Zoeller M53 Mighty-mate Submersible Sump Pump Review: Most Reliable Budget Pump?

Mike and Mary

Choosing a reliable or quiet sump pump typically isn’t something most people consider until they’re knee deep in groundwater from a flooded basement. However, if you have the chance to replace your box store sump pump with something better, we recommend making the most of it. Our favorite buy-it-for-life sump pump is the Zoeller M267; it moves water more quickly than almost any other pump on the market and it’ll do so for a good 10-20 years, but it also costs a cool $300. If you’re on a much smaller budget, below $200 we often recommend the Wayne CDU980E; however, we’re just as likely these days to recommend the Zoeller M53 Mighty-mate. It costs as little as the CDU980E but it works more like its big brother the M267. We recently reviewed it in the context of the best budget drain pump, the Zoeller 105-0001, which uses the M53. If you’ve got less than $150 to spend on a new sump pump, this is one of your two best choices. Read on to find out why.

Key Features of the Zoeller M53 Sump Pump (60 Second Summary)

The Zoeller M53 sump pump is a submersible sump pump with a 1/3 horsepower motor, a 2,580 gallon per hour maximum water flow rate, and a 3 year warranty that begins with the date of manufacture. It’s 7.8 inches tall, 10.5 inches wide, and 10.5 inches deep with a maximum pumping height (known as the max head) of 19.25 feet and a switch-on/switch-off height of 3 inches and 7-1/4 inches respectively. The aforementioned pump switch is vertical. It draws between 4.8 and 9.7 amps and runs on 115 volts. It doesn’t come with a battery backup, it weighs 21 pounds on our scale, and has a 9-foot long power cord. Although the discharge flow rate can reach 2,580 gallons per hour at 0 feet, it drops to 2,040 gallons per hour at 10 feet, 1,140 gallons per hour at 15 feet, and is inoperative at 20 feet. The working temperature spans 40-130 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s self-priming and housed in cast iron and bronze, and the discharge size is 1-1/2″ NPT. It’s designed to be used with sump pits (sump basins) at least 15 inches in diameter.

How Does the Zoeller M53 Compare to the Wayne CDU980E and Zoeller M267 Sump Pumps?

Compared to the Wayne CDU980E, the M53 pumps far less water (a max flow rate of 2,580 GPH vs 4,600 GPH). However, unlike the CDU980E, the M53 is built with more solid construction and stronger impellers, giving it the capacity to handle (crunch through) up to 1/2″ (12mm) spherical solids.

What this means is that, while slower, the M53 is far less likely to get stuck or clogged with debris or contaminants in your sump pit; this can make a huge difference in the lifespan of your sump pump, particularly if your groundwater or sump pit is dirty or full of impurities. Unsurprisingly, we’d expect the M53 to last between 7 and 15 years while we’d expect the CDU980E to last between 4 and 8 years; this is significant if you’re hoping to avoid replacing your sump pump for a good amount of time.

However, if you’re really looking for a long lifespan and to only deal with sump pump replacement once or twice over the course of your home ownership, you’ll want to look long and hard at the M267. Compared to the M267, the M53 is a beginner’s sump pump. The M267 pumps much, much faster (a max flow rate of a staggering 7,680 gallons her hour), is capable of handling up to 2″ solids, and is likely to provide up to a 20 year lifespan. There’s no comparison; if you want the best AC sump pump on the market, it’s neither the CDU980E nor the M53.

Our Short and Long Term Experiences Installing and Using the Zoeller M53 Sump Pump

Installing the M53 was straightforward, and we’d have felt so even if we didn’t do this day in and day out. All you need to do is to connect a 1-1/2″ threaded fitting (male) to your discharge pipe (the one that leads water out of your sump pit). You’ll then place the pump in the pit, make sure it’s level and that the float isn’t touching anything, and plug the whole mess in. You’ll also want to install a check valve (we recommend a silent one like the Brady check valve) and you’ll also need to drill a relief hole 3/16″ in diameter. All of this is diagrammed in the instruction sheet.

