Posted on 08/13/2026 11:16:25 AM PDT by Mean Daddy
I like posting things like this on FR as there is a lot of wisdom from members.
I have a fairly new 1/3 hp Zoeller sump pump but considering a backup in case of power outage:
1. Whole house generator connected to natural gas. Depending on model, kW, this can cost $10-25,000.
2. Traditional generator that plugs into utility meter socket or a smaller standalone just for the pump. $500 - $3,000 solution.
3. UPS with two batteries but fairly expensive. $3,000 by my estimation. Allows for software monitoring of system.
4. Two battery system with inverter, charger, inline fuse & kit to tie together batteries. Leaning towards this as it would power the sump pump.
5. Separate pump with battery. One of the cheaper options but haven't heard great things about them.
6. Water powered backup sump pump. Uses city water to pump out sump pump.
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We have sumps on both ends of our house. Now that the surrounding lots and lawns are in place they run quite infrequently. Although past performance doesn’t necessarily predict future results, in almost twenty years I can count on both hands the number of times we lost it but longest we’ve been without electricity is five minutes.
With that (and expecting intermittent run [rather than constant draw]) in mind, we have two identical pumps in each hole. The backup pumps are plugged into Jackery portable power stations. They’ll automatically switch to battery without power and should provide several hours of coverage with the bonus of being able to use them elsewhere if needed.
We smile and wiggle our toes, too! Every time!
We even had a power outage last Fall weeks after it was installed and we weren’t in town. It sends us a message whenever it kicks on, plus the power company also does that when there are outages in our neighborhood. It’s been great.
So far, the power has always been restored within a couple of hours each time, but I sure enjoy not having to use the portable generator. We are considering selling our old one to neighbors if they ever decide they want one. Until they do, we will keep it as a back up for when it’s a long power outage for the neighbors as a loaner.
Do you have any recommendations? I think that falls under the category of UPS & one big enough just for the sump pump is a couple grand.
Texas has a lot of interconnectivity issues between utilities but to the other posters point, there are electric boosting stations to deliver NG to you. One of my concerns is a lot of utilities are building NG peaking stations & if there are NG shortages, do they or homeowners get priority? Take a guess who gets priority.
My concern is two fold, not many plumbers who I’ve talked to have ever installed and second, their lift capacity is limited. I have a 10’ lift from the top of my pit and that’s beyond the capability of a lot of water pumps. Mine is routed outside and have a good hill for it to run down so no danger of pooling.
It’s a Generac. We had it installed in early October, 2025.
It’s 22 kW, 200 amps automatic transfer switch, air cooled. It runs everything. A/C, washer, dryer, 2 fridges and one freezer, garage doors, gas stove, heater, water heater, all lights, ceiling fans, sump pump. All of it.
We did have to upgrade our gas meter for about $350 more to increase the volume of gas that would be required for running the stove, heater, and water heater.
We had two other contractors bid apples to apples and Costco was the best price. The contractors they sent were great people to work with. I think it was 2 full days, one with the electrical work and setting up the pad and all for the generator, followed by the gas contractors to redo that aspect. They pulled our power for 2-3 hours while they were messing with the electric, but that wasn’t a horrible amount of time at that point in the calendar.
It was a very smooth process from Costco, and we really liked that. If you don’t have a membership, it’s worth buying one just for this project alone. Saved us several thousand dollars. IIRC, the next bid was for $17K without as much oomph.
We really enjoy hearing that thing kick on the second the power goes out. No work anymore.
Our next door neighbors got one installed about 6 weeks after us, and we got a shop card for the referral, too. That was a nice perk for something that sold itself.
I think that’s why we still have our portable generator as a back up. Just in case things go sideways with the NG.
Plus you can add more auto type batteries for longer run time to cover power outages. Cheapest, simplest option. So cheap you can have a back up set up just in case first one fails.
I have a gasoline powered trash pump as a backup if the power goes out. I also have a generator, but it is not automatically started if the power goes out.
The best bet is to get the water away from the basement so you don’t need a pump.
My problem is that I have a basement in an area where very few homes have basements AND I have a spring flowing fresh water in my basement. I put a drain in to get rid of the water.
BICYCLE TO PUMP?
Word of advice check your oil levels occasionally. I almost let mine get too low. It is after all (in my case) just a little air cooled small 4 cycle engine.
We installed a Briggs & Stratton 26 kW generator on natural gas about four years ago.
You need to start with your reasons for wanting a generator, how often your power goes out, average outage duration/time to restore, how long a ride-through you will need, what loads in your house are critical and which are nice-to-have, the distance to your substation, overhead vs underground power lines, tree density, are power corridors kept pruned. Are you wanting to avoid extended stays in a hotel (if you can find a room) or just avoiding nuisances?
A HUGE consideration is whether you travel for extended periods and the risk of your place freezing up in winter.
We are in the north woods in North Idaho and there have been a couple of week-long outages the past 20 years. We get frequent big windstorms and lots of downed trees. I mean LOTS! The companies are always swamped for a month after a big storm. We travel a fair amount and the last thing I want is to come home to burst water pipes from a two day deep freeze and no power.
We are in seventies and travel a fair amount. I want to make sure we have power when family and friends visit, especially for Christmas and Thanksgiving. I sprang for the permanent whole house solution sized to run AC, electric oven, electric dryer, lights and everything else. We installed modules to stage the three big load; they come on line sequentially over several minutes to avoid overloading and tripping the generator.
We used it once last year for an 18 hour outage. It’s really nice to look out at a dark neighborhood when you are in a toasty, warm, well lit house.
Thanks. I’ll check on that.
>>back up pump hooked up to a marine battery. UPS can struggle with the start up power needed to run sump pumps.
My MIL has one of those. The battery does need to be replaced periodically.
I bet 2/3rds of the houses on my street have Generacs.
The power used to be much less reliable, the EMC upgraded their service in the area 2-3 years ago and things are much better than prior. The houses were built 7-8 years ago and there were many more issues then. I’m glad to have one, am 2nd owner of the house, 1st owner put a nice one in, water cooled.
I would love a whole-house automatic gas genny, but I just can’t justify the expense.
Our power outages are so infrequent and brief. We don’t have flooding where I live. We have outages maybe 3-6 times a year, most only lasting a few minutes, some up to 3-4 hours. The longest this year was about 7 hours.
I’ve got a couple little Honda 1-2kW quiet gennies and was just about to pull one out when the juice came back on.
It sounds like you can really justify your investment in your situation.
Before we had ours installed, there were 3 in our neighborhood of 105 homes. Now there are 5 that I know of. Most people have portable generators but not everyone. We have frequent power outages usually a few hours long, but last year, before we had this one installed, we were without power for 20 hours in winter, but not heavy winter. The portable generator saved our butts on the fridges and freezers. That storm (a tornado) was one of the big reasons why we went forward with the automatic.
Also, why is that when the power goes out I always want to do laundry and then remember I have no dryer? Not anymore, though! I sleep soundly when we go away, as we did this past weekend for a long fun weekend with old friends. There was a power outage, but it was brief according to the neighbors.
Water powered pump just puts more water in your basement, don’t do that one.
Whole house generator is expensive but well worth it for more than just your sump pump.
Depending on where you live, a seasonal, a weather related power outage could last long enough to also make for food losses and dismal living conditions. Whole house battery backup systems that run for two to three days can be had for about $10,000, with costs continuing to drop. A new model durable battery system can even save on monthly bills by charging during off peak hours and routinely powering the house during the day.
I’ve been looking at switching over our well pump to solar with battery backup. Complete setup looks to run $3k to $4k.
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