Offsetting Fossil Fuel Oil With Bioheat vs Wood
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That’s basically it. When I say “basement” I mean the mechanical room where the heaters are which is probably about 600 sq ft. Right now it’s about 70 degrees on a day in the 30s where I’ve been burning wood so the boiler hasn’t cycled much today and the heat pump was cranking out cold air - I try to increase the water tank temp during the day to use as much from my solar as possible.
I have been turning the boiler off in the warmer seasons though I’ve recently just got some leaks fixed and he recommended to keep it running all year. He did turndown the min temp it has to maintain so it will run a short cycle once or twice a day if there’s no heat demand.
A heat pump has some side benefits like humidity control, but the main thing is the cost savings on your electric bill. It usually takes about 2kwh per day for me $0.30 to run (ignoring my solar panels which bring the cost down). The downside of a heat pump is if it’s in a living space / closet where people may be uncomfortable with the cool air or in a garage that gets cold and there may not be much heat to pull from. It needs ambient to be around 50 or higher to work well in heat pump mode. In a basement in a cold climate next to a boiler you’ll be just fine.
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Minister of Fire
I think for these decisions it matters your electric cost, usage, generation source and climate . I pay $0.134 per kWh will go up a bit next year. Near as makes no difference we are 1/3 nuclear, 1/3 gas and 1/3 coal. My largest usage occurred in August and was 1220 kWh for a family of 6 who line dries 90% of the laundry and cooks with electricity. Last January was 920 kWh. Last month was lowest I can remember, since boy #4 arrived, at 600 kWh. We have 2300 heating degree days and 2200 cooling. Very very rarely do we have high temps that are below freezing. Very very rare to see temps over 105. The perfect climate for a heatpump, hvac and water heater.
Looks like this just passed in CT in July. I could see other New England states following.
On July 12, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed (broken link removed), a bill to require B5 in 2022, B10 in 2025, B15 in 2030, B20 in 2034, and B50 in 2035, according to the newsletter and the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association.
On July 13, Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee signed H5132A, the newsletter reports, “which moves beyond the existing B5 requirement to B10 in 2023, B20 in 2025, and B50 in 2030.
”The New York state legislature passed a bill (S3321A/A7290) in May that expands the existing downstate B5 requirement statewide in 2022 and requires B10 in 2025 and B20 by 2030, the newsletter also noted, but that legislation has not been enacted pending Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature.
fueloilnews.com
Connecticut, R.I., Enact New Biodiesel Requirements
Governors in Connecticut and Rhode Island signed legislation that requires higher blends of biodiesel in home heating oil in coming years, the National Energy & Fuels Institute reports in the July 20 issue of its weekly newsletter, NEFI Energy Online News (NEON).On July 12, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed (broken link removed), a bill to require B5 in 2022, B10 in 2025, B15 in 2030, B20 in 2034, and B50 in 2035, according to the newsletter and the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association.
On July 13, Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee signed H5132A, the newsletter reports, “which moves beyond the existing B5 requirement to B10 in 2023, B20 in 2025, and B50 in 2030.
”The New York state legislature passed a bill (S3321A/A7290) in May that expands the existing downstate B5 requirement statewide in 2022 and requires B10 in 2025 and B20 by 2030, the newsletter also noted, but that legislation has not been enacted pending Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature.
Connecticut, R.I., Enact New Biodiesel Requirements | Fuel Oil News
Governors in Connecticut and Rhode Island signed legislation that requires higher blends of biodiesel in home heating oil in coming years, the National
fueloilnews.com
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The problem with biodiesel is it can be "green" or "brown". Brown biodiesel is generally regarded as made with palm oil. Palm oil plantations are mostly in indonesia and are generally not sustainable (slash and burn cultivation) and usually significant labor abuses. I think most of Europe bans it. Generally, if its main crop compared to residual the "greenness" of biodiesel is suspect (similar to corn based ethanol). Green biodiesel is generally made from waste products captured from the waste stream. If you go behind most restaurants there is usually a locked and chained tank for waste cooling oil. There are even ongoing thefts of used cooking oil by organized groups. These are converted to green biodiesel. Unfortunately that waste stream is pretty limited. So unless there are standards on the traceability of the feedstock, biodiesel may not be that environmentally green all its doing is exporting the impact to somewhere across the world.
