Water powered sump pump

[BHC]

I am looking into a basement waterproofing system and one of the contractors suggested a water powered sump pump. I do not know anyone who has this type of system so I would appreciate any input.

[TJ1962]

I am aware of water powered lines used as back up but not primary sump pump. The advantage of this is as long as there is water pressure the sump will run, even minus electricity.

The only negative is the amount of water it can discharge, because most of them operate on 1/2 inch lines to get the water pressure they need.

[tval325]

A couple of things to consider about water back ups;

How often does the power go out? If you loose power regularly you may want look to a more powerful back up system.

How often does your primary pump run during rains? If your pumps runs a lot during or after a rain you may want to look to a more powerful system.

What is your water pressure? It takes at min. 40psi to run the pump and that is only 300 gal. per hr. It increases about 150 gal per 20 psi at a 6ft lift. This pump works well when its not asked to do a lot.

Look at your reasons for getting a back up, this pump will have a hard time keeping up if your primary would fail.