A lot of water

[coachgrd]

I'm actually a little ashamed to even be asking this with all that has transpired in Thailand & So. California but I must...

With all the rain & snow melt we've been experiencing here in NW Pa, my sump has been kicking on every 30-45 seconds for the past two weeks. Last night I checked it and the water was coming in so fast that the sump was running constant. Never saw that before.

I have standing by a backup sump. My biggest fear is having my #1 die and having a short window of opportunity to get #2 hooked up before the overflow. What should I do in this case? I do have another smaller sump that hooks up to a garden hose. Should I be prepared to run that while I hook #2 up in the event of a #1 failure?

What kind of fail safe plans do you guys in your situation?

Thanks,
coachgrd

 

[bczoom]

Well, I'm a bit south of you and my terrain makes it whereby I don't need a sump pump.

Let me throw a couple things out anyway.

Why do you believe the first may fail? If it's old and/or unreliable, why not replace?

Is it possible to install/connect the 2 pumps in parallel somehow? A couple check valves may be needed. Just have the float on the 2nd pump removed. If the first fails, lift and block the float arm of the 2nd (so it's pumping) while you re-install the float.

The submersible pump that connects to a garden hose could be an interim solution if it can pump fast enough.

Do you have one of those water alarm things? Runs on batteries but there's a sensor that lays on the floor. When water shorts it out, an alarm goes off. Good indicator of a problem in process.

What do you have if the power goes out? Do you have a power inverter or something to run the sump pump?

 

[ByronBob]

How often does this situation happen? If it's all the time I have a different answer than just once in a blue moon.

 

[rdln]

In the worst case a 3/4 in garden hose wont keep up with a 1 1/4 pipe so I would not rely on the small portable pump.

I think your best insurance is to add another pump with float adjusted another two inches higher which draws power from another circuit breaker.

 

[coachgrd]

Do you have one of those water alarm things? Runs on batteries but there's a sensor that lays on the floor. When water shorts it out, an alarm goes off. Good indicator of a problem in process.


I have a gas powered generator ready to roll if the power goes out. The only problem being what happens until I get home from work and realize the power is out?

 

[Currmudgeon]

The garden hose siphon-pump is a joke when it comes to moving real water.

I'd hook up both pumps. Just set the float on No. 2 pump higher than No 1 normally maintains. Then you have both a backup and additional pumping capacity. This is a pretty standard setup on duplex pump stations.

Be sure the check valves on both pumps are good, or you could end up simply pumping water around in a circle, in one pump and out the other.

 

[Freds]

Great question and I like the idea of the second pump! I'm in the same situation as you coachgrd and mine has been kicking on quite often, too. Every minute or so.

Right now my sump pump is plugged into a GFI outlet, so I'm reading to hook the second one up to a different circuit? Is this because the motor burning out will kick the circuit?

The guy across the street from me, I was told, has a house built on a swamp. He has two in his basement that run non-stop, enough to keep a small pond going for his ducks. I was told yesterday that one just failed and the other couldn't keep up. I may mention this idea to him next time I see him.

I also meant to ask, do they need run on separate drain lines? If you're getting enough water to kick both pumps on, which could happen like when we had three feet of snow melt in a day's time a few years ago, will the pumps fight each other if they "Y" into the same line?

Thanks

 

[jpr62902]

First, as the water fills the sump crock, hydrostatic pressure increases, thereby slowing the flow of water into the well. When my pump failed last winter, I'd guess I probably had 24 -- 36 hrs before the crock would have overflowed.

Second, if you had a battery backup pump, time wouldn't be an issue, and having another pump powered by a different circuit is useless if your power goes out. Typically, the battery powered units can keep the sump crock pumped out for at least 24 hrs. Home Depot sells them under the Ridgid brand for about $200.00. Add another $50.00 for a marine battery from Walmart and you're all set. Good luck!

Also, it's my understanding that sump pumps should not run off of GFCI protected circuits, since they're more likely to trip and shut off power to the pump (per my local building inspector).

 

[Michigan_Mike]

That sounds like what happeded to me this past summer. It had been raining all night, and we lost power after my wife and I left for work. Power still wasn't on when my wife got home, but the portable generator is a bit too big for her to hook up. When I got home, and checked on the sump, the water level was even with the input pipe. But, there was no water in the basement. I hooked up the generator, and the sump pump ran constantly for the next 6 hours.

 

[Freds]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Also, it's my understanding that sump pumps should not run off of GFCI protected circuits, since they're more likely to trip and shut off power to the pump (per my local building inspector). )</font>

If they trip the outlet, wouldn't there be a need to? Unless the amp draw was too much for the circuit to begin with...
I don't know much about electricity, but that's how the electrician that rewired my house (it was inspected when he was done) wired it. Made sense to me only because I thought water and electricity always called for a GFCI outlet or circuit breaker.

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif