Frequently asked questions

Measure the total lift — vertical height from the pump discharge to the highest point in the pipe, plus about one foot per ten feet of horizontal run — then compare pumps at that lift rather than at the zero-foot headline figure. Most homes with up to about 10 feet of lift are well served by a 1/3 HP pump.

No. A larger pump in a pit that does not need it empties the basin in seconds and restarts minutes later, and short cycling wears the switch and motor faster than steady running. Step up only when the lift is high or the pit genuinely refills fast.

Seven to ten years is the realistic range. Cast-iron pumps in correctly sized pits reach the upper end; cheap pumps in hard-working pits fall short. Replacing a working pump at year nine is a rational decision rather than a wasteful one.

Most often a failed check valve. Water lifted up the discharge pipe falls straight back into the pit when the pump stops, refills it above the switch-on level, and the pump restarts within seconds. A new check valve usually fixes it.

In order of likelihood: no power at the outlet, a tripped GFCI, a stuck or failed float switch, or a seized motor. Plug the pump directly into the outlet to bypass the switch — if it runs, the motor is fine and the switch is the problem.

That is the check valve slamming as the column of water in the discharge pipe falls back onto it. A spring-loaded silent check valve closes before the reversal and removes the noise entirely. It is the cheapest noise fix available.

If the basement is finished, if outages are common where you live, or if the house is often empty, yes. The storms that fill your pit are the same storms that take the power down, and a primary pump with no power does nothing at all.

Think in cycles rather than hours. A group 27 AGM battery typically supports a few hours of actual pumping, which can stretch to over a day in light inflow or run out in under six hours during continuous heavy inflow.

Every three to five years, on age rather than on symptoms. A backup battery sits on float charge, tests fine on the controller, and then collapses the first time it is asked for real current.

18 inches in diameter by 22 inches deep is the practical minimum; 24 by 30 is better. Diameter decides which switch types fit and whether a backup pump can ever be added, and depth decides how often the pump has to start.

At least ten feet, onto ground that slopes away. A discharge ending near the foundation drains straight back into the drain tile, and the pump spends the storm pumping the same water repeatedly.

It can anywhere that sees sustained freezing, particularly if the line holds water between cycles or the outlet is buried in snow. Continuous fall so the line drains, a clear outlet, and a freeze-relief fitting on any buried section prevent most cases.

Quarterly. Pour five gallons in, confirm the pump starts, confirm it stops, and confirm it does not immediately restart. The stopping half is the part people skip and it is the half that floods basements.

On bare, clean, porous masonry with dampness or light seepage, applied in two brushed coats, yes. On a wall under hydrostatic pressure or over existing paint, no. Almost all disappointment with these products comes from using them on the wrong problem.

Damp is vapor and light seepage passing through porous masonry, and a coating fixes it. Hydrostatic pressure is a saturated water table pressing against the foundation, usually showing as water at the wall-floor joint, and only drainage fixes that.

They are the best value in this entire category. A sensor costs very little and converts an unnoticed flood into a phone call, and almost all of the damage in a basement flood accrues during the hours before anyone noticed.

No, and we will not claim otherwise. There is no test bench behind this site. Every specification traces to the manufacturer's documentation or a retail listing, and the source is printed at the foot of each page.

Because they move constantly and a number typed into an article is misleading within weeks. Every buy button goes to the live listing instead, where the price is whatever it actually is today.