RB750 Water Powered Backup Sump Pump with Water Alarm

I have two of these as backups for sump pits in my basement. Normally there's no problem down there, but sometimes the weather isn't normal. Like when there's a tropical storm, for instance.I considered several solutions for a last line of defense against flooding, and finally settled on this one. I liked the first well enough to buy a second about a year later. There could be some economy of scale with plumbers if all pumps went in at the same time - more on that in a moment.This pump works on water pressure from your house's cold water line. The pressure in that line needs to be reasonably good; the principle then is the same as using a jet of water from your garden hose to push water up a slight incline - if you have enough pressure, you can use water to push other water upward. This pump acts that way, but much more efficiently than the garden hose example because it's a closed system.You add the float for this pump to the existing sump pit; there should be an electric pump in there already; the float for this pump goes in the pit/bucket above the electric pump's float. Therefore, this pump won't fire unless the electric isn't working. For instance, when there's no electricity. This pump connects to the existing sump's exhaust / discharge pipe, it connects in one spot for intake, that line goes up to the pump, and then it connects again higher up for discharge into the existing discharge pipe. Valves keep the water moving the correct direction. This pump is also connected to the cold water feed from the house, and when it's working it pushes a lot of water - which is fine, I'd rather write a check to the water company than vacuum it out of my basement. The connections have to be leak-free, of course, and they're not exactly easy. There are some kits for sale by this company but I just went with a plumber's install. The pump should be adjusted for how long it will run, etc, via a small knob on the pump. It's ugly - you don't want it anywhere in finished space if at all possible. There is also a connection tube from the pump to the float, this activates the pump when the float is high enough. This connection tube should not kink and should be kept away from traffic areas - it's rather delicate and persnickity and should basically be left alone once in place.Why did I buy this and not a battery backup system? Well, I feel better about this solution because there's no battery to run out. As it runs on water pressure, as long as there's water pressure it can work. Those with wells and independent systems please make a note of that. Also, electric pump / battery systems draw a lot of amps when they start up, and batteries have to be recharged, changed, et cetera. I just didn't want to deal with that business. I test these two pumps once or twice a year by unplugging the primary pump and filling the sump pit with a garden hose; other than that maintenance I don't worry about it, and I don't worry about my finished basement flooding when the power is off.

I ordered my Basepump RB750 a few weeks back following some storms that knocked out our power for 7 hours. I ended up having to manually bail my sump to keep my basement from flooding that night.Seeing all the great reviews for Basepump along with how well organized and thorough their website is, I decided to go with this product. I saw some significantly cheaper products where you attach a hose to the device, but I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for", and in this case I didn't want to gamble on my finished basement staying dry during the next big storm. I also called their customer support number with a question I had before buying and got a real person who was very knowledgeable on their product and answered my questions immediately and with authority.The Basepump RB750 is indeed mostly plastic, but it is a high-grade and thick plastic that is very cleanly molded. The parts all fit together very well to make a very sturdy unit. Pretty much all you need are some basic plumbing skills to install this pump. The kit comes with nearly everything you need outside of the tee, copper piping, a dual check-valve, and the required PVC piping, glue, and 90 degree joints.As I lack those basic plumbing skills, I hired a local plumber to install this unit. It took several tries calling around to find a plumber who knew what a "water-powered backup sump pump" was as I live in the Minneapolis area. These types of devices are not as common as they are out on the east coast where hurricanes increase their popularity. The master plumber I eventually hired was very impressed with this device as he commented on how well built and designed it was. He had installed about 12 of these types of pumps from other manufacturers and really liked how quickly this unit can be installed since it doesn't sit inside the sump itself.It took him about a total of 2.5 hours to install the pump. This included installing a new tee from a nearby water line and connecting it to the pump and then fitting and gluing the PVC suction pipe to the pump. This also included time drilling a new hole to the outside for the dedicated discharge hose. The flexible hose that comes with the kit made this very easy to accomplish.When it was time to test the pump, the plumber commented on how much faster this pump evacuated the sump compared to the other products he had installed at previous sites. He made a point to note the name of this manufacturer for future reference. With the really good water pressure I have to my home, the Basepump was able to remove a full sump in just about the same time my primary pump does. Impressive!I can now rest much easier the next time we have storm and the power goes out. That is figuratively and literally since I won't need to bail out my sump by flashlight the next time it happens.