We live in an old farmhouse with an old cement basement. If it is a wet spring, water leaks into the basement at a horrendous rate. This last spring we had 2 huge sump pumps going night and day and there was still about six inches to a foot of water on the basement floor (we calculated that at one time there was something like 200 gallons / hour seeping in!!!). Now I am wondering what I will do in Y2K when there is no electricity. I remember seeing old pictures of a 2 man water pump on some of the first fire engines but I am sure these are rather hard to come by. I don't have a lot of funds available for a fancy solar array. Does anyone have a solution?

-- Steve A (albrecht@ndak.net), November 16, 1999

Answers

The Birtish Berkefeld filter, Steve! %>)

-- SH (squirrl@huntr.com), November 16, 1999.

Steve, Look for a manual pump..the kind that is used for pumping out dinghies.I bought one new about 8 years ago for about 40$ at a marine suppliers.They come in different sizes & can be operated by a teenager...if necessary !!!

-- Chris (goats@upinthe air.com), November 17, 1999.

Is there any location within a reasonable distance (several hundred feet?) that is lower than the basement floor? A siphon's speed is reduced by lower fall (height difference between intake and outlet, length of house between inlet and outlet, and diameter of hose. You might want to purchase a small manual bilge pump (about $20?) to start the vacuum.

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), November 17, 1999.