Note its not just palm oil, rapeseed oil (raw canola) jojoba, corn and other crop oils all can be made into biodiesel but the sustainable and environmental benefits are in contention. Animal fats (lard) can also be used but generally the pour point is higher. I did read of project to take skimmed fats that build up in wastewater treatment plants and turning it into biodiesel. It works but is expensive.
Alternatively skip the deesterfication of the waste oils, filter them, preheat them and fire them direct. That keeps some BTU content and is cheaper to process. The term is a "grease car" when used in mechanically injected diesels (usually older VWs and Mercedes). I used to work with a few grease car folks. They start the car with diesel and then once it is hot they would swap over to waste oil. They had to remember to switch back prior to shutting the car down as the oil will gel quickly requiring a major cleanup to get the car running again.
Note its not just palm oil, rapeseed oil (raw canola) jojoba, corn and other crop oils all can be made into biodiesel but the sustainable and environmental benefits are in contention. Animal fats (lard) can also be used but generally the pour point is higher. I did read of project to take skimmed fats that build up in wastewater treatment plants and turning it into biodiesel. It works but is expensive.
Alternatively skip the deesterfication of the waste oils, filter them, preheat them and fire them direct. That keeps some BTU content and is cheaper to process. The term is a "grease car" when used in mechanically injected diesels (usually older VWs and Mercedes). I used to work with a few grease car folks. They start the car with diesel and then once it is hot they would swap over to waste oil. They had to remember to switch back prior to shutting the car down as the oil will gel quickly requiring a major cleanup to get the car running again.
Well, it seems like I’m halfway there. I’ve got something with seemingly fewer features called a PurePro F100W filter. I think it is just filtering but doesn’t seem to warm or de-aerate the fuel. It looks like this:
![[Hearth.com] Offsetting Fossil Fuel Oil With Bioheat vs Wood](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/287/287039-7da4dee55098210b42149c879613a263.jpg?hash=gUgD8BHAK8 "[Hearth.com] Offsetting Fossil Fuel Oil With Bioheat vs Wood")
To revisit Toasty Ranches question, unless you are in area with lots of power outages I think most folks would not put in a dedicated backup power system for a hot water boiler system. Yes it could be done using heating oil which is effectively diesel these days. Even if its biodiesel, a diesel generator will burn it as long as it flows. The bigger issue is the generator needs to be outdoors away from the house to avoid CO poisoning so it requires a lot of piping and possibly booster pumps.
If the fuel is in a Roth type tank it would get tricky as the Tiger system used to pull oil up out of the tank is effectively a syphon with deareation running off the oil burner burner recirculator circuit with an added filter. Unless the generator had a fuel pump with a recirc capability it could not draw on the Roth fuel line unless itis set up for suction feed. There are only a few small diesels generators and they are pricey. If you are in an area with potential power interruptions, you are far better buying a portable generator and having a plan to hook it up. if you want to use a diesel or heating oil generator you can but you need to plan how you will get the oil out of your bulk tank before the emergency. You can pick up a reasonable 6 to 7 KW generator for under $1000. Spend another couple of thousand for a legal transfer switch or do what most folks do and build or buy a cheater cord that runs from the generator to the main panel or dryer plug and make sure the main breaker is off. You will not be able to run all house loads at once but you can alternate them. Its unnerving during the first outage but most folks get the drill pretty quick. The biggest issue is some folks insist on installing a generator where its convenient rather than safe and poison themselves with carbon monoxide.
Of course if you live in Mass put in the right brand of solar and you can get the state to pay for a "free" battery and you can run the house off the battery as long as it has capacity. Its likely you will run the battery out of power fairly quickly because you are not conservign power but it will cover short outages.
I think you’re drawing a distinction between a regular portable generator and an atypical diesel powered generator, is that right? My vague recollection is that typical portable generators run on the blended gasoline made for cars. Is that right?
Also as I mentioned to @Brian26 it doesn’t look like I’ve got a tiger loop off of my Roth, based upon the photo I posted above on Saturday. I’d appreciate it if either of you or someone else chimed in to confirm that it’s indeed lacking in my setup. In the meantime, I will research whether it would be meaningful to add one, and am open to your knowledge about that topic.
Also very interesting update about the battery situation in MA wrt to solar. The last time I looked into solar was 6 years ago for a different house, and the lack of a viable storage battery option was one the biggest deterrents keeping me from installing panels. I’ll definitely need to look at what has subsequently changed in my area. Thanks again.
I think Brian26? a member out of CT has the best info on batteries? in Mass. In order to get the incentive, the firm installing the battery has to be an intermediary between the homeowner and the utility and the inverter installed has to have the capability to send power to the grid. I think Tesla is doing it and Solar Edge equipment can do it. Incentives in Mass change often, it makes it hard for folks to plan.
IMHO, if your boiler is running without a Tiger Loop (or an equivalent) why mess with it?. In theory the oil pumps on the burners are positive displacement and should be able to lift the fuel out of the tank without anything else but if there are vacuum leaks on the fuel line they should help. Adding a fine filter is also not a bad thing.
Yes 95% of the generators out there are run on auto gas. Unless special precautions are used to drain the tank and run it out of fuel everytime you use it, its gradually going to be less reliable and eventualy not run as the ethanol in car gas will degrade in the fuel lines and the carburetor will slowly plug up with gunk. The alternative is to use non ethanol gas or aviation gas. Both do not have ethanol in them and will not turn to gunk so no need to drain and run the engine out (still not a bad idea). Diesel generators are much rarer. Heating oil used to be a step lower in quality than diesel but they are pretty close these days since the switch to low sulfur. They are basically swapable but the additive packages will differ a bit and the pour point will be better with diesel in cold weather as they up the kerosene content. The vast majority of diesel generators can handle either diesel or heating oil.
They have to be made heavier due to the high compression ratio. Diesels are compression ignition engines and they really do not like cold weather or cold fuel. They usually are electric start and that means maintaining a starter battery. I have a 7KW Kubota low boy diesel with all the goodies for starting and I think the retail around $7,000. I also have $500 Generac I bought a few months after January 1st 2000 when the world was supposed to end and no doubt if I take it out and fuel it up, it will run. (the Kubota just came with a peice of equipment I bought. There are chinese built diesels who sell for far less. Diesels usually last far longer and due to higher rotating mass and fuel injection they can handle surge loads better. Diesel fuel has higher btu content than gasoline so it runs longer on less fuel. They also have the reputation for longer life but the chinese units are probably throw aways. That said a gasoline Honda Inverter gasoline generator will have cleaner power and are quite efficient for far less money and lower weight and very reliable unless you tempt fate and not drain the fuel and run it out. . IMHO unless you are off grid, your power is really bad or live in Nothern California where the utility turns your power off for days due to possible powerline arcing buy a a gasoline inverter Honda and leave it in the box until you need it buy or an inverter Predator from Harbor Freight and run it for about 50 hours after you get it. The Predators have good rep but you are the quality control inspector so run it to make sure you didnt get a lemon before the short warranty runs out.
BTW if you do have access to propane many gasoline engines can be converted to dual fuel with kit.
IMHO, if your boiler is running without a Tiger Loop (or an equivalent) why mess with it?. In theory the oil pumps on the burners are positive displacement and should be able to lift the fuel out of the tank without anything else but if there are vacuum leaks on the fuel line they should help. Adding a fine filter is also not a bad thing.
