe the yearly (separate fee) for a second meter in most towns is $125-$200.Now you need a Plumber to install it, Labor/parts/permit (and all those bra$$ nipples)your talking $1k and we have not even started with the back-flow preventer need...some towns let you off with a watt 9D...some want a watts 009 RPZ. cha-ching, cha-chine, cha-chine!



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In Adams MA they charge per unit:

Customer charge $20.00

Fire protection $21.00

Street lighting $7.95

Water $6.48 per 1000 gallons



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Many thanks, Packy, NoHub and Exapprentice30!

Our water/sewer from Jan to Nov is around $920, so I guess the backup sump pump is still in its backup mode and has not pumped out any water yet.



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The manufacturer strongly suggests a seperate discharge for their water powered back up pumps. Think about it. If you run both discharges into the same pipe, you have to have a check valve on each discharge. What happens when one of the check valves fails? The other pump runs continually in a circle and floods the basement. We've seen it happen. With a seperate discharge, the Guardian back up doesnt even use a check valve.

Many thanks, Bruceb3!

So, our backup sump pump was installed correctly, right? Even though the main sump pump company might need to cut/remove it from the cover when they come for a service order. Thanks!

i have seen worse installations

yours is fairly neat and shows proper attention to detail - albeit unions to allow servicing would have been nice


probably code compliant


? has it actually been tested ?

cut power to main pump

attempt to fill sump with garden hose

? does the pump actually come on ?

? does the pump actually work to empty the pit ?




food for thought / tough love:

if you can not answer the question, why did you pay for the job ?

==============================================

"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Many thanks, Bernabeu!

No, I can't answer these questions. Once again, the backup sump pump was a complimentary gift from the builder for "thanking" us being very patient and not complaining during the whole building process and their 2-month completion date delay (We had to pay extra $5000 for the rent.). Since the main sump pump works, I have not heard/seen the backup one come on. I was told that the warranty for a sump pump is 2 years. I hope they could both last that long without any repairs. Until then...

Hi packy?
I am in the market for a sump pump backup system and I am unable to find any customer reviews about the product they chose.
Do you, assuming that you are a plumber, have a list of good products to buy?

We are leaning towards a siphon system. We will need 2 of them.

The web info seems to be rather biased towards the type of product being sold.
Is there a site that is objective?

I appreciate your time, assuming that this gets to your inbox.

Regards, Garfield