Questions tagged [sump]

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Why do we have sump pits?

Why is sump pit built to bring exterior water into basement only do to be pumped away? The basement is dry except where the pit creates a penetration. Why invite exterior water into the basement? The ...
mshore's user avatar
  • 89
1 vote
1 answer
121 views

Basement Flooding / Sump Pump

Basement flooded over the weekend. The same type of flooding has occurred 3 times in the last 6 years. The sump pump was replaced during the first occurrence. However the problem continues to occur. I ...
cls1989's user avatar
  • 19
0 votes
1 answer
27 views

House Has Apron - Sump Pump Goes Out Window - Proper Drain In Wrong Place Still Better?

So my house has a concrete apron, about 20" or so off the house, and then grass. The current sump discharge is out a hole in a plexiglass window. I was going to lay a proper 4" SD pipe out ...
NitrusInc's user avatar
  • 117
0 votes
1 answer
196 views

Why not drill through concrete basement walls?

I live in a climate (Kansas City) that has freezing temperatures a few times each winter, sometimes for several days in a row, and I'm contemplating a project to use my sump pit and air-conditioner ...
Billy's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
0 answers
42 views

Water draining below sump pump drain pipe?

I live in 6 year old home and I noticed today after rain, that the sewer backflow preventer located in basement floor is full of water! Basement floor slab is Bone dry but potentially there is water ...
Maxior's user avatar
  • 1
2 votes
1 answer
216 views

How did a salamander get in my sump pit?

Background/Scope I've lived in my house about 4 years and had a lot of issues with water after heavy rains. The house has some sort of tiling system bringing water to the sump, which keeps the rest of ...
hikarikuen's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
62 views

Standing water in sump pit is stinking up the place

I have a production facility with two connected INTERIOR storm drains and sump pits. These drain to an external storm drain through a oil and sand separator. The problem is we occasionally drain to ...
Kiel vanInwegen's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
282 views

How to fix gutter downspout leaking at Tee?

I have an underground storm drainage pipe that is connected to both my downspout and sump pump drain. The underground drain pipe, the downspout and the sump pump pipe all tie together with a 3" ...
Justin's user avatar
  • 13
0 votes
0 answers
45 views

Inline pump? Split sump? How to separate two water streams in a sump?

I have a 6' deep sump with two pipes coming in. The sump is 3' x 3' at the top and rectangular. A 1.5" pipe has oil contaminated water occasionally. A 4" pipe drains a parking lot, and just ...
Bryce's user avatar
  • 10.7k
-1 votes
1 answer
151 views

Concrete lid in basement-what is it for? [closed]

Does anyone know what this heavy concrete lid is for? It is approximately 2ftx1.5ft. It is 6-7 ft away from my sump pump. I started getting little water leak under the lid and sump pump works fine ...
victor's user avatar
  • 41
2 votes
1 answer
221 views

How do I lift a jammed sump lid?

My sump's lid hasn't been opened since years. I want to open it, and tried pulling it with all the force I could apply but it didn't make any difference. I tied a rope to the handles and pulled the ...
androidguy's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

How to install radon system with sump pit with no incoming drains

We have high radon levels (~10) and I would like to add a mitigation system. There is a sump pit in the basement, but there are no drains flowing into it (i.e. it's getting water directly from floor ...
MathStudent's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
378 views

For my sump pump system, am I correctly calculating Total Dynamic Head? Have to replace both my pump & discharge line

I'm calculating TDH (Total Dynamic Head) for the purpose of replacing my sump pump. I also need to replace the discharge line (pvc + check valve), however, the structure is forcing me to a very ...
JohnX's user avatar
  • 1
-1 votes
1 answer
260 views

Sump Pump Float Setting

My submersible sump runs several times an hour nearly year round. It is backed by a municipal water driven pump. During a recent power outage I noticed the water level stabilized at 1/4” above the the ...
L Robinson's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
78 views

Why is water still collecting in my sump pump after replacing the check valve?

