Sump Pumps
Best Sump Pump Float Switches: Half of Them Are Not Pump Switches
Two floats from the same maker look identical. One is rated 13 amps running and 85 starting. The…
Category: Sump Pumps
Every published troubleshooting guide, buying guide and how-to in this category, newest first.
Sump Pumps
What Size Battery for a Backup Sump Pump: Match the Claim, Not the Shelf
Wayne's 26 hours assumes 75 amp hours. Watchdog's 48 assumes 100. The hours belong to a battery you…
Sump Pumps
Sump Pump Running But the Level Barely Drops: Move the Pipe Before You Buy a Pump
The maker's first remedy for a pump that cannot keep up is to reroute the discharge to a…
Sump Pumps
Sump Pit Smells: Two to Four Inches of Water Is the Whole Barrier
A sewer smell near the pit is usually a dried floor drain, not the pit. The code requires…
Sump Pumps
Washing Machine Draining Into the Sump Pit: Lint Ignores a Solids Rating
A pump's solids rating is the diameter of a sphere it will pass. Lint is fibrous — it…
Sump Pumps
Sump Pump Into a Septic System: On a Sewer You Pay a Fine, Here You Own the Plant
At this site's own measured storm inflow, 396 gallons an hour puts a 1,000-gallon tank through its whole…
Sump Pumps
Water Softener Draining Into the Sump Pit: The Pump Is Not the Problem
One city's code requires softener discharge piped to the building sewer rather than into the sump. A sump…
Sump Pumps
How to Test a Sump Pump: The Maker Says Monthly, and the Bucket Is One of Seven Checks
Pouring water in is the monthly item. There are four quarterly checks and one annual, and the bucket…
Sump Pumps
Sump Pump Not Turning On: Nine Published Causes, and Only One Is the Pump
Liberty's own list puts the motor third of nine. Below it sits a hard threshold: under 108 volts,…
Sump Pumps
Best Sump Pump Check Valves: Two Things Are Sold as Quiet and Only One Works
A spring closes against the flow and kills the bang. An angled seat only shortens the travel. Both…