Product Manual

If you are not using the Basement Watchdog
battery, you cannot use the battery fluid
sensor. However, you must attach the sensor
to the POSITIVE (+)
post of the battery
or the alarm will
sound continuously.
The Basement
Watchdog sump
pump system will
not warn you if the
fluid level is low in
this configuration. You will need to check
your battery every couple of months to see
if it needs water. If the battery dries out,
the system will not work.
4. Connecting the battery: Remove the wing
nuts from the battery terminals. Remove the
security tag from the battery cables. Attach
the battery cables to the battery…the WHITE
wire to the NEGATIVE (-) post, and then the
BLACK wire to the POSITIVE (+) post. Replace
the wing nuts and tighten. Note: Connecting
the cables to the wrong posts will damage the
controller.
5. Connecting the charger: Immediately plug
the charger into the charger jack on the back
of the control unit, then into an AC outlet on
the wall. (You can provide additional
protection for the control unit by using a
surge protector.)
6. If the pump alarm is sounding, press the
WHITE button to silence the alarm.
7. If you are using a battery box, place the
cover on the box.
8. Connecting the primary pump: Plug the
piggyback controller into a properly
grounded 3-prong outlet (preferably with
ground fault circuit interrupt). Then plug
the primary pump into the receptacle on the
controller.
9. For a neater installation, secure the cables
from the controllers to the discharge pipe in
a couple places with the additional cable
ties. Make sure the wires are not touching
each other or overlapping each other.
10. After the initial installation, be sure to
check the pump operation by filling the
sump with water and observing the pump
through one full cycle. The primary pump
should run for 10 seconds after the lower
float drops.
11. A pit cover is recommended for all
installations as a safety measure, and to
prevent debris from falling into the pit.
Place the cover on top of the pit making sure
not to pinch or crimp the pump wires with
the cover. The pit cover usually has an
existing hole that will allow the cords to be
passed through it, or you can drill a hole in
the cover.
Product Operation
The dual float switch on the primary pump
contains two large floating rings enclosed within
a protective cage. Water will lift the bottom
float by 1/4”, which will activate the pump. If
for any reason the lower float does not activate
the pump, the water will rise to the second float,
and it will activate the pump. As the pump
evacuates the water from the pit, the floats will
drop. The pump will run for an additional 10
seconds to extend the cycle after the lower float
drops. The blue controller for the primary pump
powers this switch.
During a power outage, or when more water is
entering the sump than the primary pump can
handle, the backup pump will automatically
begin pumping. It also has a dual float switch,
so if one float fails to activate the pump, the
second float will activate the pump as soon as
the water reaches that level. As the water
recedes below the float switch, a timer in the
control unit will run the pump an additional 25
seconds to evacuate the pit.
Batteries and sump pumps need maintenance.
The control unit on the backup system monitors
the battery and power conditions, and sounds an
alarm when maintenance is required. Below is
an explanation of the warnings and alarms.
Understanding the
Warnings & Alarms
The Basement Watchdog backup control unit
features a series of warning lights that pinpoint
potential problems. In addition, an alarm
sounds to alert you to the problem. In some
cases the lights and alarm will go off
automatically when the problem has been
solved. In others, the WHITE button must be
pushed to silence the alarm. Refer to the table
on page 7 for a quick review of the features and
their corresponding alarm status.
SILENCING THE ALARM DURING AN
EMERGENCY
The Basement Watchdog backup sump pump
system is equipped with a switch that will
silence the audible alarm during an extended
emergency. The POWER and PUMP alarms can be
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3b
3a
4
POSITIVE
POST
NEGATIVE
POST
5b5a
8
9
6