About Wayne
WAYNE traces back to 1928, when Norbert G. Berghoff founded the company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, originally building oil burners for home furnaces, water heaters, boilers, and industrial ovens. To balance out the seasonal oil-burner business, WAYNE entered the water pump industry in the 1940s by acquiring the Zephyr Pump Company. The Berghoff family sold the company to the Scott Fetzer Corporation in 1978, and WAYNE relocated from Fort Wayne to its current home in Harrison, Ohio in August 1991. Today WAYNE operates as part of Marmon Holdings, Inc., the diversified industrial group that has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 2013.
The current lineup runs from cast-iron and thermoplastic submersible sump pumps to combo-capable backup-ready primaries, compact utility pumps, well pumps, sewage and effluent systems, and lawn and pool cover pumps. Five WAYNE pumps turned up across our own sump pump testing, from the full 1 HP CDU1000 down to the crawl-space-sized WaterBUG, and WAYNE's own spec sheets back up what we saw on the bench: combo primaries like the WSS30VN are tested to one million cycles, and units in the CDU-series ship assembled in the USA.
Brand website: waynepumps.com
What Wayne makes
Wayne's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Sump Pumps
Cast-iron and thermoplastic submersible and pedestal pumps for basement and crawl space dewatering — featured on DIYRated
Battery Backup-Ready Primary Systems
Combo-capable primaries engineered to accept a battery backup whenever the homeowner adds one — featured on DIYRated
Utility & Multi-Use Pumps
Compact manual pumps built for crawl spaces, window wells, flat roofs, and other tight spots — featured on DIYRated
Well Pumps
Shallow well and convertible jet pumps with precharged tank systems
Sewage & Effluent Pumps
Residential and commercial sewage and effluent pump systems
Lawn & Pool Cover Pumps
Portable and permanent lawn irrigation pumps and pool cover pumps
Why we recognized Wayne
The DIYRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. Wayne earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, put to work on real jobs, and judged on merit.
Wayne products we rated highly
WAYNE CDU1000 Submersible Sump Pump (1 HP Cast Iron)
The most powerful true cast-iron submersible in our sump pump testing, at a full 1 HP moving up to 6,100 GPH at zero lift. A top-suction anti-airlock design means no weep hole to drill and no airlock stalls once the pit drains, and the cast-iron volute and stainless housing are backed by a 5-year warranty with assembly completed in the USA.
Read the 11 Best Sump Pumps of 2026: A Licensed GC's Picks by HP, Basement, and Backup guide →
WAYNE CDU980E Submersible Sump Pump (3/4 HP Cast Iron)
Moves 5,490 GPH in the same cast-iron and stainless build as the CDU1000, with the same no-weep-hole top-suction design, sized for homes with a fast-filling pit or a high water table that would short-cycle a smaller pump. Backed by a 5-year warranty and, in our testing, one of the largest, most established review bases in the category.
Read the 11 Best Sump Pumps of 2026: A Licensed GC's Picks by HP, Basement, and Backup guide →
WAYNE WaterBUG Submersible Pump with Multi-Flo (1/6 HP)
Built to fit and drain spaces a standard float-switch sump pump physically cannot, including crawl spaces, window wells, flat roofs, and stairwells. Its Multi-Flo top-and-side discharge pumps standing water down to 1/16 of an inch, and it has amassed over 3,600 reviews at 4.5 stars as a specialist pump in our roundup.
Read the 11 Best Sump Pumps of 2026: A Licensed GC's Picks by HP, Basement, and Backup guide →
WAYNE WSS30VN Sump Pump with Battery Backup Capability (1/2 HP)
Drops in preassembled with WAYNE citing a 15-minute install and no weep hole to drill, moving a strong 5,100 GPH as a primary tested to one million cycles. The vertical float switch and combo-ready design mean a homeowner can add a battery backup whenever they choose, buying the pump now and the backup later.
Read the 11 Best Sump Pumps of 2026: A Licensed GC's Picks by HP, Basement, and Backup guide →
WAYNE CDU800 Submersible Sump Pump (1/2 HP Cast Iron)
A cast-iron top and steel body pull motor heat into the surrounding pit water, moving up to 5,100 GPH at zero lift for a wetter-than-average pit. The integrated vertical float rides straight up and down so it will not snag a narrow basin, and it carries well over a thousand ratings at 4.8 stars in our testing.
Read the 11 Best Sump Pumps of 2026: A Licensed GC's Picks by HP, Basement, and Backup guide →What earned Wayne the recognition
- Nearly a century in the pump business: founded in 1928 by Norbert G. Berghoff in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and now part of Marmon Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary
- Five WAYNE pumps appeared across our sump pump testing, spanning a full 1 HP cast-iron primary down to a crawl-space specialist and a backup-ready combo primary
- The CDU1000 is the most powerful true cast-iron submersible in our roundup, moving up to 6,100 GPH with a top-suction anti-airlock design and a 5-year warranty
- The combo-capable WSS30VN is tested to one million cycles and ships preassembled, engineered to accept a battery backup whenever a homeowner decides to add one
- Cast-iron construction across the CDU-series pulls motor heat into the surrounding water, and CDU-series units are assembled in the USA