Once installed, we found the M53 quiet. It wasn’t dead silent, but it was more than close enough; it was hard to hear it from more than a few feet away. And the long-term feedback we’ve gotten from most fellow contractors and homeowners has been overwhelmingly positive. We stand by our estimate of a 7-15 year lifespan with this pump, keeping in mind that there will always be outliers in both directions.

Troubleshooting and Installation Tips to Get Your Zoeller M53 Working Sooner

To keep your Zoeller M53 working for years, you’ll want to check its float switch action from time to time, especially if your sump pit doesn’t see much water very often. The reason behind this is that the switch can stick over time if it dries out and become less likely to move independently; this won’t be a good thing if it gets stuck while water levels start rising.

Despite the reliability of the M53, we always preach the wisdom of buying a DC backup pump (or a water-powered backup pump) to support it, or any sump pump based on AC. If you have a large budget, the Wayne WSM3300 is the best DC-based backup pump on the market; it’ll literally call you if it needs to self-activate during a power outage on top of its ability to run frequent self-tests. On a smaller budget, we recommend the Wayne ESP25; what’s most important is that you’ve got some kind of backup system in place to help keep your basement dry during power outages.

We also think it’s a good idea to not simply buy the regular Zoeller check valve for the M53 but to spend a bit more on a silent check valve. Even though the M53 is already a quiet sump pump, you’re still going to hear the “thunk!” that comes with traditional hammer check valves, and you can get rid of that completely with a silent check valve. We recommend the Brady check valve as a cheap, highly effective, and silent option.

Finally, don’t skip out on a separate water alarm. You don’t need the most fancy one on the market; something like the Basement Watchdog will do. The important thing is to install it in your sump pit a bit above your float switch (or backup float switch if you get a backup DC sump pump, which we recommend). As a result, your water alarm will be triggered if your M53 doesn’t start, stops working, or can’t keep up with water flow (and if the same occurs with your backup pump). If you hear your water alarm sensor, you’ll know it’s time to high-tail it to the basement.

Zoeller M53 Sump Pump Pros, Cons, and Value Comparison

In conclusion, if you’ve only got $150 to spend on a sump pump, chances are that it’ll come down to either the Wayne CDU980E or the Zoeller M53. Both are solid choices, but if you don’t need the higher flow rates of the CDU980E, we’d recommend the M53 for its greater longevity and facility with debris-filled water. Overall, however, we’d recommend spending just a bit more for a much faster and much, much longer-lasting sump pump in the Zoeller M267 if at all possible.

You can buy the Zoeller M53 here on Amazon. You can buy the Zoeller M267 here. You can buy the Wayne CDU980E here. You can buy the Wayne ESP25 here. You can buy a water alarm here. You can buy a silent check valve 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.

Zoeller 105-0001 Laundry Pump Package (including M53) Review: The Best Drain Pump for Dishwashers, Laundry, and Garbage Disposals?

Mike and Mary

While we typically review sump pumps for homeowners, every now and then we get calls for different kinds of consultations, including those involving laundry, drain, or dishwasher pumps. If you move your laundry to the basement, for example, you’ll need a pump to raise the washing machine’s outlet water to the ground floor (where it can be ejected from your home). Similarly, if you add a laundry tub to your basement, you’ll need a way of expelling the water via a pump and discharge connection. The same case can apply with dishwashers, garbage disposals, wet bar sinks, condensate from air conditioning units, water removal from dehumidifiers, or really in any situation where you need to remove water without taking advantage of gravity flow (water flowing downhill through pipes). So what are your options?

You need a drain pump, but not just any pump. It’s tempting to buy a box store bargain basement pump, but if you do, you’d better be prepared to buy it again and again and again (while cleaning your basement in the mean time), because we can say with very direct experience (from recommending the pumps that replace the cheap ones) that the cheap ones don’t last more than a year or two at the most. A quality laundry pump, on the other hand, can give you a good 10 years (or more!) of service before you even need to think of replacing it. Today we’re going to review one of those quality laundry pumps: it’s the Zoeller 105-0001 Laundry Pump Package with the M53 Sump Pump, and it’s our drain pump of choice for most single family home installations. If you’re wondering whether it’s worth the roughly $200, we’ll tell you right now: it absolutely is, and you can buy it here.

