I noticed some damp patches and mold in our basement recently after some heavy rain so I opened the sump pump lid. When I opened the lid, the water level was at a very high level:
However, immediately after opening the lid, the pump turned on for about a minute and the water level dropped by about a foot and a half:
(The white pipe is the dehumidifier exhaust.)
I tried this a couple more times over the next day and the same thing happened. I asked two plumbers about this. The first said that the float on my sump pump is getting caught and only releases when I opens the lid. The second said the sump pump is working as it's supposed to and the float needs to be fully upside down before it turns on. They both said replacing the sump pump with a different model (both mentioned the Zoeller M57) would make it turn on at a lower water level. But the second cautioned this would mean the sump pump would run much more often.
My questions are:
- Is the sump pump float working correctly?
- Should I should replace the sump pump with the different model?
Thanks!