Waterproofing guru, Howard Shachter, vice president of U.S. Waterproofing, explains why power failure is actually the most common cause of basement flooding and why battery-powered sump pumps are the best way to avoid water damage.
Power is not as reliable as the electric companies would like you to think. What’s worse is it often goes down during thunderstorms because wires and transformers get damaged by falling trees, lightning and strong winds. Ironically, people are left without power for their sump pumps at the times they need it most. For this reason, power failure, and the resulting useless sump pump, ranks high up on causes of basement flooding.
What to do
The best way to deal with this problem is to buy a battery-operated backup sump pump. Good one range from $1,000 to $1,500. While you can buy them cheaper, they are not as capable as the higher-end models. They don’t pump the amount of water needed in a heavy rainstorm and the batteries tend not to last for extended periods of time.
We recommend getting a backup battery-powered sump pump that has high-rated pump capacity. While the cheaper ones can only pump 5 or 10 gallons per minute, the higher-end models can pump as much as 40 or 50 gallons a minute. They typically come with all the necessary pieces, including batteries, a control mechanism that turns it on when it detects a power failure and a charging system to keep it fully charged for when you need it.
The type and quality of the batteries is another factor. The types of batteries that sump pumps use are called deep cycle marine batteries. The batteries don’t have infinite life and must be replaced every 7 to 10 years. They are now making maintenance-free batteries, but most older sump pump batteries require you to put water into the battery about every 6 months or so. The battery life on a good quality sump pump can handle about 3 or 4 hours of continuous pumping. Keep in mind that they don’t usually have pump continuously, so your actual battery life during a power outage will be much longer.
Buying a high quality backup battery-powered sump pump is a great investment for any homeowner. Don’t risk being caught in a thunderstorm with your power out and your basement flooding. The cost of water damage will almost always outweigh the price of the investment.
