Spring Melt Prep: Is Your Sump Pump Ready? | Sump Pump Service Edmonton
Today I’m here with Adrien Hinse from Hinse Brothers Mechanical, and spring is fast approaching in the Edmonton and Sherwood Park areas. Today we want to talk about spring preparation because there are some things that go wrong in the plumbing field this time of year, and we’re going to be discussing some of those things.
Adrian, one thing that I was thinking about with all of the snow melt and all the drainage that happens off of your roof and off of your yard and driveway is your sump pump. Let’s talk about sump pumps.
Yeah, sump pumps at this time of year become a bit of an issue. I strongly recommend people out there get down into your basement if you do have a sump pit. You want to check your pump operation, right?
A simple way you can do that, pop the lid off, basically get a coat hanger or something and lift your float. Make sure there’s some water at the bottom, or you could add some water with a hose or whatever. Fill up your tank till it sets off your pump.
If there’s water, about at least 8 in or something like that, you can turn on your pump by just lifting the float. So, there’s a float mechanism in there. You just want to lift that up about as high as the pump is. It should activate the pump. Make sure it’s working, sounds good.
I strongly recommend a replacement if it’s been 10 years. Commonly pumps have like a 2- to 3-year warranty on them. The ones we supply do have a 5-year warranty. They’re hard to find with a 5-year warranty, but if they’re working hard, I recommend it. I’ve seen them run 20 years longer, but if they’re working hard, as a safety precaution, it’s a good idea to change it regularly, about 10 years or so. Just monitor it. If it’s going off at all hours of the day in the spring and fall, or whenever it’s raining, it’s a good idea to get it checked out.
Edmonton Sump Pump Maintenance Tips
Yeah. No, for sure. And what are some common mistakes that people do with their sump pumps, or don’t do in preparation for winter, that could give them problems in the springtime?
Some of the main issues, you want to make sure there’s adequate drainage for your sump pump. So if it’s basically pumping out and your underground drain isn’t working, or the water’s just pouring back in around your foundation, that’s a common issue.
Another one too is power outages. If there’s power outages, if they’re common in your neighborhood, there’s a backup sump pump you can get.
Okay?
So, you can get about four or five hours of runtime off a battery. That saves a lot of people. If you’ve got a nicely finished basement and you don’t want that to flood, it’s good to have a backup. If you’re prone to having water issues, definitely consider it.
All right. So, you guys supply and install sump pumps with battery backups in the Edmonton and Sher Park areas?
Yes, absolutely.
Nice. Great. And how long does that usually take to install?
To change a sump pump, we’re looking at less than an hour.
Okay.
Come there, take it out, put the new one in, give it a test, make sure it’s working properly. Takes about an hour. Probably 2 to 3 hours depending on your setup if you’re doing a backup sump pump.
Yeah. Okay.
With a battery backup, right?
You will need to have a power outlet right there that’s going to trickle charge your battery, maintain the charge in it. It’s a deep cycle battery.
Then if the power goes out, it’s going to work on that battery-operated 12-volt pump.
Nice. Question for you. How often do you have to replace those batteries on those battery backups?
Well, we could test the battery regularly, but typically four or five years. Just want to monitor the voltage, make sure it’s proper every year. Check it out.
Okay. So, just give it a test every year.
Yeah. And testing it right before you’re going into spring is probably your best bet, right?
Perfect.
Common Water Heater Problems During Edmonton Winters
Now, what is the other item that we wanted to talk about today? You’re actually noticing a lot of things are happening with water heaters. What’s going on with water heaters, and what’s the common failure, and what’s the fix?
I don’t know what it is, but this time of year there’s been a lot of calls for water heaters leaking or stopping, like they just stop working. Commonly if they have a power vent, so there’s a fan on top of your water heater that’s blowing the exhaust outside, say your venting wasn’t graded properly, it’s not draining properly, could ice up and it’s hard on the blower motor. So that could be an issue.
Or just when they’re working really hard in the winter time especially, it seems the blowers start to fail.
But lately, we’ve been having a lot of water leaks from tanks. So, it’s a great idea to check out your mechanical room, right? Do an inspection, make sure there’s no leaks coming from any of the pipes. A common culprit is a connection to your humidifier.
Okay?
Those guys can leak if it’s a needle valve or whatever it may be. I always tell people, make it a common occurrence every couple of weeks or every week. Do a little walkthrough of your mechanical room when you’re home.
If you’re out of town, it’s a good idea to shut your water supply off, turn down your water heater a little bit too low or something like that, and mitigate any potential catastrophe if you’re away from home as well.
Yeah. No, that’s great advice.
And let’s say somebody does have an issue with their water heater. How much of a hassle is it to change that out? What’s the process like? How long does it take?
