Re: Sump Pump Question

On Aug 3, 8:22 am, lagman <[email protected]> wrote:
> All,
>
> I just moved to the midwest from Texas, into a house with a basement.
> The sump pump runs every 15-20 minutes when dry, and every few minutes
> when raining (The previous owner installed a drain tile in the front
> yard that empties into the sump, and the area I live in has a high
> water table). The previous owner claimed that the pump ran even more
> frequently before the tile was installed. The pump empties into a
> city owned french drain. It has a backup battery powered pump that I
> have tested and works fine. Since basements are new to me, I have a
> few questions:
>
> With the amount of use this pump is getting, what is its life
> expectancy? Are there any warning signs I can look for that will tell
> me its time to get a new pump (other than a flooded basement)?
>
> How much electricity do these things use? Would it be worth looking
> for a more energy efficient solution?
>
> Do you think it will run this often during the winter (I am in Iowa)?
> Will the pump be able to keep up when the snow melts in the spring?
>
> If the worst were to happen and the pump and backup pump were to fail,
> there is a drain in the basement located about 6 feet from the pump.
> I checked to see if it empties into the sump crock and it does not, so
> I assume it empties into the sewer. Would all the water just go down
> the drain?
>
> Thanks,
> Dan

Hmm

1) the drain tile drains into the sump? where the pump is?? not
exactly optimum. see if you can get the outlet rerouted easily. as
mentioned, local laws might not let you go into the sanitary sewer,
although maybe the sump pump was grandfathered. but maybe you can have
the drain outlet downslope.
2) a pump will seize from lack of use much more quickly than it will
wear out from overuse, in my experience. (i know that's useless info.)
3) the floor drain might give an outlet for any excess water, but
could also become a nice artesian well when the sewer backs up, again
from experience. You might check into having a cap put on it that you
can remove if necessary for drainage, which will keep sewer backup
from coming up. It's nontrivial, i've had the sewer backup pressure
rip the threads right off a cap that wasn't robustly installed.

"z" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1186168247.462391.308070@w3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> On Aug 3, 8:22 am, lagman <[email protected]> wrote:
>> All,
>>
>> I just moved to the midwest from Texas, into a house with a basement.
>> The sump pump runs every 15-20 minutes when dry, and every few minutes
>> when raining (The previous owner installed a drain tile in the front
>> yard that empties into the sump, and the area I live in has a high
>> water table). The previous owner claimed that the pump ran even more
>> frequently before the tile was installed. The pump empties into a
>> city owned french drain. It has a backup battery powered pump that I
>> have tested and works fine. Since basements are new to me, I have a
>> few questions:
>>
>> With the amount of use this pump is getting, what is its life
>> expectancy? Are there any warning signs I can look for that will tell
>> me its time to get a new pump (other than a flooded basement)?
>>
My old house was exactly like yours. After several years the switch broke
and it continued to pump even when dry; which killed the pump.
I recommend having a second pump on hand so you have it when necessary.
I eventually put in a second sump (and them moved to a much dryer house)

>> How much electricity do these things use? Would it be worth looking
>> for a more energy efficient solution?
>>
You won't find one, so it doesn't matter how much electricity they use.

>> Do you think it will run this often during the winter (I am in Iowa)?
>> Will the pump be able to keep up when the snow melts in the spring?
>>
Your neighbors can tell you what to expect.
Has the house flooded? If not, then it can keep up with the snow melt.
If it has, think about a second sump.

>> If the worst were to happen and the pump and backup pump were to fail,
>> there is a drain in the basement located about 6 feet from the pump.
>> I checked to see if it empties into the sump crock and it does not, so
>> I assume it empties into the sewer. Would all the water just go down
>> the drain?
>>
If it goes into the sanitary sewer, it is probably illegal. That being
said, it is great to have.
My house flooded during a major ice storm. My neighbor had installed an
illegal drain and he stayed relatively dry. I hate to think how many
millions of gallons went down that drain.

