Liberty Pumps 257 pump, gray, 1-1/2"

I asked how everyone liked this pump 4 days ago. Got good responses and ordered. Received it today 5/16/14. Very fast delivery. We had 6 inches of rain last night and my old cheap sump pump was running overtime. It was very loud and worked half the time. I had this one switched out and working within 7 min. That is no lie. Delivery. An dropped it off at about 6pm and by 6:15 I was eating dinner. I already had everything cut. This is a very solid unit. It was boxed very well. Very quick and easy to install. The cord is plenty long enough to reach outlets. I can't say enough how quiet this is. I had to walk down to see if it was running. I ordered the quiet check valve and it will be here in two more days. I like the fact that the water does not go over the top of the unit. My other one would get covered by water. I will try to do another update later. UPDATE::::5/19/14 Its been in for 3 days now and i would say that with the 6 in of rain we had last week it runs about every 50 sec all day every day. One thing that i like is that it only fills the crock up about 4 inches before it turns on. The last one i had would fill up about a foot or more. This gives you time to try and fix the pump or replace it before its to late. I really love this pump. I will be getting my Quiet check valve today so i hope that takes the THUD out of the pipe. Thats the only thing i hear now. Cant even hear the pump run. UPDATE::::2/18/2015 Still love my liberty pump. It has never failed me yet. I added the quitet check valve and i can not hear it run at all. I am going to order the 1/4 hp smaller liberty to add to this for battery backup. It draws less watts and will run longer on the battery. I really like this pump. Great price and its solid. If you are having any thoughts about a sump pump dont think again buy this.

I had a flotec 3/4 hp pump for about 7 years. It worked fine but it was quite loud. I would know upstairs that the pump was turning on. I investigated several pumps at Home Depot, Menards and online. Most pumps at HD and Menards were made in China but I think there were a couple made in USA. The made in USA pump was being sold in several different brand names - but they appeared to come from same manufacturer. Often they had a tethered switch - which is rather inconvenient to set up. Also, I checked the reviews of those pumps and they had one common problem - switch failure after a few years! Finally, this liberty pump. Made in USA and outer appearance does make it look superior to others - including the other unit made in usa (forgot the name brands). We have had constant rains for past week in Wiscosin and this pump is more than sufficient for my need. 3/4 hp was over kill. I suspect for most people, as a sump pump, 1/4 hp is more than sufficient (unless you have a special situation/problem). This liberty pump is very quiet. You would barely notice that it is working. It has a built in float and magnetic switch, which makes set up very convenient. You should buy a check valve. I bought Zoeller but I think Campbell Mfg Quietsump Chk Valve would have been better. Buy a check valve which allows 100% flow through diameter. Cheap ones open only about 45 degrees or so. If you are seeking to replace a sump pump and cannot afford failure (I have a $150,000 worth finished basement + $25,000 audio equipment), consider this liberty pump. Of course, I have not tested this for longevity. Flotec worked just fine for 7 years but based on the "sound of refinement", I get the feeling this liberty pump would work just fine for another 7+ years. Made in USA is a big plus for me and it outward build quality shows the attention to detail. And yes, I do have a backup system - I use zoeller water powered backup system. Btw, the instructions say that you should drill a 1/8th inch hole near the outlet - to avoid air lock. I did so but it was splashing water. Therefore, I replaced it with a connection without the 1/8 inch drill hole. The pump works fine. It does have a built in vent hole in the base/body of the pump and you don't need another vent hole. I am using zoeller check valve and I don't have an air lock issue.

The pump arrived in decent packaging and therefore I had no issues with any shipping damage. The finish looks great and the pump seems very sturdy. It's relatively heavy which is a good thing as it's not going to move around. I like the external plastic float fixed to the side that rises and falls verticaly - unlike my last pump which had an internal float (and which unlimately led to its demise after about 10 years). The base has built-in feet allowing the impellor to sit about 1 in off the bottom of the sump pit but note that, unlike my last pump which came on when water was about 2in high in the pit, the float on this pump has to rise about 7 or 8 inches before it activates the pump. Although this means more standing water in the pit, it also means less activation (and therefore, hopefully, longer service life). The next step was installation which took me about 2 hours since this pump was taller than my old one (about 12in vs 7in) and therefore I had to adjust the pipework to fit both this new pump and my back-up pump. If it wasn't for my back-up pump, installation would have been a breeze. When it was time to test, at first I became concerned as it didn't activate despite there being a couple of inches of water in the pit. Of course I then realised that the float had to rise a few more inches before activating and so I lifted the float by hand to see if the pump worked. I could hardly tell that the pump was on other than the water level dropping - that's how quiet it is !!! On that basis alone, I heartily recommend it. I was going to buy the Zoeller M57 but I'm so glad I didn't given the float switch issues with that pump. Naturally, I can't comment on longevity and how long the powder coated body , the float, the impellor etc will last as only time will tell. However, first impressions are very positive. All in all, I'm very happy so far with the pump. ****UPDATE 05/01/2013 **** The pump has been worked hard this winter given the amount of snow and rain we've had. After just over 6 months and it's still as quite as when fitted. Working like a charm and still whisper quiet. So far so good... *** 2 YEAR UPDATE 11/12/14 *** It's been 2 years and the pump is just as quiet as it was on Day1. And still pumping as effectively as before. No issues whatsoever. This is one great sump pump.

