[259.]

I am looking to purchase a generator to power my basement sump pump during a power outage. It is a 1/2 HP cast iron submersible pump. I have looked at some info, but am clueless as what I need to look for in a generator. Can someone please give me some advice?

 

[Michael Kawalek]

What about your refrigerator, and a few other electrical appliances besides the pump? Keeping your food frozen during an outage might be just as important as your source of water.

Here's a good rule of thumb. Anything with an electrical motor is likely to draw significantly more than it's rated wattage for a second or two during startup. Add up all the watts you're likely to need and double that. You can find the watts consumed on just about any appliance. Just look for a shiny metal plate attached to the back or bottom of each appliance. Lets say your pump consumes at least 1000 watts. Say your frig uses 500. Add those two and you get 1500 watts continous. If you double that to account for starting loads you'll need 3000 watts of generator power. A second thing to pay attention to is that the generator is rated either continous watts and surge watts. Just like the pump motor can draw more than it rated input for a few seconds, the generator can produce more watts for a few seconds (the surge wattage). When you buy your generator, make sure the number they are quoting is the continous and not surge.

There is one thing you must strictly adher to. DO NOT run your generator INSIDE your house or basement if there is no provision for the exhaust gas. If the exhaust from the engine is not vented to the outside, the generator room will be filled with deadly carbon monoxide! Make sure that either the generator is running outside, or the exhaust gas is vented completely outside.
Good luck with your purchase,
Michael

 

[259.]

Thanks, you cleared up at least one thing I was unsure of and that is about the surge and continuous. As far as the pump, this is not my source of drinking water. It is to keep water out of the basement.

 

[artificer]

Do you have a budget? How offten is it needed? Would you like to be able to power other things like a light or two as well? How long do you think the power will be off? How much does the pump run?

You can get sump pumps with battery backup. If you had one, you could use a car to charge the battery for light duty use.

If you want something for "just in case" then you might consinder any of the B&S engine powered generators for a little money. Get a metal gas can to make sure the gas doesn't degrade, and use Stabil or something similar. Running one of these things for long periods would drive me nuts, due to the noise.

Top of the line for long running would be one of the Honda inverter types. The EU1000i should be able to handle your pump. Quite, efficient, but expensive.

Michael

 

[ace admirer]

your local home builder store will have the battery powered sump pump. so will northern tool. around $150 for the charger, battery box, pump level switch and a check valve.

 

[adamtheha]

If it were me, I wouldn't use a generator for just one item. Having one is great, but they require periodic maintenance, they need to be run for 1/2 hour every month, and many of the cheaper ones don't last very long. Plus, gas storage is a pain.
I would agree with the battery. If the wattage is between 500-1000 watts, like most 1/2 hp pumps are, then an inverter running 3000 peak watts is plenty, with a battery. If you can get the pump with the battery pre-installed, even better!