All,

I just bought a house with a redundant battery operated sump pump
installed (brand name is "Ace in the Hole"). I decided to test it out
by unplugging the main AC unit. The pump made noise like it was
running but didn't pump any water out. The date on the battery says
it is only 4 months old. I checked the battery water levels and they
were all ok.

Any ideas? Does it sound like a bad pump? I should mention it has
its own pipe running from the pit to the outside, so maybe the pipe is
plugged?

Thanks,
Dan

How old is your Ace in the Hole?

I had one freeze up on me and had to replace the motor.

You should exercise the pump on a regular basis. The "Ace in the Hole" will
have a "test" button on the battery case.

you could hook up your regular pump to the AITH discharge pipe and see if
there is a blockage.

Are you using an additional check valve in the AITH discharge pipe?

Could the check valve be in backwards?

The AITH is a pretty simple machine so a little detective work should
narrow it down. You could also talk to the local AITH distributor for
ideas. I've bought all of mine at Menards but there are others out there.

"lagman" wrote in message
oups.com...
All,

I just bought a house with a redundant battery operated sump pump
installed (brand name is "Ace in the Hole"). I decided to test it out
by unplugging the main AC unit. The pump made noise like it was
running but didn't pump any water out. The date on the battery says
it is only 4 months old. I checked the battery water levels and they
were all ok.

Any ideas? Does it sound like a bad pump? I should mention it has
its own pipe running from the pit to the outside, so maybe the pipe is
plugged?

Thanks,
Dan

It's a BATTERY powered device. The pump motor for the Ace In The Hole is
DC.

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 11:05:33 -0700, lagman wrote:

All,

I just bought a house with a redundant battery operated sump pump
installed (brand name is "Ace in the Hole"). I decided to test it out
by unplugging the main AC unit. The pump made noise like it was
running but didn't pump any water out. The date on the battery says
it is only 4 months old. I checked the battery water levels and they
were all ok.

Any ideas? Does it sound like a bad pump? I should mention it has
its own pipe running from the pit to the outside, so maybe the pipe is
plugged?


Don't those things run on AC also? Seems to me if the sump filled while
your AC was on it would need to empty it.

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:58:18 -0400, Meat Plow
wrote:

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 11:05:33 -0700, lagman wrote:

All,

I just bought a house with a redundant battery operated sump pump
installed (brand name is "Ace in the Hole"). I decided to test it out
by unplugging the main AC unit. The pump made noise like it was
running but didn't pump any water out. The date on the battery says
it is only 4 months old. I checked the battery water levels and they
were all ok.

More important than either of those for the purpose of debugging is
the voltage of the battery. Should be about 12.6 vdc when not running
and only a little below that when it is.

Why, because a brand new battery can become discharged, and the
charger can break, without lowering the water level. You know that
you should use distilled water to refill the battery, riht.

Any ideas? Does it sound like a bad pump?

It's too early to say. If the voltage were low, it might make some
noise but still not be spinning fast enough to pump.

Maybe something has clogged the input.

Is it a one-piece motor and pump? Maybe it's the motor and not the
pump.

I should mention it has
its own pipe running from the pit to the outside, so maybe the pipe is
plugged?

Maybe.


Don't those things run on AC also?

Only the most expensive ones. Unless you mean the battery charger.

Seems to me if the sump filled while
your AC was on it would need to empty it.

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:45:33 -0500, "Jay Stootzmann"
wrote:


You should exercise the pump on a regular basis. The "Ace in the Hole" will
have a "test" button on the battery case.

you could hook up your regular pump to the AITH discharge pipe and see if
there is a blockage.

My regular pump is pretty firmly connected to its own discharge pipe.
It might be easier to put a garden hose in the aith discharge and back
fill the sump. OP, have someone inside at the same time to yell when
to stop, or use a walkie talkie or cell phones. Filling up the sump a
quarter or half way is plenty.

You can then empty the sump with the main sump pump.

I haven't done this, but I can imagine a small chance that fillign
backwards would unclog a pipe or unjam a pump,

Try isolating various things. I'd suggest to unhook the discharge
pipe and (very briefly) run the pump. See if water comes out of
the pump. That way you'll know if it's the pipe or the pump.

Pull the pump out of the water, and see if there is any intake
screen, see that's clear.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"lagman" wrote in message
oups.com...
: All,
:
: I just bought a house with a redundant battery operated sump
pump
: installed (brand name is "Ace in the Hole"). I decided to test
it out
: by unplugging the main AC unit. The pump made noise like it
was
: running but didn't pump any water out. The date on the battery
says
: it is only 4 months old. I checked the battery water levels
and they
: were all ok.
:
: Any ideas? Does it sound like a bad pump? I should mention it
has
: its own pipe running from the pit to the outside, so maybe the
pipe is
: plugged?
:
: Thanks,
: Dan
: