Sump pump questions

With your 24x30 pit, you will have 1.96" of water per every 1" in basin depth, the 1/3 hp zoeller pump is the model M53 and most of these models have a preset switch on the unit which is set at 7 1/4" on and off at 3". So basically what the pump is pumping is approximately 8 gallons of water every time it comes on, which should be rather quickly, say a few seconds of run time.

Now, if your pump has some type of piggyback switch then of course it is going to take longer to pump out. But, you need to make sure you have a 3/16" weep hole drilled into the discharge pipe to make sure the pump does not become air locked, and if this hole is not there already it could possibly make the pump prime itself longer, and thats why the pump is running for ten minutes, trying to get rid of the air first. Easy way to check is when the pump is pumping out the water, there should a small stream of water coming out of the side of the discharge pipe inside your pit.

At 15' of head the M53 model pump is going to pump out 19 GPM. Now the shut off head on this pump is at 19' and if you're at this head for the pump, then of course the GPM is going to go down considerably.

Hi

Well, I found out the pit is only 18 x 25" . The entire cycle is 10 minutes pumping and then about 20 minutes silent. We can fill up a 5 gallon container in 12 seconds. The water level of the pit only goes down 3-4 inches when it pumps.
I believe we are pumping at a rate of approximately 250 gallons per cycle or 12,000 gallons a day. There always remains about 20 inches of water in the pit and then it fills again within 20 minutes.
We are working on some very good advice now in regards to a drains or dual pump system with back up gas generator. It really is imperative that basement stay dry so we are willing to look into every possible way.
I don't think the check valve is air locked. We do have a vent hole in place and it hisses and shoots water like crazy.
Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.

Hmm,...

Just checked with my DH. He's not sure about the weep hole. Thanks for the info. We'll check it out.

Gellia - I have a similar but not as bad of an issue with our sump. Ours becomes a real issue when we get a few inches of rain. The problem with the battery backups is that the batteries don't last all that long. I've now gone through 3 deep cycle batteries in about 3 years. If you have the money to spend my recommendation (not a professional one) would be either the whole house or pump dedicated generator.

Also call your local water authority and explain the issue you are having. I had a great deal of success with mine. They came out and tested the water to determine if it was city water or from a spring. They also looked at the original grading plans that the builder had to submit to see if something had been changed.

Good luck with the realtor. They are not the "experts" you think they are.

Mike

Gellia said:

Well, I found out the pit is only 18 x 25" . The entire cycle is 10 minutes pumping and then about 20 minutes silent. We can fill up a 5 gallon container in 12 seconds. The water level of the pit only goes down 3-4 inches when it pumps.
I believe we are pumping at a rate of approximately 250 gallons per cycle or 12,000 gallons a day. There always remains about 20 inches of water in the pit and then it fills again within 20 minutes.
We are working on some very good advice now in regards to a drains or dual pump system with back up gas generator. It really is imperative that basement stay dry so we are willing to look into every possible way.
I don't think the check valve is air locked. We do have a vent hole in place and it hisses and shoots water like crazy.
Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.

Click to expand...

Your sump is 18" diam and 25" deep? There's always 20" of water in the pit?
Has anyone caught this?
First you need to get the pump down to about 6" from the bottom of that pit not 20"

If there was always 20" of water in a 25" pit that means you only have 5" of room left in the pit before it overflows, this can't be the right information we are receiving here.

I realize I am resurrecting an OLD post here, but I just wanted to see if she had any updates to her situation and how it was resolved?