Sump Pump

[earthworm]

I notice that some motors are water cooled and other are oil cooled.
Which is better ??.
IMO, if the sump is really deep - say 30 ", the the pump motor can always be under water and the water cooling would be good.
Otherwise, its oil cooled motors.
And the sump pump control switches, which is better ?
The tethered set up ?
Thanks in advance for the responses.

[HayZee518]

all the ones I've seen have been oil cooled. they use an electrically neutral mineral oil to lube and cool the windings. float switches, the type that use a rod and float connected to a microswitch is the most practical and positively closes and opens with a click. diaphragm switches can get clogged with crap, then they're useless.

[earthworm]

Thanks, HayZee...
I think the MidAtlantic unit uses a diaphragm switch, and it could be clogged.
This is piggy-backed to the pump which plugs into the charger/inverter...
I'm slowly learning about this (was a car "mechanic" for ten years...)
I "bought" this system, along with the house, its ( (I think) about two years old (using the date on the literature)..
Only the inverter works at this point....batteries are at 9 volt(should be 13), the pump seems to be dead...
this after but 2 years ?????
I read where the system must be maintained, just like everything else...
A good cleaning is in order - this I know how to do.
Over the internet we are presented with a ton of info/data/specs....but end up with less knowledge than before, or so it seems..
The Zoeller pumps seems to ask for a lot of "juice", the others seem to be more energy efficient...
And speaking of efficiency, the sump pump water is run from the basement on to the lawn....rather than into a holding tank where it could be used on the garden.....terrible !

[Redwood]

I'm not familiar with the brand pump you have but 2 years is less that I would expect batteries to last.
Are they recharging properly?
Deep cycle batteries have a limited amount of discharge cycles in their life, are yours being used up?
I would consider a battery pump to be a backup pump and not a main pump. I would recommend 2 separate pumping systems in the same pit for maximum reliability.

In the case of efficiency that you cite where you claim the Zoeller pumps are power hungry and inefficient. I would like to clarify that many of the pumps you are talking of are quite a bit lower in capacity than the Zoeller Aquanot battery back up pumps. Many of these pumps are nothing more than a glorified bilge pump for a small boat that will only pump about 10 gpm with 10' of lift while the Zoeller Aquanot pumps around 35 gpm with 10' of lift.

Some of these smaller pumps may be woefully inadequate to handle the water flow demands and be overwhelmed by storm flows.

[earthworm]

Check out the Sump Pumps Direct site.
As to the Seller 76 model....they seem not to sell this one..
Its the older Z 53 and 98 models which seem to be "hogs" as compared to the Basement Watch Dog, the PHCC and the Storm Pros, The Wayne ? no figures.
I like the SPD site, but, I think what they sell are old models.. Imagine a Ford dealer trying to sell 2002 Fords as new cars.
Note that everything else is never sold by model years - its only automobiles....
I am speaking of design year, not build year...
And ,IMO, Zoellers are very good pumps.
I still do not know what brand pump Mid Atlantic is using.
I'll have to pull the pump and do some reading.

[Redwood]

I consider the Zoeller 53 & 98 to be among the longest lasting and best performing sump pumps on the market.

Basement Watchdog is a Glorified Bilge Pump...

[earthworm]

Be that as it may...Yes, no argument, both the W and Z pumps are indded good, very good...
Both the Wayne and Zoeller seem to enjoy the taste of electricity more than average...
And I care not for the high ELH & P bills.
Time for solar panels ???
Or an automatic drain line using a foot valve ???
Time for a trenching machine ?