How Does a Submersible Sump Pump Work?
- By Eli Weinstock
- Aug 28, 2019
The kind of sump pump you have in your house is important. When rain pours down or a pipe breaks, your sump pump is the one device that can prevent your basement from flooding. That's why the smartest homeowners prefer a submersible sump pump: one that is fully waterproof and can keep operating no matter how much water there is. But how does a submersible sump pump work, and what makes it different?
If you're like most of us, you grew up with a much more basic sump pump: a standup. A standup or standing pump is a primitive device consisting of a below-water pump and an above-water motor powering it. This is early 20th century technology and was the standard for many years.
But standing sump pumps suffer from a major drawback: they aren't waterproof. If this seems like a major oversight for a device tasked with pumping water, that's because it is. Standing pumps are basically just a generic electric motor attached to a pumping device. Obviously, there are many circumstances when a sump pump may be inundated with water: during heavy rain, for example, or if the pump entrance becomes plugged by debris. This is exactly when you're counting on your sump pump to do its job, but if a traditional standing pump gets wet, it will short out and fail.
A submersible pump is a much more modern technology, and one better suited to the sump environment. Submersibles consist of a highly efficient electric motor that is fully cased in a waterproof housing. They do not need ventilation and are impervious to the water around them. That means that they can literally sit underwater at the bottom of the sump 24/7 and continue to operate.
To understand how important this is, remember exactly what a sump pump does: it drains the sump, the collecting point for all the water that infiltrates your home. Train tiles, a basement drain, and the natural slope of the basement floor all dump into this point. That means that if the sump pump fails, water backs up, leading to mildew, water damage and even potentially flooding.
Having a submersible sump pump is not strictly necessary, but it is the most foolproof approach to keeping your sump pumped and your basement dry. It is the preferred choice of sump pump.
If you're like most of us, you grew up with a much more basic sump pump: a standup. A standup or standing pump is a primitive device consisting of a below-water pump and an above-water motor powering it. This is early 20th century technology and was the standard for many years.
But standing sump pumps suffer from a major drawback: they aren't waterproof. If this seems like a major oversight for a device tasked with pumping water, that's because it is. Standing pumps are basically just a generic electric motor attached to a pumping device. Obviously, there are many circumstances when a sump pump may be inundated with water: during heavy rain, for example, or if the pump entrance becomes plugged by debris. This is exactly when you're counting on your sump pump to do its job, but if a traditional standing pump gets wet, it will short out and fail.
A submersible pump is a much more modern technology, and one better suited to the sump environment. Submersibles consist of a highly efficient electric motor that is fully cased in a waterproof housing. They do not need ventilation and are impervious to the water around them. That means that they can literally sit underwater at the bottom of the sump 24/7 and continue to operate.
To understand how important this is, remember exactly what a sump pump does: it drains the sump, the collecting point for all the water that infiltrates your home. Train tiles, a basement drain, and the natural slope of the basement floor all dump into this point. That means that if the sump pump fails, water backs up, leading to mildew, water damage and even potentially flooding.
Having a submersible sump pump is not strictly necessary, but it is the most foolproof approach to keeping your sump pumped and your basement dry. It is the preferred choice of sump pump.
