HELP!! How long can I leave on a utility water pump?

Hello-

My Sump pump went down yesterday, and because we have a lot of water coming into our sump pit, I bought a flotec auto-sense water pump that worked for about 24 hours. I replaced that with a simer classic 2300 utility water pump. It continues to suck up water, but is not an auto-sense pump. I'm concerned about it burning out if I attempt to leave it running all night. Is this something to be concerned about, or am I worrying too much? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-E

Are you saying the Flotec only lasted for 24 hours? How long can you go with no pump? I'm not familair with the Simer but I think many submersibles rely on spending some of their time under water so they can be cooled. How hot is the motor to the touch? Can you rig up a garden hose to spray a bit of water on the motor?

My sump pit can usually go at least 4 hours without being pumped. I keep a spare pump on hand and I have a high water alarm on the sump pit.

I would think the utility pumps would need to be under water to stay cool. Lesson learned should be 1) get a good quality back up in the crock, 2) avoid simer and flotec in the future