Sump pumps are put under pressure from stormy weather. Luckily, as a responsible homeowner, you know your sump pump working hard in your basement or crawl space keeping your home safe and dry.

Until the power goes out.

There are many reasons why having a backup, battery-powered sump pump installed next to the primary AC-powered pump is a good idea. Beyond a power outage, your primary sump pump could also fail due to a mechanical failure or if your float switch sticks – both of which can lead to flooding and expensive water damage.

When looking for a battery-powered backup, there are a few critical things to consider.

Battery Technology There are two standard types of battery backup pumps on the market today – DC and AC/DC. The difference between the two is the AC/DC pump can operate off of both your wall current and a battery, only using the battery if AC power is unavailable. A DC pump operates exclusively on battery power. The AC/DC version tends to be more popular due to its versatility.

Battery Type You also need to think about the type of battery your backup sump pump uses. Some traditional Deep Cycle Marine batteries require you to continuously add water. However, the newer AGM batteries are low maintenance, have a longer run time – about 50% for their size – and should last 5-7 years.

Capacity The right size of the pump is also a very important part of the selection process. It doesn’t make much sense for your backup pump to have significantly less capacity than your primary, does it? You should make sure that your backup can pump the same water capacity as your primary or else you could end up with flooding even with a battery backup.

At Hope Plumbing, we can install most homeowner-supplied sump pumps and backups. Call today and ask about our Zoeller product line which is the same kind many of our plumbers install in their own homes (so you know it’s well). If you have questions about your current sump pump or would like to talk about installing a battery-powered backup, call us at (317) 641-4673.

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