Sump pit fills and stops at a certain point

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esmollin

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Hello,

Regardless of the weather, my sump pit always seems to fill to a certain spot (right above the drainage pipes) and stop. I have been in my place for about 7 years, and I have never had any water leaking problems in my basement. If I have my sump turned on, it will drain the water about every 20 minutes. But if I turn the pump off, the water fills up to that spot and stops. It never gets higher, and I never see any water in my basement. Does anyone know what can cause this? Should I be concerned?

Thanks.
 

Waterwelldude

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If it fills to a certain point and stops. It sounds like the water level in the ground is at the same level you see in the sump. That would explain the water stopping at a certain point in the pit and not getting any deeper.

If it rains, does it get any higher?


Travis
 

esmollin

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Yes, when it rains the water fills up more frequently, and reaches a higher point in the pit.

If the water level is causing it to fill up all the time, would it be safe to raise the sump by placing it on a layer of bricks or a cinder block? The sump I have does not have an adjustable float...

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Waterwelldude

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It would depend on how much room is left in the sump.
How fast the water does rise when it rains, can the pump keep up with the income of water?
If the pump can keep up or out runs the water.

I would give it a try.
Without seeing what exactly you have, all I can say is try it and see if it will work for you.

If you raise it, you may want to keep an eye on and make sure it is going to work like you want. (not over flow)


Travis
 

esmollin

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Thanks for the info. There is still a lot of room in the pit at the point where it stops filling up (about a half foot). And the pump seems to handle the water with out any problems when it rains and the pit fills up faster. I will try to raise it a few inches and see what happens. Thanks again.
 

Cacher_Chick

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I did the same thing with mine after observing it carefully for some time. When the water table came up, the pump ran constantly as it was pumping off the top of the water table. Setting it on a 3 in block stopped it from running nearly as much.
A side benefit is that it also allows any debris that gets into the pit to settle around the deeper outer edges instead of getting sucked into the pump. I pull everything out of the pit and clean it when it has dried up during the summer.

Remember that a basement floor slab is 3-4 inches thick. You do not want to allow the water level to ever get up to the bottom of the slab.
 

kwh8c

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Why is it bad for the water level to rise to the level of the slab? Do you mean the bottom of the slab or when the well spills over? My pump was running every 90seconds. I then allowed the water in the well to rise and about 4" from the lip of the well the water stopped rising and has been steady ever since. I am not on a spring as the well dries out when there is no rain. We just had a storm 2 days ago so there is water in the ground but I am assuming that I have reached the level of the water table in my well. Is it bad to allow the water to spread out under the slab?
 
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