Tag Archives: budget

Superior Pump 91250 Submersible Utility Pump Review: A Budget Backyard Drainer

When you’re dealing with a flooded basement or a high water table, you’re going to want a heavy duty sump pump to keep you high and dry, along with a  backup pump for water outages. A great example of a main sump pump is the Zoeller M267 while the Wayne ESP25 is a great DC backup system.

However, even if you’re set on a main and backup system, you’re still going to want a well-designed submersible utility pump in your tool kit. Trust us; we’ve seen it all. Water has a way of getting in, under, through, and around a hard-earned property. If you don’t take care of it fast, you can find yourself in a whole mess of trouble with property damage, clouds of mosquitoes that make going outside an exercise in punishment, toxic mold, and simply all kinds of other critters that will help themselves to a reliable source of water. Fortunately, you can cut your odds of rotting, floods, breeding insects, asthma-triggering mold, or other physical and medical issues by simply adding a strategically-placed utility pump to your kit. It’s also good for flushing tankless water heaters.

We can’t do much about inflation, but we’re happy to let you know that keeping water from your window wells and roof tops, boat covers and crawl-spaces, and sucking it out of your swimming pools, hot tubs, spas, and laundry tubs can be done without signing away your first born. We’ve looked at a few different submersible pumps over the years, including the Wayne EEAUP250 and the Wayne WWB WaterBug. Today we’re going to take a look at the Superior Pump 91250 1/4 HP Thermoplastic Submersible Utility Pump. It’s got a beast of a name but we’re happy to report that it’s a solid and affordable pump that can clear a decent amount of water with very little fuss. We give our full thoughts below, but if you just want to know if it’s worth buying and where to get it, your answers are yes, and you can buy it here.

Key Features of the Superior Pump 91250 Submersible Utility Pump (60 Second Summary)

The Superior Pump 91250 is a manual submersible utility pump, or an electric water removal pump. You can use it to do a lot of things, including drain pools or dry out flooded areas indoors or out. It’s fed by a 1/4 HP motor that can  pump up to 1,800 gallons of water per hour at zero feet. When immersed at 10 feet, the max flow rate drops to 1,200 gallons and drops again to 540 GPH at 20 feet. The maximum pumping height is 25 feet. It can remove water down to 1/8th of an inch in depth.

The 91250 is fully submersible and includes a couple of discharge hookup options; you have a standard 1-1/4 inch NPT discharge as well as a 3/4 inch garden hose adapter. Neither a garden hose nor a discharge hose are included, and there is only one discharge, and it comes out the top. You’re dealing with a manual pump, so you’re going to need to start and stop it on your own; there is no automatic on/off functionality. It’s also important to note that it is water cooled; if you use it to clear a pool and the pool runs dry, it’s going to temporarily overheat and need some rest to cool down. This is pretty standard among budget pumps, so don’t worry about that. The pump includes a suction screen at the base and will sit nicely over a standard 6-inch drain. It weighs just under 7 pounds, is 12 inches tall and 7 inches in diameter at the base, and comes with a 1 year warranty.

How Does the Superior Pump 91250 Submersible Compare to the Wayne WWB WaterBug, Wayne EEAUP250, and Zoeller 42-0007 N42 Utility Pumps?

Things we like about the Superior Pump 91250 compared to its competitors include the 1/4 HP motor, much as that in the EEAUP250 and a step above the 1/6 HP motors found in the Zoeller and in the WaterBug. It’s much faster than both the WaterBug, which tops out at 1,257 GPH, and the Zoeller, which is only half as fast at 900 GPH, but it is still beaten by far by the EEAUP250 which clocks in at 3,000 GPH. It’s also worth noting that while the Zoeller and WaterBug are manual pumps like the Superior Pump, the EEAUP250 is an automatic pump.

The max head is the second-best in the bunch, topping out at 25 feet. The only pump to exceed it here is the WaterBug, which can pump up to 30 feet in height. The Zoeller tops out at 19 feet and the EEAUP250 is the worst of the bunch at 15 feet. The relatively high max head figure means that you can install the Superior Pump in deeper water environments, such as in short wells or in deep sump pump pits; you’ll definitely be able to reach the bottom of any home or recreational swimming pool, and you’ll still be able to pump water. The minimum clearance depth at 1/8th of an inch is mid-range compared to its neighbors; the Zoeller is also 2/16th of an inch and the EEAUP250 falls behind at 6/16th of an inch but the WaterBug pulls ever so slightly ahead at 1/16th of an inch. A more noticeable difference where the WaterBug pulls ahead is in its inclusion of both vertical and horizontal discharge nozzles; this makes it significantly easier to route your draining hose away from the water source.

Our Short and Long Term Experiences Installing and Using the Superior Pump 91250 Submersible Utility Pump

Installation of the Superior Pump 91250 is pretty standard as far as manual submersible pumps goes and frankly speaking, about as easy as it gets in plumping: plug it in with the 10 foot power cord, connect it to a garden hose or other drain hose through the only available discharge outlet (the vertical one), and drop it (well, place it gently) into your flood zone.

