What kind of pump for basement shop utility sink?

[Roger Feeley]

I'm building a new house with basement shop. The sewer is 'hung' which means it exits the house about 4' above the basement floor. I want a utility sink and will need to pump the water.

What's the best pump for the kind of nasty stuff I might put down that sink? Should I just buy a cheap pump of some sort and figure on replacing it? Or is there a pump that's made for such things.

I don't plan to deliberately abuse the sink but I would like to clean water-borne finishes off of brushes. My wife makes soap and that gets a little nasty.

[Ole Anderson]

This is what I have had in our laundry tub for 40 years, only replaced once. Done thousands of loads of laundry. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Shellback...2-19/206374855 Made in Michigan. Had a pressure switch that automatically turns it on when tub is about 1/3 full and off when empty. I have mine set up so I can over ride it to turn it on at any level I like. The tub also serves as my roller/brush cleaning station.

[Mike Cutler]

You need a "pump up" system for basement utility sink. You can buy the entire unit and place it under the sink.
They're UPC approved, and allowed by code. ( In most places.) Solids would be your bigger concern.

[Curt Harms]

I have a similar situation and bought a simple pump from Grainger. Turn it on and off with a switch suitable for wet locations. I saw a setup on "ask this old house" built for just this purpose. It attached under a sink or laundry tub and used what appeared to be a float-activated sump pump. The only down side to a rig like that is it seems like there'd always be some standing water.

[Roger Feeley]

what pump did you get from Grainger? I'm in Falls Church, VA and still getting my bearings. It just so happens that there's a Graingers nearby.

[update] Yikes! I just went out to the Graingers site and looked for 'sink pump' It came back with the single unit ones and those things are a bit pricey. I know Graingers tends to be high but I'm sure I can do better elsewhere.

What drove you to get your pump from Graingers?

Example: The Liberty Pumps 404 model from Graingers is $369. Amazon has it for $217.

I like Graingers. I really do. I like buying local and will pay more for local. But not that much.

But the Graingers idea is a good one. We have a Fergusons around here too. I will check with them.

[Curt Harms]

what pump did you get from Grainger? I'm in Falls Church, VA and still getting my bearings. It just so happens that there's a Graingers nearby.

[update] Yikes! I just went out to the Graingers site and looked for 'sink pump' It came back with the single unit ones and those things are a bit pricey. I know Graingers tends to be high but I'm sure I can do better elsewhere.

What drove you to get your pump from Graingers?

Example: The Liberty Pumps 404 model from Graingers is $369. Amazon has it for $217.

I like Graingers. I really do. I like buying local and will pay more for local. But not that much.

But the Graingers idea is a good one. We have a Fergusons around here too. I will check with them.

I bought mine around 1995 or '96, I'm not even sure if Amazon and Ebay were around. I sure didn't know about them. I think my pump was intended for laundromats though it's not particularly high capacity, just a simple motor driving a centrifugual pump, the impeller is about 5" if I recall correctly. I doubt it would deal with solids so I'm careful there. It discharges into a 1 1/2" 5' vertical PVC pipe. I had to put a check valve on the discharge to prevent backflow.

[William C Rogers]

Something to think about. I have a pole barn about 50' from the house about 8' below sewer hook up. I put n a macerate toilet that will pump up and has a sink hook up. I would do this again. Beat having to run to the house when the time comes.

[Brian Peters]

I had a plumber install one for me and it's a fairly easy job. I am about to do it again and on this new property I will be doing it myself. I used a utility sink and utility sink pump from HD. It's fairly plug and play except for the plumbing to your waste stack and supply. I throw all kinds of finishes down it (I don't pour paints of cans down, but we clean spray guns every day in it, all water-based finishes) and it has never quit. I will say that if you install it make sure you vent the pump to your vent stack for the rest of your plumbing. The guy that installed mine did a good job but he used a interior vent valve (there is a technical term for this) to avoid running more PVC and we eventually changed it to the vent stack as it was letting odors in the basement. Just do it right the first time as the manual says, even if code allows these valves.

[Jim Andrew]

Are you also going to put a bathroom in the basement? If you put a sump pit in, and plumb your bath and sink into it, you can put an ejector pump in that sits in the sump pit. Menards has some low cost ejector pumps, and they will handle your bath as well as sink. Just do NOT throw a condom down the drain, as they will cover the nozzle, and the pump will run and run and burn up.