Need some suggestions on safety devices when power goes out, my check valve failed

[infin]

my check valve failed on my sump pump leaving water all over the floor when the power went out.

What else can i do to prevent this in the future without using a backup battery?

Currently i have my return line as high as i can get them in the tank to minimize how much water goes into the sump when the power cuts off.

I guess the check valve didnt close in time and the sump filled and over flowed.

Tank is a 200 gal 8x2
sump is an all glass megal flow 4

[majorhavok]

Where is your overflow/drain in relation to water level? If done properly a power outage can't do this. i.e. the sump has a sub-pump sending water up to the main tank and this raises the water level to a certain point and it overflows back down to sump. Power goes out and everything stops. Unless you had too much water in the system it sounds like either your sump is too small for the setup or your drain is way too low. Sorry to hear about your check valve.. those suck.

Sorry, just re-read. So your RETURN line is below the water level and the siphon brought water back to sump? OUCH. Again if sump is big enough and return line is at the top of the water line or above (ideal..) then this can't happen and you don't need a check valve.

[David R]

Sounds like either your sump isn't big enough or you're running too high a water level it it. I've never relied on a check valve or any other such nonsense with the half dozen or so sumps I've set up in the past, and don't believe it should ever be necessary to with a correctly sized sump.

I'd lower the water level in your sump, although if you said the water was "all over the floor" it sounds like you'll need to do more than that. You could drill the sump and have a drain near the very top that runs out to waste so at least it won't overflow onto your floor when the pump switches off, though it may run dry when the power comes back on depending how much water the system has lost, but it would still do the same if it overflowed. I've got no idea what a 'megal flow 4' sump is, but if I were in that situation I'd be looking for something bigger.