sump pump constantly running

Hi,

We just moved into a new house six months ago, brand-new construction. We live in an area with a high-water table and were told that water could be a problem from other neighbors. Well, we had two sumps put in, one a battery backup. When it rains, our primary pump will run as often as every 30 seconds for several days until it eventually shuts off and gets all the water out. This seems extremely abnormal to me, but I'm not a plumber. The builder just says, well be glad it's working and you have the backup. The weird thing is that the houses on either side of us, run only like every 15 minutes, and the same with the house across the street. I'm not sure what would be different about our house that we're having these issues. We're considering sinking our down spouts out to the street, as well as the sump output line, to get that water away from the foundation. I also bought a portable generator and another backup utility pump. Has anyone run into situations like this and what could be my options or reasons why our pump is running so often and our neighbors isn't?

I do hear a lot of water running back down the pipe after sump runs, even though there is a check valve on the pipe. Isn't that supposed to keep water from running back into the pit? What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Thanks for the help!

Running the lines like you want to do will help and you will know how much after it is done if the frequency of the pumps cycle time drops.

You need to check with the local municipality to see if you are allowed to do that. Some towns/citys do not allow it.

But, is every 30 seconds ridiculous, or it is just me? How long should a pump last and at this rate of use, will it burn out much faster?

There is no telling how long the switch or motor will last. It goes on and off based on the water flow rate. You could be sitting on a spring.
Does the pump dump out as soon as it leaves the house or does it piped away from the house?

I would make the changes you suggested and see what happens.

You need to make some measurements so you can get some help here that is not based on guesses.

1. Open the sump and measure how big it is (diameter or rectangular dimensions) and the depth of the pit from the floor.
2. Measure the height from floor to water when the pump starts and when it stops.
3. Measure how long the pump runs in seconds between start and stop
4. Measure how long the cycle is from one start to the next start.
5. Measure how long it takes (seconds) to fill a 5 gallon bucket when running so we can figure out the gallons per minute.
6. What are the make and model number of the pump so we can figure out what it is supposed to be pumping?
7. What size pipe or hose is discharging the water?
8. How high is the end of the discharge pipe above the water level in the sump?