Back-Up pumps are meant to work under extreme conditions where the primary pump fails or is unable to work due to cutting off of electricity, e.g., when a thunderstorm or hurricane strikes. It is, therefore, mandatory that you choose the very best back-up pump available. Now Liberty Pumps has one of the best reputations in the industry when it comes to such pumps, and the Liberty Pumps SJ10 Water Powered Back-Up Pump offers the perfect mix of useful features and specifications.
However, given the vital importance of a back-up pump in the house, it is never safe to judge one simply by noting specifications on paper. Instead, it is necessary to understand just how each of these features fits in with the others to provide uninterrupted service when you need it most.
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Specifications:-
- Product Dimensions: 14.5 x 5.1 x 21.6 inches
- Product Weight: 5 pounds
- Type: Water Powered Back-up
- Pump Inlet: ¾ ‘’ NPT, Outlet: 1 ½ ‘’
- NPT Motor: 19.8 gallons per minute (with the head height is 4 foot)
- Warranty: 2 years
- Light and compact design
- Tough yet light PVC construction
- An efficient motor that can remove 19.8 gallons per minute, or 2 gallons per 1 gallon of water used.
- Magnetic precision switch
- Inlet and Outlet compatible with wide range of pipes
- Excellent warranty with two years
- Suction shaft valve (foot valve) prone to occasional malfunction
- Cannot be used with water supplies that are prone to be shut off periodically (e.g., wells)
Design and Build Quality:-
As far as back-up sump pumps go, the Liberty Pumps SJ10 Water Powered Back-Up Pump is one of the most compact and light, which helps it fit in with even older, bulkier sump pumps that may take up a lot of space in the sump. Of course, this compact and light structure is ensured by using PVC plastic as the primary construction material.
This is a significant difference with primary sump pumps such as the Zoeller M53 Sump Pump, which comes with a cast iron body. However, it should be borne in mind that the SJ10 is not a submersible pump in the sense of the motor being under water. As such, the PVC construction is good enough for the pump to work regularly and consistently without risk of water flowing into the internal components.
The design itself consists of the motor, with two openings– one on each end of the motor. Extending vertically downwards from the motor is a float which connects to the motor through a magnetic weep hole (explained below) and a suction shaft. Since the back-up pump assumes the existence of a larger primary pump, the two downward projections have been kept close to each other, while not being so close as to interfere with each other’s functioning.
Major External Parts (suction shaft, inlet, and outlet):-
The suction shaft has been made with heavy duty PVC so as to ensure that it does not bend or crack under heavy water pressure. There is a screen placed within the shaft that ensures that particulate matter does not enter the shaft and block it. Further, placed a little within the shaft is a check valve (also called suction shaft valve or foot valve) which makes sure that the water which is supposed to go up and out of the pump is not drawn down by gravity into the sump again.
Though the quality of this valve is decent, the valve can sometimes malfunction, leading to reduced efficiency of the back-up pump. However, the tip of the suction shaft can be screwed off to remove the defunct valve and replace it with a quality alternative that is easily available on the market.
The inlet is the small opening (3/4” NPT) which usually does not come with an attached pipe. It is, however, compatible with pex, copper or CTS CPVC type pipes, so any of these recent models can be used as the inlet pipe. There is also a check valve at the inlet, which ensures that water does not flow into the pump when it is not needed. The pipe from the inlet should be connected to a source of water supply that is separate from the water that is to be drained.
The supply can be any supply (though you would usually use the municipal water supply). More pertinently, the water supply must be active at all times, and as such, those who use wells, etc. cannot use the Liberty Pumps SJ10 Water Powered Back-Up Pump.
The outlet comes with a 1-1/2” NPT connector that can be utilized with any standard PVC pipe to prepare a channel by which the water that is pumped out can be expelled from the basement. To make matters convenient, Liberty Pumps has made provision for this outlet to be the same as that of the primary pump, so one does not have to create two separate channels for the two pumps.
Motor and Sealing:-
The motor of the Liberty Pumps SJ10 Water Powered Back-Up Pump functions using the water pressure from the inlet. If installed properly, the SJ10 pump is capable of pumping 19.8 gallons per minute when the head height is 4 foot, which is one of the best as far as back-up pumps are concerned.
Further, the pump can work with pressures ranging from 20PSI to 100PSI at the inlet, thus ensuring that the pump keeps working almost without regard to the fluctuations in inlet pressure. Last but perhaps most importantly, the motor can remove 2 gallons of water for every 1 gallon of water used.
As mentioned above, the motor does not become submerged and therefore does not need to be hermetically sealed. Indeed, the motor runs on the pressure of the water at the inlet. However, the circuitry of the motor is carefully segregated from the rest of the pump, so that even when pressure is very high, water does not reach areas of the pump that are not tolerant to water.
Switch and Float:-
As mentioned above, the Liberty Pumps SJ10 Water Powered Back-Up Pump comes with a PVC float that runs parallel to the suction shaft. Made of sturdy yet light PVC, the float is connected to a narrow shaft that in turn attaches to the motor through a magnetic hole. This hole is configured in such a way that as the float rises, it triggers the magnetic mechanism in the shaft. This mechanism triggers a magnetic switch that is located inside the motor.
As the switch is activated, the diaphragm blocking the inlet water is opened and water flows in, allowing the motor to generate power and draw water using the suction shaft into the outlet. Quite naturally, such an arrangement requires no electricity, and further, it works using the water pressure, so there is never any discordance between the level of water and the working of the pump.
Warranty of this Product:-
The Liberty Pumps SJ10 Water Powered Back-Up Pump has been provided with a manufacturer warranty of 2 years, which is perhaps the best available in the sump pump market.
Price of the product
The Liberty Pumps SJ10 Water Powered Back-Up Pump retails for a well-justified price tag that is slightly above $200. However, Amazon is currently offering a limited period bargain that pegs the price at less than $150, thereby implying an amazing 33% discount. What’s more, Amazon is offering free shipping on this product.
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Conclusion:-
Given the high standards that sump pumps need to meet, it is surprising how well the Liberty Pumps SJ10 Water Powered Back-Up Pump lives up to expectations. It is compact yet sturdy on one hand, while on the other it is capable of working with variable inlet pressure to deliver excellent water pumping efficiency.
If the valves, the magnetic switch and the screen be considered alongside these, it can be said with certainty that the SJ10 is a great product that is capable of providing more than adequate service to households/commercial establishments that need a reliable but affordable back-up pump for emergency situations.