# Sump Pump Recommendation



## LittleScooby (Jan 3, 2011)

Hey everyone.

I was hoping to get a recommendation on a new sump pump for my home. I'm not a pro but this forum seems more suited than the DIY forum since I am looking for a recommendation from professional plumbers versus do it yourselfers and the model I choose would be purchased from, installed, and maintained by a pro, and not by myself. I just prefer to have as much technical info as possible whenever I need to call a pro out to the house and to aid in making the purchasing decisions, as well as learning about the products in my house.

That said, I have some experience with submersible water pumps, albeit ones used for ponds. I own and maintain an Oase Aquarius 2000 (GPH) submersible pump in a small pond (used for the fountain and to airate the water), but when it comes to sump pumps, I haven't really looked at them very closely until now and I am just learning but hoping my past experience with pond water pumps could come into play a little bit since sump pumps seem to be related, in fact, some of the manufactures of sump pumps make pond pumps. (Little Giant comes to mind).

Anyway, the situation I have going on is this. The other day in a very cold state, we had a deep thaw (temp shot up to 48 degrees which is crazy warm for the last week of December). Then, that was followed by a quickfreeze dropping temps to around zero degrees the next day.

On the same weekend I noticed my sump pump kept running without shutting off. I suspected a frozen discharge line and still do. The discharge line is exposed outside and is made of PVC tubing. I think 1 and 1/2 inch. I used a hairdryer on it because that always works on the kitchen sink drain PVC when it gets that cold or colder and I don't have any heat tape yet.

Anyway, this didn't seem to clear up the ice all the way, probably because I also use flexible tubing near the end of the sump pump discharge hose, which I will have replaced by a pro very soon.

I read in the Simer user manual that flexible tubing (you know the kind you get at most hardware stores) shouldn't be used for a permanent solution for a sump pump discharge line even though, that is what was installed when the house was built, go figure. (PVC out from house until hitting the ground, under ground all flexible black cheap tubing).

Anyway, sorry for the rambling but I feel it helps to have more details than not enough.

So I have only like a million questions but will try to limit them.

The reason I am looking at replacing the current pump (nothing to do with the discharge line freezing, that is a separate issue), but the main reason I am looking for a new pump is because the current one is 17 years old and it gets quite a lot of action.

I've read that the average lifespan for a submersible sump pump is only between 5 and 15 years with 10 being the average. Can anyone confirm this, or elaborate from what you have seen on the job?

I'd much rather replace the old pump before it dies. I would think 17 years is quite a good run from this one considering it appears to be a lower end model. If you had this situation, would you do the same thing (look at replacing now and upgrading, versus waiting for this 17 year old pump to fail?). Just curious.

The current pump is a Simer Model# 2955.

http://www.simerpump.com/pdf/SIM719.pdf

The motor is rated at 1/3 HP and I've seen this pump for about $100 on the net brand new.

I really want to get something a little better as a replacement. Is it just me, or does 1/3 HP seem a little week for a house that when it rains has the sump pump going off every 5 minutes to keep up with a bad downpour of rain? I've seen many models at 1/2 and 3/4 HP. Think that would be more optimal, or overkill?

I've read that Zoeller makes some good ones but I haven't checked the reviews of their submersibles yet, only the pedestals, which brings up my next question.

The sump pump that was chosen for this house when it was built was a submersible. If you had to choose a replacement, would you go with another submersible or would you go with a pedastal version?

The sump pump pit is within 10 feet from an area where people spend a lot of time and it's on the same level only separated by 1 wall. My understanding is that the submersibles are much quieter and for that reason might be preferred. Any truth to that? are the pedastals really that noisy? Pedastals are supposed to last much longer but if they are too noisy I might prefer to stay with submersible models. Another thing related to this is the fact that a submerisble (at least this Simer model) requires at least 5 inches of water in the pit to function per warning in the user manual:


