Wherever water can collect somewhere no one is watching, behind a flood defence, in a basement, down a lift shaft pit or across a plant room floor, you need something that removes it automatically, before it does damage.
This case study looks at how the sensor-controlled Tsurumi LSC1.4S Automatic does exactly that, across several very different real installations.
How the automatic LSC works
The standard LSC1.4S is a manual puddle pump that clears water down to about 1mm.
The Automatic version adds Tsurumi's probe-based sensing, which works very differently from a normal pendant float switch. A float needs several centimetres of water to rise and activate, which is no use when the goal is to clear water at floor level. The probes do not.
See below a standard pendant float switch on the Tsurumi HS range which requires a depth of water to activate.
There are two options:
- Sensor. Two stainless steel probes in a moulded rubber holder. When both probes touch water the pump starts, and it keeps running for a minute after the level drops; if water touches the probes again within that minute it runs on, staying on demand until the area is clear. The off level can be as low as 1mm, and detachable 100mm extension probes let you set a lower on level. Compact, and well suited to shallow or narrow spaces.
- SwitcH₂O. Three probes (on, off and common) in an epoxy holder, supplied with a Multi 1-P control panel, for permanent fixed installations where the on and off levels are set precisely on the panel. This is the option usually specified for building services such as lift pits and plant rooms.
Both pump down close to floor level, move up to 170 litres per minute and lift to 11m, and both run unattended, which is what makes the LSC suitable wherever water needs removing without anyone present.
Flood resilience: clearing what gets past the defences
No barrier keeps every drop out, so the LSC Automatic is often installed as the last line of defence behind a wider flood scheme.
A ground-floor bedroom.
This room had flooded before and sat within a wider mitigation scheme. The LSC1.4S Automatic with the Sensor and extension probes was the catch-all: if any water got past the main defences it would start itself and remove it, and with a tiled floor the room would take minimal damage. It was boxed in to stay hidden, with a deliberate gap at the base of the housing so water could still reach the probes.
A Derbyshire kitchen.
This property suffered ingress despite a flood barrier, and there was no space or suitable ground for a sump. The LSC1.4S Automatic solved it without excavating into the ground, tucked discreetly behind a kitchen cupboard, pumping any water that entered straight outside.
A basement.
Here the LSC1.4S was installed with the SwitcH₂O probes and the H2O control panel, set to pump water away automatically with precise on and off levels.
Lift shafts and plant rooms: automatic water control for buildings
The same pump and sensing earn their place well beyond domestic flooding.
Lift shaft pits collect water from groundwater ingress, washdown, condensation and sprinkler discharge, and that water has to be removed automatically to protect the lift equipment. The LSC1.4S suits the job: the compact Sensor handles narrow, shallow pits, while the SwitcH₂O probes with the H2O panel give a fixed installation with the precise level control building services specify.
Plant rooms and equipment rooms are the same problem, a leak or floor water near pumps, boilers and electrical gear needs clearing before it causes harm.
If a lift pit is your application, see our dedicated guide, the best water pumps for lift shafts, which covers sizing, level control and installation in more detail.
An alternative: the EVAK Residox Automatic
The LSC's probe system is precise and flexible, but it suits people comfortable with the setup.
For a simpler option, the EVAK Residox 400 Automatic is a newer addition built around an integrated crab sensor: it plugs straight into the mains, needs no control panel, and starts and stops itself at floor level. The same idea, an automatic pump that runs unattended, with less to set up.
What you can take from this
Whether it is a flooded room, a basement, a lift pit or a plant room, an automatic, sensor-controlled pump removes water quietly, at floor level, and without relying on anyone being there.
See the Tsurumi LSC1.4S Automatic and the EVAK Residox 400 Automatic, browse our cellar and basement flooding, sump pumps and flood control ranges, or read our guides on basement flooding and pumps for lift shafts. For help choosing or setting one up, call our engineers on 0115 987 0358.
FloodandWaterPumps.co.uk is a specialist UK supplier of Tsurumi LSC1.4S puddle pumps, offering competitive pricing, fast supply and practical guidance on choosing the right version for construction, flood recovery, basements and site drainage.
Related case studies: protecting a low doorway with an automatic pump, and managing garden flooding behind a flood wall.
A note on discharge: always pump to a sensible, legal discharge point away from the building, and never pump foul or contaminated water to a watercourse.