We’re not a fan of 1 year warranties even at this price point; we feel companies who design tools for use in water need at least 2 years of warranty service standard. However, you’re likely to get up to 5 years of regular use from the Superior Pump as long as you remember to treat it the way you need to treat all manual submersible pumps: either you stay by it when it’s running and turn it off the moment it’s done with water or you spend a few extra bucks to connect it to an automatic float switch (we share recommendations below). When you lose a pump like this early, it’s almost always because you turned it on and walked away, which isn’t good for the motor. That said, this pump typically just turns itself off when it overheats, but you don’t want to make a habit of forcing the pump to self shutdown to protect itself.

Troubleshooting and Installation Tips to Get Your Superior Pump 91250 Submersible Working Sooner

We don’t expect any issues out of the box with the Superior Pump, but the main issue, as we’ve noted above, that you’re likely to face when using it is its penchant to shut off when it overheats. This isn’t a bug; it’s a feature, and it’s a good one, because it’s designed to protect it from damage. If you want to get rid of the risk of premature heat damage while also eliminating the need to babysit your utility pump, you’ll want to buy and attach a utility or sump pump controller, which is an automatic float switch that can turn the pump on and off at predetermined water heights. They’re also known as piggy back switches or dual float switches. When properly installed, they quickly pay for themselves with the time you save no longer needing to turn on and off (or plug in and unplug) the 91250 multiple times a day. Here’s a good example of one you can use with the Superior.

Superior Pump 91250 Submersible Utility Pump Pros, Cons, and Value Comparison

Overall, we’re fans of the Superior Pump 91250. It’s cheap, it’s fast, it pumps deep and drains low. If you want to do much better in all of the above areas you’re going to need an industrial-grade utility pump. We wish it had a double nozzle setup to give us greater flexibility when installing it around the yard. Our main recommendation for an accessory would be to pair it with a utility or sump pump controller (an automatic float switch) to turn it into an automatic pump if you don’t want to need to be present whenever it’s running.

You can buy the Superior Pump 91250 here on Amazon. You can buy the Wayne WaterBug here. You can buy the Wayne EEAUP250 here. You can buy the Zoeller 42-007 here. You can buy a universal check valve kit here and a discharge hose kit with clamps here. You can buy a quality automatic float switch 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 through our links  for whatever you need to make your house a home. Despite being self-employed, we promise not to spend it all on health insurance.

Wayne RPP50 Sewage Pump Review: A Budget Sewage Pump For Under $150?

There are many things in life that are worth trying to get as cheaply as possible, but a sewage pump is not one of them. What might seem like a good deal at your local box store can turn into a messy, smelly, and expensive disaster if you’re unlucky. We like to play it safe when it comes to machines that carry human waste, and when it comes to sewage pumps, our main recommendation under $400 is the Zoeller M267. It’s one of the fastest sewage pumps on the market as well as one of the most reliable. But what do you do if $400 is simply out of budget and you don’t want to get burned (or flushed) by a budget box store sewage pump?

This is where a pump like the Wayne RPP50 Cast Iron Sewage Pump comes in. Clocking in at well under $200, it’s one of the cheapest sewage pumps on the market that isn’t a ticking fecal time bomb. But is it worth the money, or is it too good to be true? In our books, it’s worth considering if you’re on a tight budget, but it’s far from the best out there if you can spend more. Our full review is below, and you can buy it here.

Key Features of the Wayne RPP50 Sewage Pump (60 Second Summary)

The Wayne RPP50 is an automatic submersible sewage pump (which can also be used as a sump pump). It features a 1/2 horsepower electric motor, a 5,700 gallon per hour maximum water flow rate, and a one year warranty. It is 14 inches tall, 9.5 inches wide, and 6 inches deep while weighing 26 pounds on our scale.

The RPP50 does not include a battery backup. The motor runs on 120V and draws 15 amps through a 9 foot power cord. The working temperature ranges from a minimum of 33F to a maximum of 133F. The pump is self-priming and housed in cast iron. It makes use of a tether float. It uses a 2 inch NPT discharge and can handle solids up to 2 inches in diameter. While it can pump up to 5,700 GPH at zero feet, this rate drops to 3,240 GPH at 10 feet, 900 GPH at 15 feet, and max height and shut-off occur at 18 feet. The RPP50 requires a minimum sump diameter of 18 inches.

How Does the Wayne RPP50 Compare to the Zoeller M267 Sump Pump?

While the RPP50 is a good basic sewage pump, a comparison to the M267 reveals how much it leaves on the table. The M267 is faster at pumping water (7,680 GPH vs 5,700 GPH), has a greater max head (21.5 feet vs 18 feet), and is significantly more reliable; we’ve come across a number of M267s that have been going for two decades or more, while we’ve had a much harder time coming across RPP50s that have survived 10 years of service. The M267’s 3 year warranty is also significantly stronger and more reassuring than the one year warranty that comes with the RPP50. And on top of all of this, the M267 will also fit into smaller sump basins with a minimal diameter requirement of 15 inches vs 18 inches.

