You Need a Hand Pump

Last year the sump pump in our basement failed while it was pouring rain.  I could go off on a tangent about how screwed my house will be in an extended power outage (sump pump dead = flooded and nasty basement) but at this point I’ll stay on topic.  I wasn’t home at the time but my wife was able to break out our hand pump and mitigate much of the water damage that could have happened.  She stuck one end of the hose (purchased locally at Lowes) down inside the well, placed the other end outside of the basement window and used the hand pump to move the water, thus keeping much of it from overflowing and damaging our belongings. While certainly not a long term solution it worked, the pump served its purpose and paid for itself in the hour it took for the plumber to arrive.

I purchased the above pictured Guzzler Hand Pump from Rintoul’s Hand Pumps a couple years ago for around $90, quite a deal considering the damage it saved my basement during the rain storm.  According to Rintoul’s website, the Guzzler 500H can move 54 liters (12 gallons) per minute at 90 double strokes (up and down) per minute, 0.63 liters (.13 gallons) per double stroke.  Having tested this device personally, my wife can attest to the usefulness of the product.  Besides what we used it for just think of all of the other potential uses for the pump whether it be a pre or post SHTF environment.

• DE-WATER PITS, TRENCHES, FLOODED BASEMENTS, SEPTIC TANKS, ETC.
• For small volumes, the Guzzler sets up in seconds and finishes the job in less time than it would take to set up a power pump.
• PUMP OUT SEPTIC TANKS AND HOLDING TANKS ETC.
• USE AS A BACKUP TO YOUR ELECTRIC SUMP PUMP DURING A POWER FAILURE.
• EMPTY RAIN BARRELS, POOL COVERS, HOT TUBS, TOILET BOWLS AND TANKS, DISABLED WASHING MACHINES, ETC.
• START A SIPHON.
• FILL OVERHEAD TANKS IN AREAS WHERE THERE IS NO ELECTRICITY, pulling water up 15 feet and pushing it up 15 feet can be done with reasonable effort.
• NOTE – for drinking water applications the FDA approved model G2400 is recommended, contact Rintoul’s Hand Pumps for details.
• PUMP OUT YOUR BOAT

I should mention here that Rintoul’s Hand Pumps has no affiliation with this site and I am receiving no kick backs from any sales directly related to this post.  I’m merely sharing what I feel is a useful tool which I feel is worthy of being added to the SHTF collection, because you never know when something like this will come in handy.  See what I did there?  Handy…because it’s a hand pump.

In case you are wondering, we have since added a backup system to the sump pump which will work in the event of a power outage.  This system, while effective, is not a long term solution.  Still it does give us some piece of mind if the current pump ever fails again.   Post SHTF or EMP?  I guess we’ll just be bailing water out of the basement every time it rains…