Key Features of the Zoeller 105 Laundry Pump Package (60 Second Summary)

The Zoeller 105 Laundry Pump Package is composed of a sump pump, catch basin, and check valve. The pump, the Zoeller M53, features a 1/3 horsepower motor with a 1 year warranty from the date of purchase (or 18 months from date of manufacture). It is 12.5″ tall, 14.5″ wide, and 14.5″ deep. It includes an automatic vertical float switch. It features a 9-foot power cord and runs on 115 volts. It doesn’t come with a battery backup, it weighs 19.1 pounds on our scale. The working temperature spans 40-130 degrees Fahrenheit and is housed in bronze and cast iron. The discharge size is 1-1/2″ NPT. The pump is capable of passing 1/2″ spherical solids as well as laundry lint. It can move up to 2,580 gallons of water per hour and has a max head of 19.25 feet.

Our Short and Long Term Experiences Installing and Using the Zoeller 105 Laundry Pump Package

We found installation a snap, even if you aren’t a plumber; as long as you’re patient and have some plumbing experience, you should be fine. The instructions are straightforward in the manual; you essentially connect your inlet to your catch basin, your catch basin to your pump, and your pump to your discharge outlet, power everything up, and off you go. It’s quiet, it’s reliable, and it stays out of your way when you don’t need it. It typically runs for a few seconds when necessary before turning itself off.

The catch basin isn’t the largest or the highest in quality (we’d personally like the plastic to be a bit sturdier), but it works just fine, and the pump more than makes up for the basin in the aesthetics department. We can confirm that the tub is small enough to fit in pretty much any spot where you’d reasonably expect to install the package; after about an hour of installation time, you’ll be on your way and won’t need to deal with drainage problems again.

We’ve also been happy to see how well the Zoeller 105 does when draining multiple devices at once; we’ve connected it to dishwashers and washing machines simultaneously; we’ve had dehumidifiers and water softeners connected; we’ve thrown several sinks at once at it, and it’s held in a range of situations.

Unlike typical drain pumps that tend to only last for a couple of years before giving up the ghost, we’ve heard from several families with 105 installations going on more than a decade without so much as a hiccup. In fact, we know of at least one household with 20 years of the equivalent model; they check it every few years but don’t maintain it in any way, and it continues working. That’s the kind of reliability you’re looking at here, and when you keep the saved time, stress, and money in mind, it really doesn’t make sense to choose anything cheaper. We’re also happy to find another product made locally in the USA, instead of traveling across freight ships after being made by fellow humans earning pennies per day thousands of miles away.

Troubleshooting and Installation Tips to Get Your Zoeller 105 Laundry Pump Package Working Sooner

Depending on your basement configuration and plumbing comfort, you might be able to connect the 105 to an existing vent in your basement; there are a number of homes with 1-1/2″ vents that may not be occupied for one reason or another (or you can always add connectors).

Keep in mind that the pump is a fast-draining one; if you have an old 1-1/2″ drain system, you might find it overloaded by the volume created by the pump. If that’s the case, consider upgrading to a larger line; we like 2-3″ lines depending on flow rates, and we’ve yet to find an application for this pump that didn’t work with a 3″ main line.

Zoeller 105 Laundry Pump Package Pros, Cons, and Value Comparison

Overall, we’ve yet to find a better solution for draining water against gravity than the Zoeller 105 package. It’s not designed to go in a sump pit (you’ll want a unit like the Zoeller M267 for that), but it’s a great choice for basement laundry, laundry sinks, wet bar sinks, dishwashers, air conditioning units, dehumidifiers, garbage disposals, or any other similar situation where you need to drain water and eject it from your home while working against gravity. And as far as aesthetics go, it’s also rather attractive for a pump.

You can buy the Zoeller 105-0001 Laundry pump package here on Amazon.