I think we have all come to the same conclusion that we must consider increasing the volume of the pit. How we accomplish the task is irrelavant. On the one hand you could break out more concrete and widen the pit, but on the other hand you could deepen the pit and get the same end result. With this in mind I would consider deepening the pit too. You could easily use a post hole digger to deepen the existing pit then pour a bit of concrete in the bottom to form a base. While that concrete is still wet you could drop a Soni-tube concrete form in the hole (the same soni-tubes that are used to form foundation pilings for a deck). Cut a hole near the top of the soni-tube and pour concete through that hole to fill the cavity between the outer wall of the soni-tube and the dirt to form the sidewalls of your pit. (This could be done fairly easily as a DIY project.) Once you have the pit deepened you could set your submersible pump in the bottom of the pit and extend the length of the float control to adjust for the increased volume. At this point you are only out the cost of a short section of soni-tube, a few bags of sackrete and your labor. Mow before I would expend a lot of money on a battery backup system I would do a bit of "Risk Assesment". You have been in this house for 5 years and only once in that time have you encountered a major storm that really put your sump pump to the test. Statisticaly, what is the risk of that occuring any time soon when you are not at home? In my estimation you have about the same risk of being hit by lightning. In my opinion the smart money here would be to get some federal flood insurance and not be overly worried about the sump pump. On the other hand, let us consider a battery backup. 1. Battery powered sump pumps are relatively expensive. 2. You must have a dedicated battery and a charging system to maintain the battery during periods of non-use. 3.Deep cycle batteries are expensive and have a limited shelf life of about 5 years. Based upon your previous history statistically the battery will probably be on its last legs the first time you need to rely on it. Now let us consider a generator. If we lived in a region where we commonly got storms that knocks the power out for days at a time we would certainly want to consider a permanent mount whole house generator with an auto start feature. In my region here in the midwest we commonly get storms which cause a power outage however I cannot say enough for those people who maintain our power system. Regardless of whether it is severe wind and rain in summer or ice and snow in winter it is very seldom that a power outage lasts more than two or three hours. In fact, i can't rmember the last time our power was actually out for a full day, and we have had numerous storms and even a couple tornados in that time. IN fact, we have had far more power outages that were a result of drunk drivers hitting a pole than weather related problems. Over the years I have had a number of different portable generators that we primarily use for power on a jobsite, but which function very well as backup power for the house in a pinch. Of all the generators that I have owned or used my personal favorite is a Honda 4KVA. This generator has been in almost daily service for nearly ten years and it is still going strong. One of the features that i really like about it is the easy of starting. You turn the ignition switch on, press the primer bulb twice then gently pull the starter cord and off it goes. Notice, i said, gently pull the cord. No need to give that super macho yank that is common to most small motors. This Honda seems to start every time with even a light pull on the cord. In fact, I have seen guys on the job joking about it and actually testing it by seeing how lightly they can pull the cord and still start the motor. It is a rare day when it takes a second pull to get it going. One word of caution especially about your generator but which is true of all small gas motors such as those on our mowers, snowblowers etc. Never leave them set for an extended period of time with gas in the tank. The gas will evaporate and leave a gummy film which stops up the fuel system. Whenever you are preparing a small motor for long term storage let it burn all the fuel out until the engine stops from lack of fuel.

