Customer Reviews

Zoeller 57-0001 M57 Basement High Capacity Sump Pump

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have an unusual set-up in my house: my roof drains rainwater into my basement sump pump pit, and the water is then pummped out through the house's waste line. Because of this set-up, my sump pump gets a real workout on a regular basis, and it also has to accomodate dirt, sand, grit, and some leaves. Recently the switch wore out on my Zoeller M53 sump pump after over 10 years of worry free use. I initially searched Home Depot and Lowes for a new pump, but reviews of their pumps frequently reported major problems after as little as 2 years of light use! Also, their pumps are not equipped to deal with small solids, so it didn't take much thought to decide that I should replace a Zoeller with another Zoeller. This time I bought the Zoeller M57 model, but the only difference between the M57 and the M53 is whether the base structure is made of plastic or iron. I don't really see much advantage of either one over the other, but I bought the M57 with the iron base. I can sleep easy again knowing that no matter how much it rains, my Zoeller M57 can handle the job with ease.
One final note: I would recommend that anyone using a sump pump should also buy a water alarm - to alert you if your basement starts to flood. I never knew such a thing existed until I started searching for new pumps, but this $10-$12 investment can save you a MAJOR headache if, for some reason, your sump pump stops working.

Recently replaced a previous Zoeller with this pump. The M57 came highly recommended. The previous Zoeller failed after 1.5 yrs flooding my basement. It was a low-end Zoeller,M72, however i still expected better. I'm hoping for better from the M57. Upgraded to the M57 for added protection, and because of recent failures. Recently cleaned out the pit and had lots of dirt, grit and sand, etc. in it hence the effulent M57 pump w/ all cast iron construction. However, recently opened the pit and was surprised at the amount of rust around the base of the pump and at the seams in only 1-2 weeks. Had been getting some regen. water from water softner into this pit. I stopped this flow. We'll see if the rust continues. Will rate performance further down the road.

June 2010 Update

Pump continues to perform. Rust hasn't spread beyond initial observed and doesn't seem to present a problem. The pump continues to pump water and pass small solids(dirt, twigs,cement, leaves etc.)without clogging. Great pump!

Had this pump for four years in my house and eight years in my businesses ' it has never failed yet. Zoeller's M57 shares the same dimensions and is nearly identical to the M53. The M57 has all cast iron construction and a cast iron impeller instead. Like the M53, it can pump 43 gallons (163L)/minute, passes half-inch solids, and shares a 1.5" discharge. Zoeller is the industry standard: don't let anyone tell you differently. It's the brand the professionals use and the plumbers recommend. Unless you need the extra casing weight and prefer a cast iron impeller, get the M53.

I bought an M53 about 14 years ago. Two years ago after 12 years, that pumps float switch started to be unreliable so I upgraded to the M57. Although I live near Boston, my home sits in an area of underground springs. The sump basically runs year round and in some cases it kicks in every 10 seconds, especially in the spring. Because I don't ever want to have my basement flooded, I just purchased another M57 to put on the shelf. I don't care if I never put it in service, its peace of mind. In anycase, it is a solid quiet reliable pump.

First off this is an outstanding pump. When it runs it's super quiet.

I chose this model over the M53 because the impeller is cast iron whereas it's plastic on the M53. I run my slop sink into my sump pump and if anything solid goes down the drain the cast iron will hold up better than plastic.

The cast iron motor casing disappates heat better than stainless steel or plastic found on other brands. The motor will run cooler. I also like the up and down action of the float as oppose to one where it floats swinging out. Much less of a chance of getting stuck.

Make sure to install a check valve. If you get a tremendous volume to water then consider a wider sump basin. This will allow the pump to run less frequently and increase its life.

The pump that I replaced has been in use for over 12 years working day and night especialy during rainy weather. The only problem that developed probably due to age is the float switch. Sometimes it will start the pump, sometimes it will not. The pump itself still works as long as you help the float switch a little bit. I guess the reliability of the pump made me purchase the same model as replacement.

The Zoeller M57 pump is strong, clears water from my drainage system quickly. I replaced an Ace Hardware pump that, while strong, constantly clogged with Cypress needles. The M57 handles the needles and other small debris with ease. After a month of use, my only question is that the cast iron pump enclosure is showing signs of rust. That said, it would have to rust a lot to get through the heavy cast iron.

As soon as I opened the box I knew things were not good. The factory packaging was inadequate to protect the pump, but the worst part is that the oil fill plug installed by the factory was cross-threaded and loose resulting in a serious oil leak that saturated the box and instruction manual. A call to the factory resulted in returning the pump to Amazon; the factory rep told me that the pump was tested prior to ship, but that because of the loose oil fill plug the pump likely had water in the motor housing. Poor factory QC - Shame on Zoeller.
As for the Amazon packaging - another example of poor packaging for heavy items. The factory boxed pump shucked around in the Amazon box because of inadequate box filler. This is a problem that Amazon can not grasp - it's a mystery to me - after all it's not rocket science.

This is a great pump. I've had the M57 working tirelessly for over 15 yrs, pumping out the water that drains into my sump pit whenever the water table gets too high, from heavy rains and melting snow. I have a drainage pipe system installed around my basement perimeter that drains any incoming water to the sump pit, and sometimes the pump will therefore run on/off for a couple weeks at a time until the water table drops.

After the recent heavy rains and melting snow, it has been running on/off almost continously, and just last night the cycle switch wore out on it (fortunately stuck in the "on" position continuing to pump out water), but will soon burn itself out after running continuously. So today I bought and installed another one - this time the M53, as that was what my plumbing supply store currently had in stock, and said was equally good and essentially the same as the M57 except for slightly different materials in the base, etc., e.g. not all cast iron, but otherwise the equivalent pump functionally and specifications.

The new M53 is running like a champ already right now, and I'm hoping to get another 15 yrs out of this one!

After reading numerous reviews and information about several different sump pumps I decided that Zoeller is the way to go. I was not disappointed a bit. The Zoeller 57-001 pump is the one I chose for my application. This sump pump is built the best of any one on the market that I found (all cast iron case and impeller with stainless steel hardware). This is the quietest pump I've ever heard. The last pump I had I could hear throughout the house but this one is so quiet I can't hear it in the room above the sump area. It is also nice that it is made in the USA. I would highly recommend this sump pump to anyone.