Yes 95% of the generators out there are run on auto gas. Unless special precautions are used to drain the tank and run it out of fuel everytime you use it, its gradually going to be less reliable and eventualy not run as the ethanol in car gas will degrade in the fuel lines and the carburetor will slowly plug up with gunk. The alternative is to use non ethanol gas or aviation gas. Both do not have ethanol in them and will not turn to gunk so no need to drain and run the engine out (still not a bad idea). Diesel generators are much rarer. Heating oil used to be a step lower in quality than diesel but they are pretty close these days since the switch to low sulfur. They are basically swapable but the additive packages will differ a bit and the pour point will be better with diesel in cold weather as they up the kerosene content. The vast majority of diesel generators can handle either diesel or heating oil.
They have to be made heavier due to the high compression ratio. Diesels are compression ignition engines and they really do not like cold weather or cold fuel. They usually are electric start and that means maintaining a starter battery. I have a 7KW Kubota low boy diesel with all the goodies for starting and I think the retail around $7,000. I also have $500 Generac I bought a few months after January 1st 2000 when the world was supposed to end and no doubt if I take it out and fuel it up, it will run. (the Kubota just came with a peice of equipment I bought. There are chinese built diesels who sell for far less. Diesels usually last far longer and due to higher rotating mass and fuel injection they can handle surge loads better. Diesel fuel has higher btu content than gasoline so it runs longer on less fuel. They also have the reputation for longer life but the chinese units are probably throw aways. That said a gasoline Honda Inverter gasoline generator will have cleaner power and are quite efficient for far less money and lower weight and very reliable unless you tempt fate and not drain the fuel and run it out. . IMHO unless you are off grid, your power is really bad or live in Nothern California where the utility turns your power off for days due to possible powerline arcing buy a a gasoline inverter Honda and leave it in the box until you need it buy or an inverter Predator from Harbor Freight and run it for about 50 hours after you get it. The Predators have good rep but you are the quality control inspector so run it to make sure you didnt get a lemon before the short warranty runs out.
BTW if you do have access to propane many gasoline engines can be converted to dual fuel with kit.
Thanks once again for sharing so much of your practical experience about all this.
As far as my boiler, (or related systems) it just started malfunctioning within about the last week or so: suddenly guzzling oil and it’s not especially cold here. Today, I noticed the indirectly heated hot water has turned way too hot, 134F at the kitchen sink. The boiler is due for annual service this month so I had been planning for that anyway. Hopefully, the oil burning technician can fix it if it’s a burner or a tank thermostat problem and it won’t involve any plumbing. He might well offer again to put in the tiger loop so I wanted to have some idea what he was talking about.
As far as why I particularly care regarding possible power outages, I’m influenced by my next door neighbor’s experience. She had some plumbing freeze during a not especially long outage last winter and she’s still struggling eight months later to repair the damage, and she can easily afford fixing it. It has just been difficult getting the right people to do the right things in order to remedy the situation. I’d like to be proactive, within reason.
Another reason is because we’re on wetlands and our sump pump runs most of the year. There are separate battery backups one can purchase for sumps, so I’m trying to figure out how that compares to getting a generator. Because we’re on wetlands we need to be extremely careful with any liquid fuel storage, hence the Roth. We only have electric yard tools.
Disconnecting the oil tank in order to pour fuel into a container, which is then used to run an outdoor diesel generator, which is then used to power up a reconnected oil burner hydronic heating system doesn’t sound very realistic, and probably wouldn’t be an effective heating strategy even for a doomsday scenario.
Probably you were just saying that the oil tank could be used as reserve fuel for a generator for a long time, if one had selected a diesel generator. But that still begs the question, which I think was posed from the very beginning of this thread which is: “what’s a good strategy to keep elderly people maintaining a basic level of heat in their homes in the event of power outages, considering many of them wouldn’t have the physical strength to deal with wood?” Getting outside in deep snow to run a generator and dragging heavy cords around in the snow all sounds a lot more strenuous to me than tossing a few logs into a wood stove, but perhaps I’m overestimating the difficulty…. So supposing you get a generator going, have you and others most commonly been running electric space heaters off of a generator in a section of your house?