These are extremely durable excellent pumps with a great float system that has never fouled. Very reliable. Have used both the 237 and 287 and see very little difference in how much they actually pump but the iron housing is significantly more rugged.

I installed this pump to replace an 11-yr-old 1/3rd HP Zoeller. I decided on the Liberty pump based on web reviews as well as price...it was less expensive than the comparable Zoeller and offered similar features, including cast-iron metal construction. Out of the box the pump looks exactly as pictured, and it weighs at least 20 lbs. It's heavy duty, no seams, and seems to be built using quality parts. The float and switch mechanism also appear to be well designed. As the float travels up toward the switch, it activates a magnet which turns on the pump. The switch seems to be well-built and well-engineered. Installation was easy - pull your old sump pump by disconnecting it from a PVC union or check valve, build up the new PVC discharge pipe (1.5" schedule 40) using your old pipe as a template, closely matching the pipe lengths, then place into the sump hole after the PVC cement cures up, and off you go. Make sure there is no binding...the power cord needs to be out of the way so that it cannot interfere with the float or switch operation. Ideally the pump should be installed near the center of the sump hole. Per the instructions, when you're using a check valve, you're supposed to drill a 1/8" hole just above the discharge outlet on the PVC pipe on the pump to prevent airlock. I drilled about 1-2" above the discharge outlet as I am using a check valve to prevent back-flow of water back into the pump. Water does spray out the small 1/8" hole but that is normal operation. This pump should last - overall its operation is very quiet. I can't even hear the pump when it kicks on - the only indication I have that the pump is running is the clunk sound the check valve makes when it closes, after the pump is done running. I've had a Liberty pump underneath my basement washer tub for over 10 years and it's still operating extremely well. I'm betting this pump will last as long as the Zoeller did.

The pump has been working for a couple of months without any problem. The installation was very easy, had it up and running quickly. The only problem was it is so quiet that I couldn’t tell if it was working. I had to go outside to see the water come out of the drainpipe. At the same price as the ones in the home improvement stores, this unit far surpasses them in quality and performance.

Update: I have had this for almost 10 years now with flawless operation. I am considering replacing it just to be preventative. Will def keep it as a spare. Everything about this pump screams quality! I replaced a different brand pump because I lost confidence after my battery backup had to kick on. The old pump began to work after a bit, but I am suspecting there may have been some sort of intermittent switch issue. Either that, or the float got caught up on the side of the pit? I believe the old pump was about 5 years old, so regardless, given the amount of cycles that my units go through, it was probably time any way. That is why I went with the Liberty 257. It had great reviews, I love the vertical float design (seems less to go wrong with it), it has a VMF switch, it is quiet, it's made in the USA, it was a breeze to install after swapping out my old pump. I have confidence that the only time my backup will be going off again will be for a power failure. I installed this with a Zoeller check valve and the combo seems to work well. I changed both the check valves (the original pump one, and the backup) just for giggles. I figure if I was going to go through the trouble of doing all this work, i might as well replace the valves which I understand do go bad from time to time. I suspect the one on the backup wasn't working very well. They seemed cheap any way. I will update if I have any issues. So far so good!

