Hydromatic HPUSP125 Under-Sink Utility Pump

I chose this one because it looked like it might be easy to service. The housing looks sturdy, it looks like it will be easy to open up and service the impeller. The sensor valve can be serviced or replaced without tearing the pump apart. Any pump is likely to need periodic service. I installed it first using a p trap between the drain and the pump. It didn't work. It trapped air in the impeller and vapor locked. I re plumbed it without the trap after calling tech service and the technician wasn't sure it the trap would cause the pump not to work. It sets quite a bit below the tub that it services and sucks the tub dry. If there is water left in the tub after the pump stops, the pump should be lowered. In my case that was never an issue because the pump had to sit on the floor under the tub. The PVC ball valve was stiff and hard to adjust, I replaced it with a brass gate valve. It is much easier to adjust. The ball valve is good for turning things on and off, not so good for adjusting the flow. If you don't understand the difference find a good hardware store and ask. The check valve supplied must be mounted vertically. The flapper depends on gravity to flop it closed. I replaced the check valve with one that has a spring that can be mounted horizontally. The pump outlet and the supplied valves are threaded for 1 1/4 inch pipe thread. After playing with the system for a bit, I put a 1 1/4 to 1 inch reducer in the outlet of the pump and used a 1 inch gate valve for the balancing valve 1 inch check valve and 1 inch pipe nipples. I also made the fittings between the pump and the two valves as short as possible to reduce the amount of water that could flow back into the pump that allowed the switch to close allowing the pump to start, pushing water away from the pump, which flowed back into the pump when the switch cut off in an endless feedback. The balancing valve restricts the flow so that the pump doesn't outrun the flow of water in the tub causing the pump to start and stop repeatedly. It works great, if you can adjust the flow. The supplied ball valve just doesn't allow you to do that. Since I had to reduce the outlet and choke the flow with a balancing valve, a smaller pump would have probably worked just fine. Overall, I am happy with the design and construction of this pump. It is capable of much more than I needed. Update 2016 I was informed last winter that the pump was leaking. The pump drains the bathtub in a dog grooming shop so it runs almost constantly 8 hours a day. I instructed that the pump be replaced as this was the quickest solution with the least amount of downtime. Towels were placed under the old pump and changed frequently until the new pump arrived, then the swap out was quick with no special skills needed. I think the old pump probably needs a new seal on the staft, but have not opened it up. The device worked great in a hostile environment dealing with soaps and dog hair. It lasted longer than i might have expected, and might even be able to return to service with a simple O ring replacement. The pump does a good job of passing dog hair that clogs the pipe further down the line.

The house came with one of these. In Sept, 2016 the existing unit stopped turning off automatically so we purchased a new one from Amazon. Here I am in Feb 2019 and it's failed in exactly the same way again. While the unit is not currently available through Amazon think carefully about purchasing one of these in the future should it become available.

We had a custom fired-porcelain farmer's sink installed, then realized the drain connection at the wall created a backward slope to the sink, allowing water to pool in the line between the wall and the P-trap. Stagnant water created a horrible odor every time we used the sink! This pump evacuates the entire drain line, without effort ~ and although it's not as quiet as no pump at all, I'll take the tradeoff any time. The odor was gone as soon as we installed the pump, and the provided check valve ensures there is no backflow of gray water or odor. It was easy to adjust the provided butterfly valve to get a smooth evacuation of the sink that matches our typical water flow, including the dishwasher drain line. Perfect solution for this situation!

Bought this for a basement kitchen sink because the drain connection in the wall was too high. This pump replaces the P-Trap. I've asked the tenants to be mindful of what they put down the sink and left the included valve all the way open to prevent clogs. Because the valve is open when the water is running the pump will cycle about once every 5 seconds to eject water. This may not be ideal but so far there have been no issues whatsoever... knock on particle board. That's what my cabinets are made of down there so if this thing fails things could get ugly.

I wanted the inline switch so I got this one. The 1/3 hp is weak and can barely pump water up to 7.5 feet when labeled as max 11 feet. The included check valve was junk. On the initial hook up it worked, but after the line was charged it wouldn't open again. I had to cut it out, drain the line, buy a real check valve and re assemble. It will keep up with washer discharge but only because the sink gets about 80% full. Thats expected so not dissapointed there. I wouldn't try this for a washer without a sink. Going to try 1.5 inch line between the sink and pump but don't think it will matter. Pump has 1.5 in and 1.25 discharge. Why? On the positive side it is very quiet and the inline switch makes the sink look attractive because there is no float in the sink and it always pumps it empty. I think it's better than the tank under sink models but really needs more hp and a little bigger pump volume. The real reason to buy it is the inline switch.

Purchased this to put a utility sink below-grade so that I could create a proper laundry room in part of my finished basement. The pump comes with a full instruction manual, a backflow valve, and a regulator, so you can adjust the outflow properly so the pump doesn't constantly turn off and on. The instruction manual also includes very detailed step-by-step instructions for installation, basic troubleshooting, and all the other necessary info. The most helpful part of it though is the list of what other plumbing parts you will need. The pump inlet is 1-1/2", outlet is 1-1/4". Mine could have mounted directly onto the bottom of the utility sink I purchased from Lowe's, but I opted instead to have a little bit of a drop in it. This pump also comes with a screen for the drain to help filter out the majority of debris. It took me, a handy guy but with limited plumbing skills, about 4 hours one afternoon to hook everything up and set it all properly. My washing machine dumps into this, but as the instruction manual recommends, I set it to match the regular outflow of the faucet on the sink, and not the washing machine emptying. A month or two after installation, it started making a little bit of noise, but then cleared right up. I don't believe the pump was the culprit really, as I had a loose pipe as well, but I couldn't say for certain. Still pumped fantastic the entire time. Definitely a purchase I'm happy to have made!

Pump burnt out in less than a month

It worked great the first time and is still working great. This is the second one I've used in different houses and both work great.