Sump pump: OK to reduce 1.5" to 3/4"?

Question

I have a super-insulated house (18" thick walls, whole-house air infiltration barrier, insulated floor system, insulated foundation, conditioned crawlspace). I have a sump pit, but no pump (wasn't sure at build time whether it would be needed; it is).

I need to install a sump pump and an outlet to deal with high groundwater in spring thaw.

Most sump pumps have a 1.5" threaded outlet. Running 1.5" rigid PVC through the insulated floor system and walls will be painful; it will mean a lot of cutting, loose insulation dropping out of the floor, trying to glue a right angle inside an insulated floor system, and a large new puncture in the air infiltration barrier that helps keep the house warm.

I've been thinking of drilling a single diagonal hole (probably 24" or so) through the floor system in the crawlspace out to the exterior wall, and fishing some Pex through it. But I think this would require reducing the 1.5" sump outlet to a 1" or 3/4" Pex pipe.

A couple questions:

1. I'm fairly confident that this diameter will adequately drain the water -- right now a garden hose through a window is doing the job. But I don't know if there are other reasons not to reduce a sump pump. Will it wear out the motor faster? Increase the chance of outlet pipe bursting?
2. Is there any reason not to extend the Pex 10-15' from the outlet outside the house, to route it far away from foundation? It's a cold climate, so freezing is possible in e.g. May; but if things are freezing, then there probably isn't as much water to pump.
3. Any other advice welcome. I've never sumped before.

Answer 1

I have a sump pump that I use with a garden hose. It works great but has a slightly reduced flow capacity. If that size works for you, use it. My greatest concern would be exposure of the pipe to the cold climate. If it freezes, it will not flow water. The smaller pipe (hose) will put more "head" on the pump but should not cause any harm to your pump. As far as cutting a hole to the outside, why not hire someone or rent a drill that can "core drill" an exact size hole to the outside through almost any wall thickness. It will make for a neat and clean hole with little cleanup needed.

Answer 2

Regarding pipe reduction: I set up a cheap sump pump reduced from 1.5" to a 3/4" garden hose and sent it out a window to deal with the acute water issue. It works fine, even with a 12' rise. Next, I reached out to one reputable pump manufacturer, Zoeller, to ask about the setup, and their product support rep recommended not doing it:

Reducing the pipe size connected to the pump could cause issues. When you reduce the pipe you can put back pressure on the motor because it will be working harder moving through a smaller size pipe.

My impression after talking to several people about it is, even though it works, it might shorten the life of the pump and/or void the warranty.

So, instead of reducing to Pex tubing diameters for the permanent outlet, I've ordered a roll of 1.5" flexible PVC tubing. It works with the schedule 40 PVC fittings that are standard for this application and will hopefully be flexible enough (after sitting in the sun for a bit) to fish through a closed floor system.

Regarding outlet freezing: On the exterior I will terminate the outlet tubing fairly close to the wall, then continue the drainage run after an air gap (described in defect #5 here). Might even spring for an IceGuard, but will probably do something more low tech to start.

Answer 3

The key here is how long the pump would have to run to remove the water. In my case I reduced to garden hosu and it works great since the flow into my sump pit is about 5 gal per min at most. This means, while the hose is small, the cycle rate is so slow that the pump gets to cool plus it sits in the cold water. Been that way for 6 years and no sign of stopping.

Answer 4

If you have to add a balancing ball valve to a utility sink pump to keep constant head pressure and reduce cycling, I think reducing pipe size is virtually the same. I'm thinking of running my utility sink pump on 1" pex with ball valve, easier less bends simple.

Answer 5

Should be fine.

You can test it in advance. It will take longer to clear the water, but likely not much longer, and with minimal extra heating on the pump. Your pump will have a specified "cycle time" maximum, which if exceeded could cause issues. As long as it's not running all the time you should be good to go.

Answer 6

What do you mean a garden hose currently works? Is that what you have connected to a sump pump right now?

Aside from a smaller pipe being more likely to freeze up (that's my guess), you could damage the pump. The pump is designed for a specific discharge pipe size. A smaller pipe can cause back pressure because it can't handle the volume the pump is trying to shove through it. The pump will also run longer each cycle as it will take longer to push the water out. This all adds up to a shorter lifespan of the pump.

My pump uses a 1.5" discharge and runs to the top of my basement ceiling then about 20' out to the back wall then another 10' outside. I'm in Ohio and didn't have any problems last winter with that 10' run outside freezing.

1. I would not recommend using a 3/4" discharge pipe.

2. Shouldn't be an issue running it farther away, but be sure to have the pipe outside the house drop about 1" for every 8-10' I'd say. Also, just because it's 20 degrees outside and the water you see is frozen, the ground water (which is what comes in your basement) stays a constant temperature and won't freeze. I believe the frost line for my area is 3' down.