>> Thanks,
>> Dan
>
> Hmm
>
> 1) the drain tile drains into the sump? where the pump is?? not
> exactly optimum. see if you can get the outlet rerouted easily. as
> mentioned, local laws might not let you go into the sanitary sewer,
> although maybe the sump pump was grandfathered. but maybe you can have
> the drain outlet downslope.
> 2) a pump will seize from lack of use much more quickly than it will
> wear out from overuse, in my experience. (i know that's useless info.)
> 3) the floor drain might give an outlet for any excess water, but
> could also become a nice artesian well when the sewer backs up, again
> from experience. You might check into having a cap put on it that you
> can remove if necessary for drainage, which will keep sewer backup
> from coming up. It's nontrivial, i've had the sewer backup pressure
> rip the threads right off a cap that wasn't robustly installed.
>

On Fri, 03 Aug 2007 05:22:56 -0700, lagman <[email protected]>
wrote:

>All,
>
>I just moved to the midwest from Texas, into a house with a basement.
>The sump pump runs every 15-20 minutes when dry, and every few minutes
>when raining (The previous owner installed a drain tile in the front
>yard that empties into the sump, and the area I live in has a high
>water table). The previous owner claimed that the pump ran even more
>frequently before the tile was installed. The pump empties into a
>city owned french drain. It has a backup battery powered pump that I
>have tested and works fine. Since basements are new to me, I have a
>few questions:

I would hold down the float, or the float switch arm, or unplug the
sump pump, and see how high the water rises when there is nothing to
stop it. Maybe it will only be an inch or two. If that is the case,
you can readjust the float switch an inch or two higher, and then the
pump won't run at all when the water level is the same as it is now.

My next door neigbhor's pump used to run a lot, and by raising the
float one inch, over the course of a month, it was cut in half

HOwever, the water might rise above the top of the sump so be
preparted to turn the pump on before that happens.

>With the amount of use this pump is getting, what is its life
>expectancy?

I think still a long time.

>Are there any warning signs I can look for that will tell
>me its time to get a new pump (other than a flooded basement)?

If it is the bearings that will fail first, I guess you could put your
fingers on the top center to see if they are warm, or hot, after
running for a while. You could listen to the sound the motor makes,
but I personally have no idea if these are the things that will
change, or if you will be able to notice them, or how long it takes to
go from just fine to not working at all.

My pump doesn't run much, but I'm on only the second pump in 28 years,
and the first one only wore out because it was a pedestal pump with a
steel or iron pipe holding up the motor. The pipe rusted through at
the water level. On the new pump, that part is plastic and I figure
that part will never wear out. I guess some day the motor will fail.

>How much electricity do these things use? Would it be worth looking
>for a more energy efficient solution?
>
>Do you think it will run this often during the winter (I am in Iowa)?
>Will the pump be able to keep up when the snow melts in the spring?

Yes. IN 28 years, my pump has only been not able to keep up once
following very heavy rains and while it was still raining.

>If the worst were to happen and the pump and backup pump were to fail,
>there is a drain in the basement located about 6 feet from the pump.
>I checked to see if it empties into the sump crock and it does not, so
>I assume it empties into the sewer. Would all the water just go down
>the drain?

Maybe. You might want to have something ready to channel the water
from the sump to the drain. Sandbags? Two rolls of carpet, one for
each side? Maybe just two pieces of foam, like the round foam people
stuff in cracks, only an inch high. I doubt the water level will
exceed an inch. I wish I had a drain like that.

Put a garden hose on the basement sink and run it to the drain, and
put the water on moderate and see how much the drain will handle.
Then increase the water to as high as it will go, and maybe the drain
will handle that too.

Until you're convinced your safe, you may want to put things on
palletees or something in the basement.

But as upset I was after my first mini-flood, I have had 10 more since
hten, never more than a quarter inch, and really all that gets ruined
are the boxes I put things in. And that only matters when the boxes
are special, like they have the name of the thing and a picture on the
outside, or when they are of a special size or shape.

I don't keep silk sweaters in a box on the basment floor. I keep a
box of transformers, one of motors, one of power supplies, several
boxes of scrap wood, and all that stuff dries out fine. But I'm tired
of looking for new boxes.

>Thanks,
>Dan

If you think flooding is still near, you might want to get a Basepump
(find it with google) or a battery powered backup electric pump. Each
about 300 dollars iirc.