I purchased this pump 5 years ago after buying a house with two sump pits and having one die the month after closing. I replaced the first one with a 287 model (1/2 HP). The 287 has been working fine for 4 years. I knew one day the other pump which doesn't see as much water would die and I would need to replace it, and I wanted a quality brand when it came time to replace it.... so I bought this 257 and kept it on standby for the past 5 years. Well, finally one day the Flo Tec that was installed gave up the ghost. The pump still pumped but the float sensor had died on it. Time to bring in the all-star replacement.... or so I thought. This pump has given me constant problems every since it was installed. It has failed to trigger three times in the month it has been installed. I come downstairs to an overflowing sump pit and have to reach into the water and wiggle the float to get it to turn on. The float does not feel like it has water inside of it. It moves up and down freely with no obstructions. It must just be faulty. I am outside of the warranty period now and it's my own fault for that, but the VMF should be warrantied for a lifetime considering it is new technology. I am likely going to end up having to buy a new mercury float and zip tying the VMF up. The pump itself is quiet and strong, but a good pump with a bad float is a paperweight.

This sump pump really impressed me. First of all on looks alone this thing stands out as a quality product. You can tell it is very well made in the quality of materials used, it is also quite heavy compared to the first sump I purchased (which died after 1 year of use). The instruction manual is pretty sparse, and there is a good reason for that, its extremely easy to setup and essentially maintenance free. Other than having to trim the ABS pipe shorter (as the discharge on this unit sits higher) it was a very painless install. After using this sump pump for the spring thaw I am very pleased with how it operated, its is so quiet compared to my previous pump that we can barely tell when its running, our previous pump made a terrible racket to the point that we had to shut the door to the utility room or else it would wake our kids up sometimes. The only thing I wish I could change is the float sensor, I have a small sump pit and this pump is so powerful it drains it within seconds, making for a short cycle time. I would prefer letting it leave a bit more water in the pit before pumping out, however they do sell a model with a float switch instead so if this ever needs replacing I will go that route so I can control the water depth.

So quiet!! Works as advertised. Easy to install. Had a float type switch originally... and since switching to this one, didn’t realize how much water was actually accumulating in my sump. Had to purchase a 1 1/2 inch female end piece for my discharge pipe (couple of $$ at Home Depot) Other than that the unit is solid. Switch seems to be built very sturdy. No more worrying about a wet basement. I also use a Liberty SumpJet water backup with this unit.

Wow.... Fabric, materials is impressive.When a piece like this is heavy as it is, it'S proof of quality. Believe me, as soon you unbox the unit, you'll understand. As of the performance.... it's amazingly quiet. My plumbing is about 20ft linear ( many plumbing elbows and about 10ft above the pump ) and it just throw out the water. >>> 3y warranty >>> 5A I also recommend the check valve probably at the bottom of your screen ( I paid 27$ ): Zoeller 30-0181 1-1/2 Inch Check Valve Works like a charm, easiest thing in the world to install.... ans the quietness ... priceless !! :) Looking for another Liberty pump for my redundant plan ! :)

We recently had an addition added to our house, which required a second sump pit in the new area of the basement and the plumber had installed another similar 250 series Liberty Pump VMF into that pit. Soon after, our old pump in our original pit started to die and I was impressed enough with the performance of the 1/4 hp version of the pump installed in the other location to purchase this for our other pit. These pumps are very (relatively) quiet, clear a cycle in only a matter of seconds and the whole package just looks and feels like a high quality piece of machinery that I can trust. Performance wise, they're great, no complaints. What I remain unsold on is the VMF switch mechanism. On the pro side, the VMF switch means there is only one cord leading to the pump instead of the traditional two with a separate float switch, everything is integral to the pump body. It also means that the switch is much less likely to get caught up on something inside or the side of the pit itself causing a no-pump or continuous-pump situation. However, my big issue with the VMF switch is that if there is no way to adjust the water level required to activate the and personally I feel it activates with too little water in the pit causing more cycles than I would personally have chosen if I could have adjusted the float position myself. You can set the whole pump on something like a brick in the pit so it takes more water before the pump cycles on however you are then in the situation where you will never pump out all of the water from the pit - it can only pump to the bottom of the pump body obviously - leaving you with more standing water. With a regular float you'd just raise the float as much as you want and then the pump would pump all the way to the bottom of the pit. This situation is ideal, in my opinion. It would be a 5 star product easily if the VMF mechanism had some adjustment built in to raise where the float activates, as it stands though I see this as a somewhat annoying drawback.

I have bought two of these pumps. The original is still chugging along 9 years later. Only thing I wish I could change is the float. I wish I could adjust it. My pump cycles often and short cycles (3 second run time) I wish I could extend its pump duration and cut down on cycles. Other than that. This pump is quiet and bulletproof reliable. I bought it in June for $260 now it is over $300. If they dropped the price back to June’s price, I’d buy another!