I’ve replaced one of two sump pumps and check valves in my basement. Water still fills the basin. Check valve is holding, it’s transparent so I can see so. Is this just accumulated water beneath the ...
Will's user avatar
  • 21
0 votes
1 answer
287 views

Seasonally High Water Table

We have a small farm, luckily adjacent to an Agricultural Drainage Ditch. Unfortunately the field between our 170 year old farm house, and said ditch either has no tile field, or the tile field has ...
bsd's user avatar
  • 156
0 votes
3 answers
2k views

Sump pump running every 20 seconds, sometimes constantly

I live in a lower spot with a high water table. We still have snow on the ground and we are getting some rain. I've had two occasions in the past couple of weeks where water entering the pit has been ...
Mike's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
0 answers
93 views

How do I secure my sump discharge pipe?

I had about 20' of pipe coming out of the house that gave out after 6 years. I wanted to know what's the best way to secure it in place to keep it secure from movement. I temporarily put two stakes ...
Kermit's user avatar
  • 1,198
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

How to replace a leaking PVC elbow?

The 2" PVC elbow shown in these pictures is leaking at the joint where it connects with a PVC pipe coming through the foundation stem wall at the right. What's the best procedure for replacing ...
Michael's user avatar
  • 411
0 votes
0 answers
96 views

Filling in an old basement ejector pit

Our basement had an old bathroom in one corner that has been removed and there's an old, empty ejector pit that handled the bathroom waste. There is also a nearby sump pit that is functional and will ...
EyePulp's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
60 views

Sump Drainage Options

I seem to have an overactive sump. Last year there was an empty lot next to my house. My builder raised my sump because it was running almost constantly. This year I installed sod and a small sump ...
Michael Miner's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
845 views

Can a sump or pool pump be used in shallow water (less than 3 inches)?

I have an issue with rainfall running into the back of my my property and into my house through patio doors. Would a sump pump start at 2-3 inches of water stopping it from entering my home. When this ...
william kilrain's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

What shouldn’t be dumped into a basement dump sink?

We have a dump sink in the basement that uses a pump system, much like a closed sump-pump, to force the water up into our main drain out of the house. Because the pump system holds a bit of water ...
Jordan's user avatar
  • 31
2 votes
1 answer
248 views

How high to set sump pump switch

So, we live in an area that is pretty wet. Sump pump runs all the time and frequently. Interestingly, heavy rain does not seem to change the amount of flow. It is pretty steady. What I noticed ...
Biff Stevens's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
258 views

Sump Pit Not Holding Water

Moved into a new house built in the 1970's and discovered that the sump pump was not operational. I replaced the sump pump, re-attached everything, and poured water into the dry sump pit to test ...
FirstTimeHomeowner's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
52 views

Sump Pump Set Up

I have two pipes coming from my sump. One sends water outside to an underground pipe. The water is then expelled through a French drain in the yard away from the house. The second pipe comes through ...
Paul's user avatar
  • 1
9 votes
3 answers
8k views

Central Air condensate is pumped into a hole in the basement floor?

I’ve tried to do some research on this topic but am a little confused and would like to know if I’ve got a problem here that I need to remedy. I think I want to install a self-draining dehumidifier in ...
BooleanCheese's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
80 views

Can I extend my sump pump outlet and dig it down in the ground?

I attached an image of what I want, but essentially the water pools 6 feet from the house and ends up creating a swampy area for my dog to run though right out side the door. Can I add a 45 degree and ...
Frank's user avatar
  • 21
3 votes
1 answer
769 views

Sump discharge freezing

I was awoken early this morning by my sump water level alarm going off. After some investigation, I believe that my sump discharge has frozen due to recent low temperatures. I've verified that the ...
cyclops's user avatar
  • 857
0 votes
0 answers
44 views

Is it a problem that the water in my sump pail covers one of the drain openings without tripping the pump float?

