wrote:
On Feb 14, 10:10 pm, "Bill" wrote:
"volleybiggs" wrote in message
I would like to a Generator for my sump pump. The generators I am
looking at are 1000 watts. I also see some that are 1000 Watts are
brushless and some arent. Both say they put out 1000 Watts but have
different AMPs one is 8.5 amps and the other is 15 amps.
The sump pump I am using 120 V and says Circuit Requirements 15amps.
I guess that means I should go for the one that says 15amps?
Thanks!

If you do not know the startup amperage of your pump, then 4000
watts to be safe. See bottom of
following...http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/usage_chart.html



Measure the actual current the sump pump uses. If it's no more than
12 amps, then the 15 amp gen should be fine. But if you're buying a
gen for longer outages, you might want to consider one that's large
enough to run some other critical loads too. As part of this, you'll
also need a battery backup to run the sump until someone can get there
to start up the generator. Having the battery backup will also give
you flexibility with the generator. The generator can be charging
the battery while the sump pump is running. This would allow you to
either turn off the generator periodically, or else disconnect the
sump pump and use the generator for other critical loads, eg
refrigerator. If you go that route, be sure to factor in the current
reqts of the charger.

Ransley's idea of the water powered pump is a viable one too. It
depends on if you have municipal water and what the cost of it is.
You'd need to calculate how much water you need to remove, how much
city water it takes to do that, and how much it could cost.

Good points, but water is a hell-of-a-lot cheaper than gasoline.

Probably the very cheapest way to go is an insurance policy to cover the
damage from a power outage.