I need a recommendation for a UPS.

[CremePuff]

I have a sump pump running under my house that keeps water from coming up from under the floor in the basement. I need a UPS that can run the pump for at least 4 hours because whenever there’s a blackout the water level threatens to rise and flood in. (Which just happened yesterday). I don’t know much about the technical aspect to pick a UPS so I’d like some help.

 

Here’s a link to the pump we’re using: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-1-2-HP-Stainless-Steel-Dual-Suction-Sump-Pump-500RSDS/308759150

 

Thank You

[Donut417]

5 minutes ago, CremePuff said:

don’t know much about the technical aspect to pick a UPS so I’d like some help.

Im not sure a UPS is with you need specifically. What I mean is I know devices like Laser printers are not suppose to be connected to one due to high power draw. Im sure a sump pump draws a lot. Also I have a pretty decent sized UPS, and powering just my modem and router I get maybe 2 hours of run time. My UPS is rated for a little over 800 watts 1350VA. 

[OhioYJ]

4.5 amps, 110 volts, that's ~550 watts, which means most of the "nicer" $200-300 UPS will run for about 10-15 minutes. In theory a sump pump should only kick in every so often, but during a bad storm, it could run for extended periods. Running a UPS battery down, will shorten it's life span pretty quickly (read kill it). In the four hour range of run time you're going to be looking at UPS + an extended battery, and these are going to be several thousand dollars generally. To me this is the point where a backup generator might make more sense.

 

Either way, what I've learned is if you have something below ground, it's going to have water in it at some point.

[Electronics Wizardy]

That is a fairly power hungry motor( ~400w probably for 1/2 hp) and 4 hours is. long time for a ups(probably gonna need about 2kw of batteries).

 

You would be spending a good amount on an ups. It seems like about 5k for a off the shelf ups and batteries that would fit this need. You can get a good amount cheaper by spending a grand on a UPS that has a battery expansion port, then buying a few batteries for it(deep cycle lead acids are the best here). You could probably get it under about 1k with a used ups with a battery add on port. You can add big batteries to any ups, but the small ones aren't designed to run for an extended period of time. Id guess most UPS with a battery addition port will have the cooling required to use massive batteries.

 

And the lead acid batteries last about 5 years before you need to replace them, and that will be a lot of $ in batteries to replace.

 

Also those motors often have a pretty high startup current so make sure it has a good amount of extra power for the current needed to start the motor.

 

So some cheaper options that might work ok if you can manually switch over

- A generator. You can get a cheap generator for 100-200 bucks from something like harbor freight. You need to manually start it and keep semi recent fuel in it and crank it over

- 12v inverter and a car. Use your car to power the inverter and run the pump. The car will burn a good amount of gas doing this, but a lot cheaper than batteries.

 

2kw solar generator. This will be baout 1-2k usd, but cheaper than a ups, and many can function like a ups, switching to battery power as needed.

 

[baronvonsatchel]

At 550W even a large consumer UPS will last for less than an hour. Maybe a portable power station made for camping/off the grid living like those Jackery ones that sponsor LTT would be closer to what you want. And there's always the option of a conventional gas generator.

[andrewmp6]

On 1/1/2023 at 2:21 PM, CremePuff said:

I have a sump pump running under my house that keeps water from coming up from under the floor in the basement. I need a UPS that can run the pump for at least 4 hours because whenever there’s a blackout the water level threatens to rise and flood in. (Which just happened yesterday). I don’t know much about the technical aspect to pick a UPS so I’d like some help.

 

Here’s a link to the pump we’re using: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-1-2-HP-Stainless-Steel-Dual-Suction-Sump-Pump-500RSDS/308759150

 

Thank You

They make new sump pumps that have a battery backup in it for power outages.It will be cheaper to buy that vs how big of a ups or battery backup pack its gonna take to power it for hours.