Elevation of back-up sump pump

[RRCURbob]

My 1920s era house has a bottomless clay tile sump pit liner. Because of local conditions, there is always standing water in the pit, about 24" below the floor. This means that the Zoeller pump that rests on gravel at the bottom of the pit is pretty much always partially submerged. It's positioned so that it runs anywhere from once a day to several times a day, depending on the weather.

I just acquired a plastic Wayne backup pump that runs off of a trickle-charging 12-volt battery. Instructions show the back-up pump sitting at the same level as the primary pump, with the Wayne float switch mounted above the Zoeller pump switch. Makes sense.

I'm wondering if it would be better or worse for the longevity of the Wayne pump to mount it ABOVE the Zoeller pump so that it spends most of it's life dry, or whether it would do better in the long-run for it to sit at the same elevation as the Zoeller and always be wet.

The drawback of mounting the Wayne pump higher would be that I'd need to make the water level in the pit higher in order to test it. That may be the deciding factor right there.

Other thoughts on this would be appreciated.

 

[Taylorjm]

The backup shouldn't run unless the main pump fails. So whatever it takes to make that happen. If you have a low water table and always have water in the pit, then I wouldn't have my main sump pump running until it rises above that. I wouldn't try and pump out the water table with it. If it's dry out and your sump pump is still running daily, then I'd say you need to raise it up.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[RRCURbob]

Thanks. I definitely don't want to try to drain the local water table with my pumps. I've got the main pump at a good elevation -- pretty much where it's been for the long life of the house

My question has more to do with the the lifespan of the backup pump. Will placing it at an elevation where its more likely to spend most of its time wet or dry make a difference to its longevity? Or won't it make a significant difference?

 

[Taylorjm]

I don't think it will matter. It sits in the box in the store dry for what could be years, and it's submersible so its made to sit in water. Personally I'd just make sure and keep the parts that have electrical out of water as much as possible. The rest is probably plastic.

Thanks. I definitely don't want to try to drain the local water table with my pumps. I've got the main pump at a good elevation -- pretty much where it's been for the long life of the house

My question has more to do with the the lifespan of the backup pump. Will placing it at an elevation where its more likely to spend most of its time wet or dry make a difference to its longevity? Or won't it make a significant difference?