*NOTICE: *
For continuous operation, the water depth must be
at least 5” (13cm), to prevent the motor from overheating.​ 
Wouldn't it be preffered to have no water in the pit because that would be an extra 5 or 6 inches of distance between the house bottom level floor and the water. Wouldn't a pedastal suck all the water up gaining the extra 5 to 6 inches of depth back? Not sure if I'm making sense or not. I would think that the farther away water is from the floor, the better, but perhaps not as I don't understand water tables just yet. (Thought I once read that you want to keep a certain amount of water in your soil for helping with your house foundation or something, still don't understand that whole thing, I would think no water anywhere near the house would be the best thing, but perhaps not.). ​ 
Anyway, most of the stuff the previous owners had in the house was bottom of the line so I'd like to upgrade just for that reason almost, but also, I'm finding I need more features.​ 
For starters, presently there is no backup pump. That is going to be a must. Another is the fact that I don't trust our power company much around here and would prefer to add battery backup as well.​ 
I'm also going to be adding a water sensor alarm (separate purchase - maybe some of the nice models include them). If not I've seen water detectors for about $20 which could be lowered into the sump pump pit. (even seen some nice expensive ones for around $70 that can call you on the phone)...Nice. ​ 
Anyway, long story short, if you had to replace a sump pump in this situation, what would you go with and why?​ 
Would you keep it submersible or change to pedastal and which brand is your favorite, which do you really like working with\installing\maintaining?​ 
Oh, and is installing them in the winter a pain in the ass, or is it commonplace? Do you normally charge more for winter replacement?​ 
Also, if you were to replace a sump pump that is 17 years old, would you also replace the outside exposed PVC at the same time as standard procedure, or only if it appeared worn\damaged, etc.? The way the discharge line is set up currently is that a PVC line goes out of the house horizontally about 1.5 feet above ground. It then has a 90 degree downturn. Just at the downturn that hits the ground, that is where the flexible tubing comes into play which is buried under only 6 inches of frozen soil (I know it's not below the frostline which is probably why it's presently frozen). ​ 
I want the outside PVC replaced with either a failsafe to get around freezing issues (IceGuard maybe?), or a secondary port so I could switch to that because it's much easier to unthaw 2 feet of PVC versus 20 to 30 feet of it. Related to that, what is the permanent solution to prevent outside PVC from getting water frozen in it from things like deep thaws followed by quick freezes? (normally my sump pump rarely runs at all in the winter and this is the first time I've ever witnissed this scenario in 12 years of cold winters). Anyone here use IceGuard in the past by any chance? http://www.basementsystems.com/sump-pump/iceguard.html. Something like that must be workable in cold states. This has to be a common problem.​ 
Lastly, how much am I looking at for this job to be completed by a pro? Rough ballpark. (replacing sump pump and possibly redoing the outside exposed PVC.)​ 
Anyway, I look forward to hearing some suggestions. Thanks​


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## ckoch407 (Sep 30, 2009)

Nice book. Go with what the pro you plan on hiring recommends and warrants. Sounds more like you are getting ready to buy online and do it you yourself. Your last question about ball park price. .. You will find a variety of prices in the market place for the same service and no amount of book writing will change that. The price will vary based on the quality of service, level of experience/expertise, warranty, etc. For as much time as youve spent asking the impossible on here you could have spent looking at service companys websites and reviews and chosen one you are comfortable with. So what are you waiting for? Get it over with already.


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## Airgap (Dec 18, 2008)

10k ballpark....


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

I'm sorry, this is a site for professionals to exchange information, not supply D.I.Y. with information. 

Like someone else said I would hire a professional and then have them offer facts and benefits of what they can provide for you. There are to many factors to cover. Availability, conditions, price, etc....

Mods will be along shortly to direct you to a D.I.Y. site.


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## LittleScooby (Jan 3, 2011)

ckoch407 said:


> So what are you waiting for? Get it over with already.


Just trying to get as much info as needed so I know what to ask when I call. There is no way I would attempt to replace the sump pump myself. A pond pump is one thing because it can't do any damage, a sump pump failure can destroy a home which is why I wouldn't even think of doing it myself. Going to make some calls today but I also want to make sure I get valid info from the people I call by comparing it with what others say\recommend. I also always price things out ahead of time (did the same thing with my house heater\air system). This is just so I know exactly what to expect for pricing to be able to determine which contractor is reasonable versus one that would overcharge, etc. I'm very detail oriented and that's why I ask so many questions. I can move this post to DIY if that's where it should be. Sorry for the misunderstanding, but I honestly am not doing this install myself.


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

LittleScooby said:


> Just trying to get as much info as needed so I know what to ask when I call. There is no way I would attempt to replace the sump pump myself. A pond pump is one thing because it can't do any damage, a sump pump failure can destroy a home which is why I wouldn't even think of doing it myself. Going to make some calls today but I also want to make sure I get valid info from the people I call by comparing it with what others say\recommend. I also always price things out ahead of time (did the same thing with my house heater\air system). This is just so I know exactly what to expect for pricing to be able to determine which contractor is reasonable versus one that would overcharge, etc. I'm very detail oriented and that's why I ask so many questions. I can move this post to DIY if that's where it should be. Sorry for the misunderstanding, but I honestly am not doing this install myself.



It has only a little to do with the possibility of you doing it yourself. Let me ask another question to help you understand what is going on. 

Would you trust a diagnostic from an online Doctor and get treatment without having a real face to face with a Doctor? 

We can speculate and diagnose all day long, but until someone has eyes on it, a true diagnostic will not be known.


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Thanks for posting on PlumbingZone.com. The Moderators of this forum would prefer if you post Do It Yourself related topics on our sister site www.DIYChatroom.com 

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