So, a typical water heater replacement’s 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours.
We have to come. Usually we’ll ask the customer for pictures. We’re going to want your model number, a picture from further back so we can have a look at how it was vented.
Current code today, if you have an atmospheric vented, meaning it’s got a metal chimney coming off the top, is 4 in. A lot of the older places will have a 3-in vent. So, it’s not a big deal. We do have to replace that to 4 in to make sure it’s up to code.
We want to measure the space that it’s in. Make sure that the new tank, because a lot of the newer tanks seem to be a little bit larger because of more insulation trying to increase efficiency, we need to make sure the new tank is going to work in the space of the old tank. Make sure it’s going to fit.
Tankless Water Heaters vs Traditional Tanks
Yeah. Then we’ve got clients who are just like, “I’ve got this great big bathtub and I have to fill it, wait 45 minutes, fill it the rest of the way.”
We do have larger tanks and we do have as well.
The tankless water heaters, it’s a little more involved. You’re about a day to do the installation. We need to run new venting pipes outside your sidewall typically. We need to make sure there’s enough gas supply. So, oftentimes we’ll have to upsize a gas line or pull from the meter.
It all depends. Usually if you book a site visit with me, I’ll kind of come over and we’ll go over your needs, what’s most important for you, cost effectiveness, things like that.
Typically tankless water heaters are high efficiency when they’re operating. They’re using about 95% of the heat to heat the water. They do require a lot of gas right up front.
So, especially in Alberta and in the winter time, our water can be like 4° or whatever it is, really cold, and we’ve got to get that up to 120°, 130°. Takes a lot of gas to get it there, right?
I typically, from an efficiency standpoint, that’s not the main idea for me when I suggest putting one in. It’s if you need a lot of hot water, if you need to fill a tub and still have hot water afterwards, lots of people having showers, whatever it may be.
Also, there’s a limit on what a tankless water heater can do.
Right. So, in order to keep the temperature high, it can only do so many gallons per minute, they call it.
In the winter time you’re getting maybe about 5 to 5.5 gallons per minute, whereas a water tank will supply a higher gallon per minute.
Okay. So it really is dependent upon flow.
Yeah. And how many fixtures are going to be used at the same time.
I had one client. The older tanks, they would just reduce the heat and maintain pressure. So maybe you didn’t get quite as hot of water, but it maintained pressure.
Newer units maintain heat by lowering pressure.
Okay?
If your pressure is down a little bit, it could be that you’re using too many things at once. I had a client who’s like, “I like to turn my dishwasher on, turn the wash on, fill my tub,” and it was the three big things all at once. It’s not keeping up. We just got this new water heater.
That’s just something to keep in mind.
Yeah. If you want to do all the things at once, that’s a problem.
Yeah, there’s different things we can do. You can do multiple units, whatever. It’s a good idea to book a consultation, come in and have a look at your needs and what it would take to get you into different pieces of equipment.
Spring Plumbing Preparation in Edmonton Homes
All right. We’ve talked about sump pumps and we’ve talked about water heaters. What is something else that maybe I missed or am not thinking about for spring preparation for people’s plumbing and HVAC systems?
Spring preparation, it’s a good time if you’re thinking about starting a project. Good time to do your planning in the winter.
If you want to do a gas line to your garage, if you want to do an addition on your home, it’s a good idea to get the preliminary leg work done in the winter.
Right now you can get your permitting started with the City of Edmonton, or Strathcona County permitting. Permitting takes time, for sure.
If you want to get that done, now is the time to pre-plan and have a meeting to discuss your needs, what you’re looking for, so you can apply for appropriate permits as well as make sure you’re selecting the right equipment.
All right. So besides planning, hot water tanks, sump pumps, is there anything we’re missing or anything people should know about Hinse Brothers Mechanical and spring prep?
Hose bibs are a big thing. I would say frost-free hose bibs. The first thing to do is early in the spring you want to test them.
I always recommend people have a shutoff valve in the house. Just an added precaution to be able to shut it off. They’re meant to be able to go through the winter without having an extra shutoff because there’s a little plug that is on the warm side of the house.
However, if they malfunction a little bit, they bypass a little bit of water, you’d have issues if you get water inside the faucet itself and it freezes. It’ll bulge and basically leak, make a big mess, cause a problem.
Okay. Big problem.
Yeah.
Awesome. Well, I think that’s all for my questions. If you guys are looking for some help with your HVAC plumbing in the Sherwood Park or Edmonton areas, of course, look at Hinse Brothers Mechanical. They’ve got the right techs. They’ve got the experience. They’ve got amazing reviews from their clients.
So, give them a call if you’re in Edmonton, Sherwood Park, or Beaumont.
Thanks so much for joining us. We’ll see you in the next video.
Thank you.