Your questions deserve a new thread. There are no perfect options just risks with backups. Much as we dont want to admit it everyone will either be dependent on someone else at some point to look over them or they will save a bullet for when they cant take care of themselves. In theory there is a social safety net for the elderly and infirm that is generally poorly funded as folks that typically need the help are not long term voters. Of course, that net fails during major events and that what you read about in the news on occasion.
So it comes down to risks and backups. The best option is build a zero energy home with passive features. They cost more but the occupants can go days in cold weather with no need for external heat. Throw a solar array on one with a hybrid inverter and battery and with the exception of domestic water and a sump pump they do not need utility power. Its highly likely that the lot its built on was selected not to need a sump pump. That is obviously not practical for most, so they need to balance the risk of living in a house versus paying someone else to take care of them. A lot of folks have spent the money for permanently installed backup generators with auto transfer switches, ideally, they run on natural gas or propane but they can be diesel. That backs up the house in its entirety for power until the tank runs dry. For most folks, the backup plan is good house insurance and a hotel room somewhere. Eventually the emergency will be over and after a fight with the insurance adjuster the house will get fixed with quite few out of pocket expenses along the way.
My planning is lot deeper than that with several backups, some tested some not. If I lose power, I flip a few switches and run off a home microgrid I have been assembling. Most folks would definitely not go that far but its hobby for me. Prior to that I have a gas generator, a cheater cord and a wood stove in my basement that has heated the entire house in the past for 20 hours with no power. I have a deep well normally, but I do have a backup surface well just in case that I can get to with a bucket and rope. I also have learned and practice a lot of skills over the years to DIY. I am not a boiler tech but I can clean one in a pinch and change a nozzle. I can do my own electrical work and plumbing because I took the time to learn. If I didnt, I would have to find a reliable local backup. Even with my current home there are limitations and if and when I build a new home, I will take what I learnt at this one and build a better more self sufficient one next time.
Your comment about your oil boiler consuming lots of fuel and running poorly is something of concern to deal with immediately. An oil boiler out of tune can plug its heat exchanger in a matter of days. It will usually run until it will not run and then it may vent into the house for some period of time. The soot that blows into the house can cause thousands of dollars in damage although it may not matter to the occupants as they may be dead from CO poisoning. If it truly running that bad call for emergency service or pay a premium to get someone there quicker. That is a no brainer to me.
@ToastyRanch I will second peakbagger on getting the boiler checked out asap. Many years ago, mine was a little out of tune, sooted up and started blowing CO. Sadly, the amount of CO was just below the level that would trip a CO detector, but still plenty to give the whole family symptoms for months. Then, finally, a CO detector bleeped ONCE in the middle of the night, and we figured it out.
As for the sump, a have a finished basement built into the side of a hill...it flooded several times before I redid the sump system. I am a HUGE fan of the battery backup systems (with AGM batteries). They cost $500 but the peace of mind is awesome. What if you lose power when its running...now you are racing the water. What if you are asleep? Travelling? At work? I don't really worry about the battery running for days bc it only has to last until I get my backup power running.
I had a great time for years running a $100 HarborFright two-stroke gas genny, with a box of sparkplugs and extension cords run in through a window. I always ran it dry, it always started on the first pull. Now I use a 2kW sine wave inverter on my EV, backfed to run all the 120V circuits in my house. I can plug it into the car in the garage, and don't even have to go outside.
As for the sump, a have a finished basement built into the side of a hill...it flooded several times before I redid the sump system. I am a HUGE fan of the battery backup systems (with AGM batteries). They cost $500 but the peace of mind is awesome. What if you lose power when its running...now you are racing the water. What if you are asleep? Travelling? At work? I don't really worry about the battery running for days bc it only has to last until I get my backup power running.
I had a great time for years running a $100 HarborFright two-stroke gas genny, with a box of sparkplugs and extension cords run in through a window. I always ran it dry, it always started on the first pull. Now I use a 2kW sine wave inverter on my EV, backfed to run all the 120V circuits in my house. I can plug it into the car in the garage, and don't even have to go outside.
