Sump pump pit water level --- problem - Page 2 - DIY Chatroom

coocoobe101 · 11-03-2009, 12:14 AM

its a good idea to have some water in your pit--
you never want to suck out the crap thats there at the bottom--
i have seen many pumps have their impellers stuck--
from a rock or other solid object--
i recommend installing it on a 3inch high brick about 9inches wide
make sure the vibration from the pump--
does not move off of the brick--thats what you want to do--

coocoobe101 · 11-03-2009, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by de12

Should the sump pump pit always contain certain level water? I noticed that the sump pump pit has water always keep the same doesn't matter how often the sump pump pump out the water. Even there is no rain, the sump pump is still keep pump out the water in every minute. But if I turn the power off to stop the sump pump running, the water level in the pit seems increase slowly (maybe fill up the pit about two day). I have a "SSP-1000 1HP sump pump w/microswitch" installed and there is no way to adjust the switch.

Should I worry about it? Anyone have any idea or suggestion? Thanks in advance.

answer:there is a water table under everyones home--
if you have a high water table under your home--
water will come into your drain tile and still fill the pit--
in my experience it happens when your home is the low one--
in your block or in the area--thats why it is always good to be on a hill--that way your neighbor will get the water--and you wont--
another reason is that the grading of dirt or grass outside your house is tilting toward your house--it should tilt away from your house--that also applys to your water coming off your gutters-always get water at least 10 feet away from the house

Daniel Holzman · 11-03-2009, 07:39 AM

The turn on level for your pump may be set as close as 4 inches to the bottom of the slab. Most people set the float to turn the pump on when the water is about 6 inches from the bottom of the slab. The pump turns off when the water has dropped about 8 or 10 inches from the high water level. For an 18 inch deep sump (pretty common), the pump turns on about 12 or 14 inches above the floor, and turns off about 4 inches above the floor. The set points are adjusted by setting the float switch appropriately, I have never seen a non-adjustable float switch, but it sounds like one of the posters had one, so I guess they exist. The key point is that you should never run the pump dry (previously noted), and there is no need to keep pumping if the static water level will not rise any closer than 4 inches to the slab. Pumping costs you money in terms of electricity and wear on your pump, no need to do it unnecessarily.

AllanJ · 11-03-2009, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by handy man88

You probably want to keep the water below the drain tile.

I'm not convinced yet.

The perimeter drain system and sump pump create an artificial water table under the house that is lower than the natural water table. If the natural water table is above basement floor level then the system must do this.

If during dry weather the pit sits partially full then the natural water table is below floor level but could be above drain tile level while the pump sits idle. You can optionally set the pump to come on at lower levels and create an artificial water table below drain tile level but here the pump will be working more of the time.

As far as dampness in the basement caused by water slowly evaporating from the pit goes, the same amount of evaporation takes place whether the water is 4 inches deep or 24 inches deep.

emre · 11-03-2009, 07:40 PM

I have never seen water coming from the drain tile pipes. The water is coming quickly from the bottom of the pit which apparently has holes. I can see some bubbling at the surface of the water while it is going up. The rise will slow at about 10", and eventually stop at 13" right below the drain tile pipes.

This happens when we get rain, the sump pump will cycle about 4 times in a minute. Otherwise, depending on the season, it could cycle anywhere from couple times in an hour to far apart in a week in dry conditions.

I don't mind having water in the pit at 13" instead of 3". My concern is the hydrostatic pressure and the damage that would result to the slab or the footing of the house. I have also seen in another house moisture at the joint of the slab and foundation walls from having a sump pump set too high.

It sounds like that it might be fine let the water rise half way in the pit, at about 12" from the bottom of the pit, that would leave the water below the drain tile pipes and at 12" from the top of the pit.

handy man88 · 11-03-2009, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coocoobe101

its a good idea to have some water in your pit--
you never want to suck out the crap thats there at the bottom--
i have seen many pumps have their impellers stuck--
from a rock or other solid object--
i recommend installing it on a 3inch high brick about 9inches wide
make sure the vibration from the pump--
does not move off of the brick--thats what you want to do--

The inlets to the pump are typically at least 1" off the ground.

Elevating your pump is generally restricted by the height at which your float initiates your pump. This is especially important if you have a tethered float vice a vertical float.

AllanJ · 11-04-2009, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emre

I don't mind having water in the pit at 13" instead of 3". My concern is the hydrostatic pressure and the damage that would result to the slab or the footing of the house. I have also seen in another house moisture at the joint of the slab and foundation walls from having a sump pump set too high..

The water table in dirt may be different from the water table in air (the water level in the pit) due to capillary action (wicking). So in that other house, the pit level might have to be maintained several inches below floor level to avoid seeing moisture at floor level elsewhere in the basement.

Also depending on the kind of dirt (clay, sand, etc.) the water table could be higher at one end of the house compared with the other. This may require running the sump pump more to depress the water table in the vicinity of the pit and hope the water table at the other end of the house goes down far enough too.

coocoobe101 · 11-04-2009, 01:14 PM

hi--water seems to always be a problem no matter where you live--
in its simplest terms--water should be routed as far away from your home as possible---builders have used drain tile to route
water into your sump pump basin from around the house--
it is then re-routed to a location as far from the house as you can
with a sump pump-- as for how much water should be left in the basin is not a big deal--common sense rules-there are a few things you can do to slow down this process----proper soil grading around your house
should be angled at 20-30 degrees going away from your house--
having enough down spouts to handle rain flow is a good idea--
down spouts should be routed into drain tile and exited as far from the house as possible--again get the water around your home
OUT--OUT--OUT as far as you can--

AllanJ · 11-04-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coocoobe101

... down spouts should be routed into drain tile and exited as far from the house as possible----

But not into the same drain tile runs that feed into the sump pump pit (the sump) relying on the pump to get the water up and away.

coocoobe101 · 11-04-2009, 11:52 PM

hi allan
you are absolutely correct
separate drain beginning at the downspout running away from the house
i guess i should have been more specific
i just worked at a house in which one corner downspout was connected outside and joined to the sump pump discharge line--and 4" draintile carried the water away from the house--the old 2 in 1-----Artie