I woke up to a piercing alarm - the sump pump water level was too high. We figured out the end of the discharge pipe was frozen outside so heated it by inserting a hose spraying hot water. The ice melted but the sump pit didn’t empty. I started trying to empty it with small pails but after 30 mins. the water level in the sump pit seemed to have barely gone down. Any tips on why the manual drain would fail?
Why isn't manually draining my sump pump working?
Users who are viewing this thread
Where does the sump pump drain to?
Does the pump turn on?
Does the pump turn on?
Sponsor
Paid Advertisement
If you drill a 3/16 hole above the pump and below the check valve, that could fix the air lock condition.
Normally you drill such a hole where the bit of water coming out will go into the pit, rather than spraying outside. I don't know if you have the ability to drill a hole under water.
It drains outside of the house farther than 20 feet away. The house's previous owners had propped the end of the discharge pipe up on a rock in the spring during heavy rains, but that proved problematic in the winter with the freezing... (It was tilted upwards instead of downwards.)
The pump can turn on but we unplugged it bc if it's plugged in, the alarm goes off and it's VERY loud. We hoped that if we could manually drain the pit, then we could plug it back in and the alarm wouldn't go off bc the water level would be low.
The pump can turn on but we unplugged it bc if it's plugged in, the alarm goes off and it's VERY loud. We hoped that if we could manually drain the pit, then we could plug it back in and the alarm wouldn't go off bc the water level would be low.
You may be getting ground water that keeps coming in. Also if the drain line doesn't drain out and it's exposed, there could be a lot of ice in it. You might want to use a hair dryer on it, and be careful of catching it on fire. Black ABS burns really well.