Our generator is in the garage. When I need to run it I open the garage door and have its exhaust pointing out the door. If the house has several critical systems that need power (heat, water, septic) then a dedicated 7-10Kw generator may make sense. I appreciate your concerns on taking care of the wetlands. For this reason and for stabile fuel storage, propane makes better sense here. No worry about spillage or fuel getting stale.
So I may not end up going with the BioHeat option after all. The company came to do the equipment inspection yesterday. I just had the boiler refurbished and I think the guy did a good thorough job. One thing he said was that the fire safety valve was pretty stubborn and he had to mess with it to get better flow going. He suggested looking into a tiger loop. Anyway, I think when working over there a little oil spilled - a few drops on the underside of the tank in that area. New company saw that and won’t deliver since they think the tank is compromised.
I’m taking a wait and see approach for that. I cleaned up any oil and will check for any future signs of a leak. I don’t want the expense of a new tank but will do it if it’s actually needed. It is old so it’s probably something I’ll have to do at some point.
I was thinking though that BioHeat may not be great for an older tank like mine. As it cleans out the sludge is it possible that the sludge is what’s helping to seal the tank now? Again I’m changing it out at the first new sign of a leak but I wouldn’t want to hasten it’s demise any.
I’m taking a wait and see approach for that. I cleaned up any oil and will check for any future signs of a leak. I don’t want the expense of a new tank but will do it if it’s actually needed. It is old so it’s probably something I’ll have to do at some point.
I was thinking though that BioHeat may not be great for an older tank like mine. As it cleans out the sludge is it possible that the sludge is what’s helping to seal the tank now? Again I’m changing it out at the first new sign of a leak but I wouldn’t want to hasten it’s demise any.
FYI, the tanks rot from the inside out and when they fail they can fail quick. My parents had an older tank that looked fine. My mom saw a minor wet spot underneath after a fill and put a pan under the wet spot, it was not a puddle just a drop or two. She mentioned it off hand and I told them to call the oil dealer. They came over the next day and pumped it out and swapped it. Once out they showed my parents that they could push a screwdriver through it in several places with little or no pressure. BTW, they usually fail or stop leaking after a fill up. The specs have changed over the years on tank thicknesses. If its more than 30 years old, its time to change it out. I think in some areas the dealers cannot fill a tank over a certain age and some insurance companies require a change out after some time limit or exclude damage from oil leaks. The Roth type tanks take up a lot less room than a standard tank. The damage is done I do not think biodiesel will undo the past damage.
I lost a fuel line on my tank, I caught it fairly quickly as it as just seeping but my basement stank of fuel oil for several months. I have known a few folks who have a tank let loose in their basement. They had to gut the basement, steam clean everthing and then abrasive blast the concrete and seal it with some sort of sealant to get rid of the smell. The houses were unlivable until they were cleaned up.
BTW, in order to check tank thickness, the metal needs to be cleaned of any surface coating to use standard thickness testing equipment. That cleaning may be the thing that creates a leak.
I lost a fuel line on my tank, I caught it fairly quickly as it as just seeping but my basement stank of fuel oil for several months. I have known a few folks who have a tank let loose in their basement. They had to gut the basement, steam clean everthing and then abrasive blast the concrete and seal it with some sort of sealant to get rid of the smell. The houses were unlivable until they were cleaned up.
BTW, in order to check tank thickness, the metal needs to be cleaned of any surface coating to use standard thickness testing equipment. That cleaning may be the thing that creates a leak.
Yeah - my post was premature… after posting I went to basement and sure enough a new drop was hanging from the bottom of the tank. So out with the old and in with the new and I’ll be cutting my fossil fuel use in half with a fresh new tank.
Oil is such a pain. So is wood, but at least I get some exercise and enjoyment out of it. I still look forward to a day when I’m getting heat from renewable electrons. Hopefully getting a shoulder season heat pump in the next few years. After all that I’ll probably be down from 200 gallons of fossil fuel now to about 50. Not too bad.
