If you want to keep your basement flood free, you already know that you need a good sump pump. However, no matter how good your AC sump pump might be, it’ll lose all effectiveness the moment you lose power. To keep your basement dry in the middle of a rain storm, you’ll either need a water-based sump pump or a battery-based sump pump. And to keep that pump running, you’ll need a good battery. Today we’re going to take a look at the Wayne WSB1275 sump pump battery. But before we do, let’s review some of the best battery-based backup sump pumps on the market.
Even if you’re lucky enough to be using an AC sump pump like the Zoeller M267, which is about as reliable as an AC pump gets, you’re still going to be vulnerable to power outages and the flooding that comes with them (unless you’ve got a generator, at least). Barring a generator, you need backup. If you want a battery backup pump, you can choose between DC backup pumps or AC/DC combos. Among the DC backup sump pumps, we prefer the Wayne WSM3300; it’s by far the best on the market. If you’d rather have an AC/DC sump pump, we love the Wayne WSSM40V, the Zoeller 508-0006, and the Zoeller 507-0008. But no matter what you get, it’s important not to cripple it with a bad battery; the best battery-powered pumps won’t work well when hampered by low voltage.
Fortunately, good batteries don’t need to drain your savings accounts. We’ve recently looked at the MK E27-SLD-G and Zoeller AGM; today we’ll review the Wayne WSB1275 75Ah AGM Sealed Lead Acid sump pump battery. and see how it works with the sump pumps we briefly profiled above. If you’re ready to buy it and looking for a seal of approval, we’re here to tell you that it’s a good battery, and you can buy it here.
Key Features of the Wayne WSB1275 Battery (60 Second Summary)
The Wayne WSB1275 is a deep cycle AGM battery designed for sump pump and marine applications. Wayne describes it as maintenance-free, which is par for the course for most deep cycle batteries marketed to consumers today. It means you shouldn’t ever have to top it off or risk seeing or touching battery acid (always a good idea). It has a nominal voltage of 12V, is pre-charged, and designed to provide at least 5 hours of continuous operation for a DC-based backup sump pump. It is 11 inches long, 9 inches tall, and 8 inches wide while weighing in at 49 pounds on our scale. It comes with a 1 year warranty from Wayne. The reserve capacity is 175 minutes and the amp hour rating is 75 (75Ah).
Zoeller AGM Compatibility with DC Backup and Combination Sump Pumps
We were satisfied with the wide range of compatibility we found from the Wayne AGM battery. Wayne stated it’s compatible with all battery backup products they manufacture, and we found this to be true. We first tried it with 3 Wayne DC backup pumps: the WSM3300, the ESP25, and the ESP15, and had success with all three. We then tried it with 3 of their combination pumps and had success and full functionality with the WSSM40V, WSS30V, and WSS20V. We moved on to a number of Zoeller pumps, starting with two of their DC backup pumps: the 508 Aquanot and the 507 Basement Sentry, and found smooth performance. We then tried two o their combination AC/DC pumps, the 508-0006 and 507-0008, and the Wayne passed with flying colors. We didn’t have time to test additional DC dedicated or combination sump pumps, but we’d expect high degrees of compatibility given prior results.
Our Short and Long Term Experiences Installing and Using the Zoeller AGM Battery
Perhaps the most significant thing to keep in mind about the Wayne WSB1275 is that it doesn’t come with terminal posts. Also known as terminal bolts or terminal ends, these are essential for connecting your battery to your sump pump (the same way the posts on car batteries connect such batteries to cars). We’d recommend picking up a set like these if you plan on buying the Wayne, as not every sump pump package will come with an extra set for you.
Regarding longevity, we’ve had a variety of experiences with the Wayne WSB1275. We’ve seen some installations last past 5 years while we’ve seen a number that fail to hold charges after 2-3 years. In a few bad cases, we’ve seen it fail in under a year (the worst case was at 4 months). Frankly, we wouldn’t use this battery in any critical settings where we needed a battery to reliably work for more than 5 years. Wayne provides a conservative 1 year warranty, and given some of the longevity concerns we’ve heard from others, we wish this warranty were longer. We trust the Zoeller AGM and MK batteries more.
Zoeller AGM Battery Pros, Cons, and Value Comparison
Overall, the Wayne WSB1275 is a good mid-priced battery, but it’s not the best battery out there for a backup sump pump system. It’ll certainly do a better job than most of what you’ll find in your local box stores, but if you can spare a bit more money, we’d recommend either the Zoeller AGM or MK E27-SLD-G instead; our unscientific survey suggests more homeowners and plumbers are squeezing more years out of those batteries than they are out of the Wayne. Of course, batteries are always a mixture of science, art, and plain luck, and it’s possible that you could get a Wayne that gives you many years of service. However, if you don’t want to test your luck, we’d suggest the Zoeller or the MK if possible, and then the Wayne if not. And as a bonus, both of those batteries, unlike the Wayne, come with battery terminal posts.
You can buy the Wayne WSB1275 battery here on Amazon. You can buy terminal posts here. You can buy the Zoeller AGM battery here. You can buy the MK E27-SLD-G battery here. You can buy the Wayne WSSM40V here. You can buy buy the Zoeller 508-0006 here. You can buy the Zoeller 507-0008 here.
If you find our work at PumpThatSump helpful, you can put our relentless reviewing of every pump and fixture on the market to the test by shopping via our links above for whatever you need to make your house a home. Despite being self-employed, we promise not to spend it all on health insurance.