WayneESP25 12 Volt Battery Back-Up Sump Pump System with Audible Alarm

i have a "finished-ish" basement. i haven't finished it completely because the house is in a low-lying area and every time it rains, the sump pump runs for days afterwards. and then if the power goes out... anyways, i got tired of dreading every storm that pushed through the area, so i decided it was high time to get a battery backup.went looking at the local big box hardware stores, and i saw this wayne pump on sale...for $299. checked amazon and found it for $229. after spending a couple days researching the esp25 and a couple other similarly-capable alternatives, i pulled the trigger on this one. i was very close to buying the maintenance-free Wayne Wsb1275 Wayne Water Battery, rated at 75ah for another $150, but i decided to get a 105ah marine battery for only $75 instead. then it was as simple as picking up some pvc accessories and a couple Zoeller 30-0181 Check Valves, 1-1/2 Inch (one for the new pump and one to replace the valve on the old pump--this is important btw), and i had everything i needed. well, almost everything. the primary pump wouldn't quit running because it just wouldn't quit raining.when i found my window of opportunity, i went to work taking out the old pump and removing the old pvc drain lines. i had to replace all the drain lines out to the exterior of the house, because the primary pump's check valve was wearing out, and it hammered so hard when it closed that it had cracked the line and blown the elbow out after the pipe exited the house. plus, starting from scratch made it far easier to install two pumps in the same hole, rather than trying to retrofit existing drain lines with another pump and valve. getting back to the two valves thing...make sure that you install another valve for the second pump. if you try to union both pumps before just one valve, they will backfeed.what i did for my install is probably pretty standard. two pumps at the same depth in the hole, each with a check valve about a foot or two above the pump. then above that, union the two drains together, and run the drain line out. when you hook up all the components, save the battery and power supply for last. you don't want to accidentally activate the pump while installing the float. when i installed the float, i strapped it to the drain line pointing downwards, about 3 inches above the point where the primary pump kicks in. this way, only the primary pump will run. the backup will only be needed when the primary fails (power outage, pump blows up) or when the water is coming so fast that the primary can't keep up.after i got it all hooked up, i connected the battery. this was not very simple, as the battery post was larger than the eye terminal on the hot connection. it wasn't even close to big enough. so i did what any resourceful yet under-equipped do-it-yourselfer would do: i expanded the size of the eye by stretching it out until i could force it over the post with the post nut (it's ok folks, i went out and got a replacement eye terminal a couple days later). but once i got it hooked up and operational, i tested it by filling the sump hole and pushing up on the float. it ran the sump hole dry and stopped after about 15 seconds or so. success!last weekend, we had 6" of rain in 3 hours. the water was coming in so fast that the backup pump ran a handful of times when the primary couldn't keep up. first real-world test was successful! ...then the water started coming in through the drain line for the washing machine, and i had to suck water up off the floor anyways. just can't win :(anyways, i see nothing wrong with my wayne backup pump at this point. if it lasts long enough for me to move to another house, it will increase the likelihood of a sale in this low-lying area because everyone's basement floods down here. this also helped satisfy the insurance company, after the last flood during a power outage ruined all the doors and trim in the basement. for a total investment of about $325, i couldn't be happier!

I purchased this a little over two years ago. It was perfect and helped eliminate my stress of worrying about a power outage. The unit is super quiet. I only hear the water gush through my pipes when in the room directly above it; not a single hint of a motor noise.Everything worked great for the first two years I had it, but earlier this week I had my first power outage of this year. I wasn't worried, because this unit did what you expected it to, use the battery backup. I left my house for a few hours and came back to the screeching siren of my water sensor going off near my sump hole. Lo and behold the battery backup wasn't working! I immediately thought my battery died, so I hooked up a volt meter to confirm. Nope! Battery was fine. Okay, I thought, maybe the float was stuck. Again no! I tested the resistance of the sensor and it came back the way I'd expect, infinite resistance when the float wasn't triggered and < 15 ohms resistance when the float was triggered. I checked the fuse, and that looked fine.At this point, I was rather confused. There were no lights lit up on my unit, but my battery, float switch, and fuse were fine. As another attempt to troubleshoot, I connected my computer's UPS up to the DC brick that powered the backup electronics. Immediately the lights turned on and the battery backup pump turned on. After running for the 20 some seconds, I pushed the test button and the battery pump ran again. I unplugged the giant wall brick from my UPS and the unit made a high pitch chirp sound for a split second.I've determined my battery backup will only use the battery if the giant wall plug brick is powered. I know this wasn't always the case.I called Wayne customer service, and they recommemded I have a mechanic shop load test the battery. I did, and everything is fine with the battery.I called them a second time. Within 10 minutes the gal said she'd send me a replacement control box. I only had to provide her my serial # and name/address since it was still under warranty.2 weeks later, my control box replacement arrived, and everything is working as expected. I commend Wayne for making it super easy to get my broken component replaced.