Well its good you caught it. Sucks that you need to buy a new one, but trust me, it beats the alternative. I have two tanks and really do not normally use oil anymore. One tank is over 30 years and my plan is to pull that and run with the other newer one or maybe get back a lot of real estate in the basement and get rid of both and put a Roth like tank in their place. I figure cleaning out and cutting up two tanks will not take much longer than one. The biggest hassle is storing the oil in the tank temporarily during the swap.
To replace our tank with a new Roth we went with a local independent technician (one man show) and it was roughly 2k less than going with a larger company. It was pre-pandemic so there was no shipping delay, so take that into account. Anyway, I’m on Cape Ann. If you’re reasonably close to here, (I’m guessing his service area goes as far as west as Beverly). If you are in my vicinity, I’ll PM you his contact info….
Thanks for your concern about my boiler situation, to both you and @peakbagger. I contacted the service technician for the second time yesterday and he’s coming tomorrow morning…. Doing a bit more reading and thinking, I think the number one problem is User Error on our part. Basically we installed new (programmable) thermostats in 2/3 of our heating zones. Then when our boiler still didn’t give us the expected heat output, we reset it from the summer fuel economy savings to the factory defaults. This reset of the whole system worked well for a month when the calls for heat were intermittent. We had been used to our thermostats frequently undershooting our set temperature by 5F, so we failed to appreciate the consequences of actually hitting the target range constantly and with consistently somewhat lower outside temperatures. This has made the residual heat in the boiler high enough that the water heater is running a bit too hot…. Sure enough I just checked and the temperature and pressure relief valve (edit— on the water storage tank) is slightly open and there’s been a tiny bit of water spotting coming from it…. At this point we will just wait until tomorrow to talk to the technician for improving our safety.
@woodgeek quick question. Is adding a battery backup to a sump pump roughly the same skill level as converting a receptacle into a GFCI, installing a ceiling fan onto a fan box, (and doing these things when the wires have been installed in reverse of conventional polarity)? In other words as people who are good at reading instructions and troubleshooting but not especially experienced, do you think we have roughly enough skill to install it ourselves? We’ve got so many projects to do that we’d rather not pay people for the easy stuff, when possible.
The system I used is this one:
(broken link removed)
(broken link removed)
The battery needs to be replaced (and recycled) every 5-7 years.
Basically a 12V DC pump in parallel with your existing AC pump, and its own check valve. The 12V wiring is trivial (it has its own battery box for a big AGM battery). You place the float switch above that of the main pump, so if the main pump works, the backup never trips. You need to be comfortable working with 2" PVC pipes (sawing the pipe and solvent welding the fittings). Its not a big project.
(broken link removed)
(broken link removed)
The battery needs to be replaced (and recycled) every 5-7 years.
Basically a 12V DC pump in parallel with your existing AC pump, and its own check valve. The 12V wiring is trivial (it has its own battery box for a big AGM battery). You place the float switch above that of the main pump, so if the main pump works, the backup never trips. You need to be comfortable working with 2" PVC pipes (sawing the pipe and solvent welding the fittings). Its not a big project.
Thanks for providing some advice on the basics of this process and for the product recommendations. I haven’t cut and glued pvc pipe before, but I’ve watched it done a few times so this helps give me sense of what this project entails…. We actually were going to do a big basement waterproofing upgrade including a battery sump backup when we first got the house just over a year ago. However, they didn’t want to touch anything until we got a Roth tank for the oil, on account of the potential wetlands liability. So we had to use up the full tank the previous owners had included in the listing price and then replace the tank, which all happened last December. Of course the minute we got a new oil tank, our roof and chimney started leaking from an usually heavy snow load, and by the time those things got fixed, lots of other things both pertaining to and unrelated to the house needed immediate attention, and so here we are and a year has passed.
It took me 7 years (and three floods due to the pro-installed AC pump system being incorrectly installed) to fix the AC pump, and put in the backup. Never enough time. But so nice not to have to worry anymore.
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