That said, if you’re planning on using it as a sump pump instead of as a sewage pump, it’s one of the fastest ones you’re going to be able to pick up on the market for a very cheap price. It’ll also have the advantage of being able to grind through much more debris than virtually any pump designed as a sump pump from the ground up since it’s technically designed to work as a sewage and effluent pump. This is one of the primary reasons a number of business owners, plumbers, and homeowners install pumps like the Zoeller M267 in place of typical sump pumps; they’re almost guaranteed to never top working due to becoming clogged or having internal motor components break down due to being designed for much more contaminated water removal.

Our Short and Long Term Experiences Installing and Using the Wayne RPP50 Sewage Pump

Installing the RPP50 is rather straightforward for a sewage pump, although you’ll either need significant plumbing or DIY experience or the help of a plumber to get in and out of the installation site. If you want to use it as a sump pump, of course, installation will be much simpler. Suffice it to say that you’ll want to spare at least a full day (preferably a weekend) if planning a typical sewage pump installation. Installing it as a sump pump, on the other hand, will be doable within a few hours. We’ve seen under-home installations, basement sink/shower/toilet to sewer line installations, and as septic tank installations where the pump has been used to send water out to drain fields, and it has performed admirably in a variety of situations.

Once installed, you should be able to get at least 5 years out of it, although if you’re lucky you might get up to a decade from it. However, there have also been a number of premature failures we’ve seen due to issues such as bad floats or seized impellers or bad internal circuitry. Unfortunately, the quality control for the RPP50 does not seem to be as strong as that in Wayne’s sump pump division, and you’ll want to hold on to your proof of purchase (or simply buy it via Amazon so your return information is permanently preserved in your account) just in case something goes wrong early.

Troubleshooting and Installation Tips to Get Your Wayne RPP50 Working Sooner

If you plan to install it as a DIY sewage pump project, first of all, good luck to you. Secondly, keep in mind you’ll need a 2 inch-sized threaded adapter so you can connect the RPP50 to the 2 inch PVC pipe you need. You’d also do well to buy additional tubing and coupling adapters in case you break or strip something during the process; you won’t want to need to stop in the middle of the job. And of course, you’re also going to need lots of PVC cement.

Once you’ve got the float switch set up, make sure its entire range of motion is free from obstruction; the last thing you want is to have it get stuck open or shut once you’ve got everything covered up several hours later. More broadly, before you start caulking and bolting your entire installation, make sure both the pump and float switch are working properly. It might seem like a pain to start and stop your water and check for leaks and proper flow through whatever sinks, showers, or toilets you’re running through the pump, but if you don’t do this now, you might have an ugly surprise later on.

You’re going to need a check valve. We recommend the Campbell silent 2 inch check valve. If you buy it, make sure you measure its positioning a few times and fit it while dry. Since you’re using rubber and metal couplings and PVC cement, you’ll have a very small margin of error, and won’t be able to adjust anything you’ve done after 10 seconds without breaking it to pieces and having to start again (which will require another check valve, so you’ll probably want to buy a backup just in case).

It’s a good idea to have a good wet / dry vacuum close at hand, even if you’re only planning on doing something like switching out a check valve. More broadly, you’re going to spill some water and perhaps worse things during such an installation, even if you’ve done it dozens of times before, and the easier you make clean up, the less time you spend distracted from the actual work you need to be doing. Our wet / dry vac of choice is the Craftsman XSP; it offers enough reach to deal with most messes we make.

Wayne RPP50  Sewage Pump Pros, Cons, and Value Comparison

In conclusion, we’re not going to tell you the Wayne RPP50 is the best sewage pump out there, because it’s not. The Zoeller M267 costs significantly more and delivers much more when it comes to speed, versatility, and most importantly, reliability. However, if you simply don’t have $300 to spend and are in desperate need of a sewage pump, for under $150 the Wayne RPP50 is hard to beat. It’ll certainly provide better performance than anything you’ll get out of a box store, and if that’s the bar you’re looking to clear, this will pass it with flying colors. Just don’t expect it to last as long as some of the best pumps on the market; realistic expectations are key. Personally, we’d recommend saving the extra $150 for the M267 and up to 20 years of additional maintenance-free peace of mind.

You can buy the Wayne RPP50 here on Amazon. You can buy the Zoeller M267 here. You can buy a good wet / dry vacuum here. You can buy a silent 2 inch check valve here.

If you find our work at PumpThatSump helpful, you can support our relentless reviewing of every sump pump on the market by shopping via our Amazon link for whatever you need to make your house a home. Despite being self-employed, we promise not to spend it all on health insurance.