Pump water above ground without freezing

[LittleBill21]

so i have a couple projects where i need to run a sump pump out to a yard, and dump the water above ground. my issue is figuring out how to deal with the pipe that goes from below frost level to above ground to get rid of the water. there is no way to drain to a lower area, has to just be pumped to a different section. its needs to be automatic as i can't drain the pipe manually.

any idea's?

 

[Streetcar]

CAn you build an enclosure for the vertical rise of the pipe as put heat tape on that portion of pipe. The remainder of the pipe should be a continuous fall to discharge. Flowing 50 degrees water will be slow to freeze.

 

[Billrog]

Drill a small hole in the pipe below frost so it will drain back when the pump quits.

 

[bcp]

There are spring-loaded drain valves that pressure closes. (if your system makes any pressure)

Bruce

 

[RNeumann]

Heat tape works in a pinch. The pipe should rise straight up as high as needed out of the pump and then drain at about 2% to the low point. Then the only part with sitting water is the first little bit. As stated, if you can drain that first rise without creating an ice skating rink that will work too.

 

[PILOON]

I have installed a few pumps with freeze situations.
One tactic is to drill a small hole in the check valve so that the cold exposed section drains itself dry.
The other is heat tapes.

 

[aczlan]

Here is what I did for our house. The end of the drain line is at or above the level of the sump pump so just putting a hole in the check valve wouldn't work. The line comes up off of the pump goes through the elbow, through the tee and outside. The well foot valve let's everything from the tee on drain down, but doesn't let water leak out.



Aaron Z

 

[LittleBill21]

CAn you build an enclosure for the vertical rise of the pipe as put heat tape on that portion of pipe. The remainder of the pipe should be a continuous fall to discharge. Flowing 50 degrees water will be slow to freeze.

no, there is no power, as some of the drains are over 100 feet long

 

[LittleBill21]

Drill a small hole in the pipe below frost so it will drain back when the pump quits.

this is a pretty solid idea. i will prolly try this.

 

[LittleBill21]

I have installed a few pumps with freeze situations.
One tactic is to drill a small hole in the check valve so that the cold exposed section drains itself dry.
The other is heat tapes.

can you explain this better? where does it drain back into the sump pump area? that won't work if thats the case, the pump would keep turning on, some of these runs are over 50 feet.

maybe i have a better under standing. you add the check valve close to where the pipe freezes? then drill a hole there? that makes alot more sense

 

[LittleBill21]

Here is what I did for our house. The end of the drain line is at or above the level of the sump pump so just putting a hole in the check valve wouldn't work. The line comes up off of the pump goes through the elbow, through the tee and outside. The well foot valve let's everything from the tee on drain down, but doesn't let water leak out.

View attachment 529522

Aaron Z

guess im missing something in the photo, can you explain this better?

yes in all situations the sump pump has to pump up hill at least 7-10 feet

 

[LittleBill21]

There are spring-loaded drain valves that pressure closes. (if your system makes any pressure)

Bruce

can you explain where it would be placed and how it would help with the freezing issue?

 

[aczlan]

guess im missing something in the photo, can you explain this better?

yes in all situations the sump pump has to pump up hill at least 7-10 feet

The line from the pump comes up about 6 feet to where that picture is taken, from there it follows the wall for about 10 feet and then goes outside and down hill. That being the high spot, once the pump shuts off, the footvalve lets air in so that the water drains from there to the wall and makes sure that it doesn't freeze up where it goes out through the wall.


Aaron Z

 

[pmsmechanic]

I have a pump out sewer system without any foot valve at all. What ever sewage is in the pipe after the pump shuts off flows back to the septic tank. It has never froze on me.

 

[RNeumann]

I have a pump out sewer system without any foot valve at all. What ever sewage is in the pipe after the pump shuts off flows back to the septic tank. It has never froze on me.

This works fine if the tank is big enough and or the fluid in the pipe that will drain back isn’t enough to cause constant cycling- that’s why most just assume or prophetically install the check valve.

 

[Deere Dude]

The line from the pump comes up about 6 feet to where that picture is taken, from there it follows the wall for about 10 feet and then goes outside and down hill. That being the high spot, once the pump shuts off, the footvalve lets air in so that the water drains from there to the wall and makes sure that it doesn't freeze up where it goes out through the wall.


Aaron Z

I had a sump pump in the basement and the water table was low in the winter so it didn't run all that much. Does yours run in the 25 deg days?

Anyway, mine had a check valve 5 feet from the floor, then the pipe went up between the floor joists then straight out the wall. Once outside it elbowed down with a foot long pipe on the end. That went loosely into a 3" PVC which went down 5 feet into the ground and ran 40 feet over to a pond and drained out. Never had a problem with it and was in Wisconsin.

 

[4570Man]

I've got a gutter located where getting an above ground dump was impractical. The solution was burying a 55 gallon drum with a bunch of holes drilled in it and draining into it. I'd say a 5 gallon bucket would be more in line with your project and would eliminate the above ground drain assuming the grade is suitable.

 

[bcp]

Quote Originally Posted by bcp
There are spring-loaded drain valves that pressure closes. (if your system makes any pressure)

Bruce

can you explain where it would be placed and how it would help with the freezing issue?

Here is what I was thinking of.

The Freeze Drain - Irrigation's Best Kept Secret

Rain Bird 1/2 in. MPT Filtered Sprinkler Drain Valve-16AFDVC1 - The Home Depot

Bruce

 

[oosik]

My sewage system pumps from the pump tank, just downstream of the septic tank, to a drain field some 200 feet away. This 200 feet of pipe is buried but to absolutely prevent freezing there is a small hole drilled in the discharge pipe. This allows all the effluent, contained in this pipe, to drain back into the pump tank once the pump cycle is completed. Been in operation six years without a moments problems.

 

[LittleBill21]

thanks guys alot of great idea's!!!