We just had a sump pump & trenched drain pipe installed in our basement. Rained all last night. Crock had filled above one of the drain pipe inlets. I manually activated the pump & it emptied ...
Scott S's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
707 views

Sump Pump Minimum Basin Height

I'm looking to replace my sump pump because the last rain storm showed that my sump pump couldn't handle the amount of water. It ran continuously for about an hour or two with the water level still ...
kevindaub's user avatar
  • 291
1 vote
2 answers
75 views

What to do with an old sump well?

I've recently found what appears to be an old sump well on my property. It's been buried by dirt and debris, but once that was cleared I now have a 22.5" diameter hole in the concrete that appears to ...
Greg Johnson's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can I get rid of my sump pump?

My job moved me cross country and we bought a house (3 yrs old) that sits on a hill. It has a walk-out basement and the hill slopes away from there, yet the house was built with basement drainage ...
Luke Patterson's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
5k views

Why did water come up through my basement drain instead of out the sump?

I recently moved into a home in Illinois that has a basement. I’m coming from Arizona and have never had a basement or actually knew about sump pumps until I started searching for a home. Me and my ...
Dan Khamis's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Filling an outdoor drain with concrete to reduce standing water

I have a semi-outdoor drain that looks like this (I have removed the grate): The container of the drain is plastic, and there is a good 6 inches from the bottom of the drain to the pipe where the ...
Nacht's user avatar
  • 133
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Water coming in below sump pit corrugated pipe! Is this normal?

I have water coming in from around the inlet pipe in my sump pit. I dont think i ever noticed it before. I live in Illinois and the house was built in 2001.
ray castellano's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
389 views

Is channel in basement standard design?

Determined this is a 4 inch slab on top of original slab. Possibly with internal drainage channels from center of basement to edge, where it runs to pictured channel and sump pump. House has channel ...
House DiY's user avatar
  • 349
0 votes
2 answers
94 views

Sump Discharge Carry

I'm trying to figure out the best way (and materials) to carry the sump pump discharge water away so it no longer creates a cesspool beside my garage. When we moved in 6+ years ago there were old ...
NWNJ's user avatar
  • 1
3 votes
2 answers
676 views

Why does water appear just below my basement slab in one location and not another?

We recently purchased a house and inherited a "5 gallon lowes bucket shoved into a hole with gravel" sump pit. It sits approximately halfway across the width of our basement. There is consistently ...
David's user avatar
  • 31
-1 votes
3 answers
465 views

Sump pump running almost constantly under bedroom

I just bought a house and had it inspected before buying. The inspector was very thorough: down to the bolts on the door locks locks. He went into every nook and cranny. He took pictures all over ...
walter westinghouse's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
49 views

Sump pump stops working

I purchased and installed a Zoeller some pump approximately five weeks ago. It worked great for one month and not a drop of water the basement. It has recently stopped working in the evenings and end ...
Bruce's user avatar
  • 1
1 vote
1 answer
4k views

Is use of a deep cycle marine battery indoors safe?

I have a backup sump pump, a 12V "Basement Watchdog". However, immediately after installing it, I found the battery was basically dead. Not wanting to buy a very expensive replacement battery, I got ...
Gorchestopher H's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

French drain lower than sump pump?

Bear with me - this will take a long explanation before I get to the actual question. I’ll try to be brief. I have a damp, moldy basement. I had an interior French drain and 2 sump pumps installed ...
Mike Rice's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Is it common to not find water when digging a sump pit in a basement?

Quick background on my situation. We bought our house 23 years ago and the basement was partially finished. Over the years we've had issues with water in the basement during strong/prolonged rains. ...
Aaron's user avatar
  • 21
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is it advisable to connect a sump pump to pop-up sprinkler heads?

My home doesn't offer a great place to eject sump water due to a very level landscape. I'm thinking of adding 3-5 standard pop-up sprinkler heads to the output line. This would allow better ...
isherwood's user avatar
  • 129k