When I started in the waterfall and pond design & construction business in January of 1982, I was asking the same question. I had a slight advantage over most when it came to answering the question, "Which pump do I use?"
Water Garden News is a trade magazine that is for manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers in the water garden industry. This information was not meant for the consumers' eyes. Until now!Just as settling or erosion can cause foundation cracks, they can lead to cracks in basement walls. If this is the source of basement flooding, the only solution is to repair the cracks. Use a good quality caulking material. This should be followed by the application of waterproofing materials that seal the wall surface.Sump pumps were cheap to buy because they were built cheaply. It did not matter that they consumed more energy than the more expensive centrifugal pump, since they only came on occasionally.The soil must slope away from the basement walls at least six inches in the first 100 feet. If an existing house has slope problems correcting the grade may require a major project, but the resulting improvement of basement dryness will be worth the effort. A less obvious basement water problem comes from the roof. If gutters and downspouts are not kept in good repair or are improperly installed they can allow water from the roof to seep into the soil along the foundation and leak into the basement.A lot of the time, the more energy efficient the [sump] pump, the less solids and debris it can handle. So often the consumer is excited the pump will only cost them $10 a month to run, but what they did not know is that they are going to have to be out there 3 times a week, cleaning the intake of the [sump] pump to keep it going.Sump pumps were designed to be submerged underwater and pump that water to a different location. Their most common uses are in basements, bunkers, bilges, and that sort of thing. These pumps would only come on by demand, when a float control indicated a high water level.In the industry magazine, Water Garden News, the vice president of product management for the Aquascape Company stated,The difference in the cost of energy consumption between a 5700 gallon per hour sump pump and a 5800 gallon per hour high-efficiency centrifugal pump is staggering. The sump pump uses twice as much energy, costs $171 more to purchase, and its warranty is 6 months less! Look before you leap and research before you weep.One major drawback of sump pumps that the liner pond industry does not share with their clients is that they are literally energy sponges. But then, that is not the only thing they forget to mention to their usually innocent and unsuspecting clients.Read my article entitled Pondless Waterfall: Concrete vs. Pond Liner ; EzineArticles.com. I cover the subject in depth, and expose the truth about pond liner promoters. All of the costs involved in building a pondless waterfall are analyzed by comparing the two techniques: using concrete & rebar or a rubber liner.If your sump pump is seized when water comes into the sump hole, it will not remove the incoming water and your basement will flood, and you could end up with thousands and thousands of dollars of damage, not to mention many personal belongings near and dear to your heart. Insurance claims will cover most of the damages, but they simply cannot replace the lost memories. DON'T wait for this to happen. Check your sump pump and service it TODAY.They were easy to hide.A dry well chamber surrounded by gravel gives downspout and sump pump water a place to go into the ground away from the foundations of the house. This can be a simple alternative to tearing up existing landscaping and re-grading the whole lot. Another method of handling poor drainage is a French drain. A traditional French drain is a simple gravel and sand filled trench that leads water away from low-lying areas.Pumps are no different when it comes to performance vs. energy consumption. The rule of thumb is: If an electrical appliance was engineered to be used only occasionally, as opposed to continually, rest assured, it is not engineered or built with the highest industry standards in mind.Besides a sump pump costing twice as much to operate than a high efficiency, centrifugal pump, they plug up easily. (By the way, the liner guys changed the name to a "submersible pump" and they are now using the term "waterfall pump.") Concrete and rebar constructed ponds with bottom anti-vortex drains seldom, if ever, plug up.The water flows from the weepers into the sump hole. When the water reaches a certain level in the sump hole, allowing the flotation balls attached to the pump to float, the pump automatically kicks on and the water is pumped up the plastic piping to the outside, and away from your home.Two very critical items for the running of your home are situated in your basement; your furnace and your sump pump. You may not think the sump pump is important, but do you service your sump pump? Do you know how? Most people don't, and if asked, they have no idea what to do to service one. Your sump pump is usually located near the interior concrete wall, in a hole in your basement floor, approximately the size of a small garbage can with a 1/2 horsepower pump to remove the water from the hole. The water comes from weeping tile around your house, which is plastic piping at the base of your exterior basement walls.They were cheap to buy, as were the liners;
Happy koi, peace and joy.
Author: Douglas Hoover
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