Sump pit hole cut and pump height

[Jason27]

2 things:

First, the previous owner or someone they hired cut a second hole in addition to the drain tile. We do have a very high water table the comes up to about 2” below the bottom of the slab. I think it’s safe to say the basement has never had water and always been dry since there’s no evidence of such and in the 8 years we’ve been here have never had a drop. It’s time for me to change the sump since there’s a bunch of silt in the bottom of the pit and I can hear the pump taking longer to pump than it used to. My first question is, do I want to keep that same pit with the hole cut in it or replace the whole pit. I added a picture. I’m thinking it’s fine, although I do need to add some screen there to keep the silt and rocks from coming in.

Second, the water sits at about 17” high before the pump comes on. With that height will I have to buy a separate adjustable switch to go along with a new pump? I would imagine pumps are set to go on lower that that. Also, once the pump runs, water fills back up to about 14-15” right away, so perhaps I can use the standard pump switch and raise the pump up since the off doesn’t need to be much below the 14” level that the water goes up to with a minute after the pump turns off anyways.

picture: the hole on the left is the drain tile, the right was cut by someone prior to us.

 

[WorthFlorida]

The level depends on the type of float and pump type. Generally the setting is for the high level to turn on for submersibles pumps and both low and high adjustments for pedestal pumps. only the switch that comes with the pump is all that is needed. You may want to look into getting a battery backup pump. Should you lose power from a storm during a heavy rain event, a battery operated pump could save the day.

Don't worry about the high level if it sits just under the slab level. Remember that most of the water is from the perimeter of the foundation, water that runs down the outside walls of the foundation from rain events. It is also spring and water tables increase some. The second hole is no issue nor harm. It could be drainage pipes under the slab or just cut by accident.