Water flooding basement from 'cutter' pump?! Help!

[Coyote machine]

Was working on the breaks in the underground dog fence when my cell rang and my wife said there was a problem in the basement at the house. I jumped on the ATV and booked up to the house. Turns out she was going to dump the dehumidifier water in the basement tub when she saw standing water. She decided to use the commode and after flushing noticed water from the laundry room was on the floor. She went to find me, and when I arrived I could see water all around the cutter pump, which is bolted into it's submerged 'tub/housing'? that is cut into the basement floor. The pump was making noise, but did not seem to be moving water up to the septic, and when I pulled the double electric cord assembly from the GFI outlet, which had not tripped, the cords were warm, not hot, and the noise from the pump immediately stopped.

What next? Should I try to restart the pump by plugging it back in? I don't want more 'grey' water between the slab floor and the pad and click-lock laminate floor. I believe the pump is able to be removed from the 'tub' it's bolted into for repair/replacement.

Any help appreciated.

 

[vtsnowedin]

You have no time to fool with it. Don't flush anything in the mean time but you need a company that installs septic pump systems to come and install you a new one.

 

[vtsnowedin]

On second thought as it is springtime in Vermont could it be high ground water has gotten into the system and the cutter pump was just trying to bail out an lake full of snow melt into your septic tank?
Edit to add: I say that because my daughters house that sits in blasted ledge on the top of the hill has perimeter /footing drains all around it that run to daylight in her back lawn. normally they are dry but this last week with the snow finally melting the two 4" pipes were both running a full pipe of clear ice cold water.

 

[Streetcar]

It sounds like something may be jammed in pump

 

[Baby Grand]

On second thought as it is springtime in Vermont could it be high ground water has gotten into the system and the cutter pump was just trying to bail out an lake full of snow melt into your septic tank?
Edit to add: I say that because my daughters house that sits in blasted ledge on the top of the hill has perimeter /footing drains all around it that run to daylight in her back lawn. normally they are dry but this last week with the snow finally melting the two 4" pipes were both running a full pipe of clear ice cold water.

We have a similar situation in the Spring.
Pump runs all the time due to high ground water table.
1 minute on.
4 minutes off.
Repeat.
We were burning out a submersible every 2 years or so:

It sounds like something may be jammed in pump

I think, in our case, the pump would move around and eventually jam the float against something, causing the pump to run, continuously.
Running in a pumped out sump well, caused it to overheat, since it relies on being surrounded by cool water to cool itself.

This year, I'm trying a different pump type that sits out of the water, and rigidly fixing it to a frame so the float can't get hung up:



I'd say unplug the old pump & get a replacement unit for the short term fix, then look to the installation, once things dry out, to prevent a recurrence.
Good luck, and may your feet be dry,
-Jim

 

[vtsnowedin]

As Coyote Machine describes it this is not a regular sump pump but a grinder/cutter pump that grinds and cuts raw sewage from the toilets and drains and pumps it up to a septic tank and leach field that is higher then his basement. It should not have any ground water entering that closed system. Somebody may have flushed something solid like a spoon or child's toy that is jamming the cutter blades but I would think that the breaker would have tripped. He will have to investigate to see if it is a jammed cutter or otherwise failed pump or a water infiltration problem. One question is how did the excess water get out of the "tub"? The only outlet should be out to the septic tank.

 

[PILOON]

One thing that will help all sump pumps extend their life is to install a check valve between at the pump where the hose is attached.
This is especially helpful if there is a high lift and a smallish sump.
The longer/higher the lift the more water is returned to the sump.
Think of it this way, the same water can actually be re pumped over and over to actually evacuate minimal amounts of water.

 

[Coyote machine]

The pump is a Liberty brand, Pro 380 series, that has separate float switches and an optional alarm switch, (not installed on my unit). " QuickTree® Technology: The Pro-Series by Liberty Pumps features new QuickTree® float system technology. The QuickTree® system is located under a separate access cover for ease of maintenance and service. Floats for both pump activation and alarm (if equipped) are mounted on a stainless steel tree (rod), separate from the pump".

I tested the operation of the pump today, by opening the tub drain to allow outflow, and then plugged in the two power cords as usual. The pump immediately kicked on and pumped out the remaining tub water. I ran the laundry sink directly above the pump basin until the pump cycled again and automatically shut off.
I'm not sure if the pump basin should have allowed water to leak out of it and onto the slab and under my click-lock laminate floor and pad, but I'm going to find out if water should be able to escape in such a circumstance?! Any thoughts appreciated...
I do remember one other occurrence, early on when we first had the system installed, a number of years ago. The GFCI breaker that controls the cords to the pump/basin float, etc. was tripped for some reason and the toilet must have been used a couple of times, without the pump being able to get power and water from the overflowing pump basin flooded the floor near the basin and toilet. turning on the breaker solved the problem, along with mopping/vacuuming up the water.
This time there was no fault at the GFCI, no toys or spoons, etc. Just my son using the bath then all heII broke loose.
I don't know what would have cause the problem unless the float stuck for some odd reason, or the impeller jammed, but again no reason for it to unless the pump is just tired and decided to crap into the basin, causing it's own jam?!:confused2:
Whatever is going on, I think if possible, I want the alarm that didn't get installed originally so we can stop future floods from happening.

 

[Jeff F.]

I had a similar problem that my pump would not stop. I didn't have the flooding though. I replaced the pump as it was 9 years old and it's cheaper than new carpet and drywall.

 

[kc5dlo]

Something on the starter portion of the pump my be failing. I had a lift station at my house back up once. Power was good to the pump. I showed up with a new pump and the basin was now dry. I went ahead and changed the pump. Did not want another random start failure.