Living where we do, with a high water table, houses are obligated to have a large hole in the floor of the basement called a “sump“. For those lucky enough to not know, a sump’s job is to collect groundwater before it seeps up through the floor of the basement. You then evacuate the water with a pump, colloquially (and quite logically) known as a “sump pump”.
A sump pump is a replaceable part. The typical lifetime is supposed to be around ten years, give or take.
We last replaced our pump in 2014. I purchased a replacement unit from “Watchdog” that proclaimed it’s longevity, speed, and reliability. This is that same unit, a mere five years later:
The unit continued to work in some condition, until it didn’t. It completely failed during a heavy December rainstorm this weekend. I came into the basement early Saturday morning to find ankle-deep water on the floor.
Woe unto the person who does not have a water alarm or redundant standby sump pump. That person would be me.
The pump is now replaced with a unit from a different manufacturer. Hopefully this one stands up to the elements a little better. We’re working on a water alarm as well.