Rjoh - Thanks I printed this & will go over it w/mason - what a great help!!! the kind i really need Pinoke, Not only are you a wonderful reference - you are HYSTERICAL - I could not stop laughing reading your post ... it is just my kind of humor - I have to have my husband read this, he will die - His claim is "family, people you would not ordinarily be associated with" coupled with "i hate people" - nice .. I can picutre your MIL with glasses, pearls and bucket, resting in or floating in peace - too funny I didn't go into lurid details re: "tofu" stripper - We had a flood Oct 05 due to a faulty auto feeder valve to steam furnace - When the boiler called for water - it got water ! and then some, and then some more - Dear hubby was outside "saving money" by attempting to do his own brakes on the Crown Vic (estimate was $800)in the driveway - I was at a college volleyball game w/my son - I came home to my prized possession - oriental rug in the driveway in a ball - hubby in living room under hurricane conditions- w/the 12 gal shop vac- "Raining" in my living room, a pond on the floor and radiators that were spewing water everywhere. Fast foward to the professional cleanup crew (after I cried, called insurance co. they sent them) - they brought all their sucker upper equip, dehumidifiers, ripped up carpeting took out all area rugs etc... Came back the following week to remove the largest plaster ceiling in the house Living room 12'x23' despite my inquiry and concern with exposure and enviromental concerns- they were going to "seal the area off" - hmmmm- So, imagine the debris, mess, aftermath of this "sealed off" area w/plaster (wood lathe) being carried throughout the house to the dumpster! We have 7 children btwn hubby & I the youngest is 2yrs old - They wanted to pull carpeting up from a floor (used to be a porch) that had 9x9 tile under it, I refused to let them - they wanted to take out the entire dinning room ceiling -I called environmental testing Co - Made the insurance adjuster cringe - Yes, we were + for lead throughout the house - Ins co. wanted to just test the living room area after much debate I stood my ground with the issue that the demo sent debris to all areas of the house - I think it was the day I had a meltdown and sent 10 workers who were demo'ing out - Ranting "we have 7 babies what is (actually i said H-E (double hockey sticks) wrong with you people why would you knowingly expose us to this???" and the ins co. was giving me a hard time about the envirn testing issue with the "well we don't know what the prior condition was", "did you ever have lead testing done" - My response was no, i had not, I had no reason to, as we we not in a state of disturbing 75 yo lead paint - But if they felt the need to continue down this road I had a solution - I had just had the 2yo tested for lead 4 mos prior - so, I knew her "pre-existing condition" - I could easily have her tested so we could have comparitive values and deal with the facts - Then I stated - "you will no longer have just a property and personal belongings issue, you will have a human life issue and we would have the 6 other children tested as well" I also starting asking if the insurance adjuster had environmental awareness training of what potential exposures are - hmmmm yes, she did - then the finger pointing game began ins co. vs. the remediation co. I suddenly got the most unbelievable service!!! Funny how things happen - I'm a fair person - but when I feel you pushing & shoving me into a corner - Look out! That (sorry a long way to get here) led to the basement floor issue, as the flooding caused 75yrs of paint to peel I think all involved may have learned something by there stupidity - The remediation co. told me they have since adopted a new policy - No demo prior to envirn testing - The irony is, the insurance co. new all along they would have to displace us while our home was under repair - DUH why have demo while we are still in the house - Penny wise pound foolish - So, while I'm NOt a tofu head - I do believe that we have to protect the innocent from any evil or exposure to the best of our ability - that my friend is a the long and short of it. Just stupidity in my book - We cried at the loss of plaster as well as the exposure - it was all needless - the entire ceiling did NOT have to be demo'd I did not pay for the "tofu" paint removal - the stupid insurance co. did - once revealed they HAD no choice but to abide by strict protocol - Hazmat suits and all - so the state certified remediation crews descended on our home while they had to put us up in a hotel (kids loved it, I didn't) then we came back to the house only to move back out to a rental (that i found thank you - they were talking about a condo - hmmmm I don't live in a condo and I have a single fam home, garage etc....) I could have really kept going here - if nothing else you helped me purge some pent up frustrations with the stupidity of corporate america - whew I feel better now - thanks for your humor and your advice Eileen

If you're worried about that, why not mount one a couple inches higher than the other? That way, the backup will come on only if the first one has failed and at least 2 inches (say) of water have filled the sump. How likely is it that you'll get 2 inches of water in less time than it takes to empty that amount? I don't know your situation, but I'm thinking you'll have bigger problems than too small a discharge pipe--e.g., a real flood or a broken water heater.

The sears 1/4HP submersible utility pump is has a 1" discharge port and it is rated at 30gpm @ zero vertical head. It comes with an optional garden hose adapter that converts the output port to 3/4" garden hose, but in so doing it reduces the output by 1/2 so with the garden hose adapter it is rated at 15gpm @ zero vertical head into a 25' hose (Assuminmg of course that the hose is also 3/4"). reducing to a 5/8" hose would reduce it another 30% while a 1/2" hose reduces it to 1/2 or 7.5gpm at zero vertical head into a 25ft hose. Every type and size of hose has a different co-efficient of friction loss. Some are as high as 2' of vertical head per 25" length. The effects of friction loss would then be effected by such factors as whether the hose is laid out perfectly straight or does it have twists curls or the occassional kink not to mention whether the terraine where the hose is laid out is perfectly flat or is it pitched upwards or downwards. We could run the hose into a bucket and time how long it takes to fill the bucket but we must also consider that we must hold the end of the hose above the top of the bucket which could introduce another 1.5 to 2' of vertical head. When all things are considered, trying to effectively move storm runoff with a utility pump is about as efficient as attempting to drain the swimming pool with a teacup. Even if you do get an accurate measurement of the pumps discharge rate, I would be curios to find out how that information could be used to determine if the source of the water is gutters and downspouts or storm runoff?