How do you know if you even need a condensate pump?  Can you get by without one?  Depending on how you instal your crawlspace dehumidifier, you may or may not need a condensate pump.  In many cases the condensate pump makes installation easier.  Here’s why.

You can either attach a short section of hose from the dehumidifier to your condensate pump and then a long section of hose from the pump out to a drain… or you can use no pump and run the hose directly out of your crawlspace.

Here’s the tricky part.  This type of drainage, without a condensate pump is called a gravity drain and requires the hose to consistantly run downhill.  There is not going to be a lot of pressure behind the water.  It will merely trickle or drip out through the hose.  For this reason, the hose can not be routed to go up over any obstacles.  It must always travel downward on some degree of grade.

To achieve a constant downward grade requires a little planning ahead.  Your crawlspace dehumidifier should be mounted up off the ground anyway, in order to catch the vapor as it rises from the ground.  Then you must plan your hose route.  Your hose can empty into an existing sewage drain, sump pump, or the yard (a few feet away from the house).  To empty into the yard, many people drill a hole through the board used to enclose the vent.  Edges between the hole and hose can be sealed with caulk. Just remember, without a pump, your hose must always follow a downward path.

Now, here’s where a condensate pump comes in handy.  Sometimes there are obstacles to go over, or maybe there is no easy way to have a constant downward grade.  Your pump from OscarAir can lift water up 20 feet.  It comes with 20 feet of hose.  That means you can route your hose up over obstacles or even up to a drain on the first floor.  Use that 20 feet of hose to send condensate drainage water anywhere you want.  Just get it out of your crawlspace.

Here’s how you instal your condensate pump.  Locate your crawlspace dehumidifier in a central area.  Set it up on cinder blocks, treated wood, or suspend it from the floor joists - whatever is stable and convenient.  Cut a small section of hose to drain from the dehumidifier into the condensate pump.  The pump must be below the level of the dehumidifier, because you are still using gravity to send the water into the pump.  The pump has holes for mounting screws.  You can mount the pump to treated wood, or set it on a brick or block - just be sure the small section of hose between the condensate pump and dehumidifier runs downward from the dehumidifier (like it shows in the picture above).  Run your long section of hose anywhere necessary to send the water out.  You can go to an existing drain, sump pump, out a hole in the vent, or even a drain in your utility room on the first floor.