So, we just bought a new house. There is a drain field that surrounds our house. The water table is so high that every few minutes the sump pump kicks on and has to drain the water out that it is catching from the drain field.

So, a few months ago, the power went out for our neighbors and their basement flooded. They are still in the middle of ripping out everything and starting over.

I'm thinking I need to prevent this from ever happening to us. Our basement isn't quite as deep as theirs, which is probably why ours didn't flood that day. But if the power were to go out for any extended amount of time, we could have a flooded basement.

So, I'm thinking I need a battery backup. I see they do have watchdog battery backup sump pumps. But I'm thinking to myself, why don't they have UPSes similar to what a computer has? I don't want to make any huge change to the existing setup. Just a battery that I would plug the existing sump pump into a battery backup and the battery backup to the wall. Then if the power goes out, have that backup battery emit a loud beeping but keep the pump working until that battery goes out.

What I was thinking was real cool would be one that would send me a signal via text or something letting me know the power was out. Now I know once the power is out, it can't send a signal because the power is out, which so is my internet router. But, maybe if there was a constant ping from the battery to some internet server, then if the pings are missing for more than a minute or something, obviously there's a good chance the power is out so send me a message letting me know the power is probably out. I'm sure I could come up with a rigged up way to make that work with my pc or something...

 

I just found a sump pump backup system that auto dials a number if there's a power outage. we don't have a phone line... so that won't work.

 

Unless you have a bullet proof internet connection that isn't reliable either.

 

really my real question isn't the internet connection, it's why can't I get a ups for the existing sump pump?

 

Why can't you use a regular UPS?

 

Many regular UPS's won't run motor loads due to the startup current.

For what you want to do I would highly recommend the Tripp Lite series of inverters. They are specifically designed to run motor loads and come equipped with a multi stage battery charging system which is critical to the long life of an expensive battery.

Sump Pump Inverters/Chargers | Tripp Lite

 

Well I ended up buying a watchdog main and backup sump pump. Its installed now. It can run the battery sump pump for 8 hours continuous or days intermittent. Then for the once in a blue moon power is out longer, I bought a gas generator.

 

Good move on the genny. ........We see many blue moons here in NJ.