My sump pump is running every 2 minutes & 7 seconds.

[The Bug House]

Just timed it.

It's pouring into the hole like a water fall!

[swohiodave]

is it back feeding? I just replaced both of mine and the check valve was bad in both of them!

[stevebeilgard]

sounds like a bunch of water. i hope you have a backup.

[TBow]

Anybody use a 12 volt backup pump that's set to automatically run in the event of an AC power outage or prime pump failure?

If so, do you just use a boat 12 volt bilge pump, or what? How many GPH does it pump and how much of a head do you have to pump (ie: 3 ft; 8 ft?) to exit the basement?

TBow

[woolybear]

Just timed it.

It's pouring into the hole like a water fall!

Lol- used to get service calls for that all the time. A lot of folks just get scared at the sound of their pump kicking on that often but sounds like you have plenty of recovery time yet.

My best advice is to unplug it for about 2 min 15sec in this case and enjoy the additional silence. As the water rises over the sump pit, the noise of the pump running once you plug it back in will sound like heaven sent music from angels harp strings.:angel1:

[Shaun_300]

That's a lot of water! We usually get a lot year round too and spring is the worst time. Last year the pump failed and filled the basement with about 3 inches of water, ruined the walls and everything. We did a total renovation downstairs and now have the 12V battery backup that sits slightly higher in the hole than the 110V does in case it fails or the power goes out. Has a small trickle charger hooked up to it to keep the big deep cycle marine battery topped off and ready for power failure.

[The Bug House]

is it back feeding? I just replaced both of mine and the check valve was bad in both of them!

Just a bit....but it's more than it used to, I bet the check valve is indeed on it's way out.

It's pretty typical this time of year, some of my neighbors have very wet basements. The previous owners of my house raised the floor with 4" of polished cement, and installed the sump pump. I have a 12v backup, just a manual set up.

Edited March 13, 2011 by The Bug House

[NS whitetail]

I am very lucky, I've never had a drop of water in my basement.

[LETMGROW]

Do I feel your pain???

I have fought the water in basement since I built my house in 1975. When the floor was poured we put in an 8" sump hole using chimney blocks which were built up three blocks [ 24" ] above the floor level. I installed a small 1/2 hp pump with a switch made onto it and thought I was good to go. The sump hole was fed by a 4" pipe which went all around the footer and came under the footer into the sump hole. My intent was if water came into the sump hole I would put a flexible pipe out the window and let the water pump out. Water came in alright. It overcame the pump and rose above the blocks and spilled out onto the floor. Hooked up another pump and barely kept up with the water coming in. I still had 2" of water on the floor.

I put a piece of plywood over the blocks to stop the water comong over. Big mistake! I had cut a 4x4 and lodged it between the plywood cover and a floor joice. In a matter of a few minutes the hydraulic pressure built to the point it pushed the plywood up and lifted the house up off the cellar wall. Another gusher!

The following summer I cut the cellar floor out 4'x6', formed it up and poured concrete to build a new larger sump hole. I still had the 4" line coming into it. After installing 2 pumps and putting lines permanently through the cellar wall I thought I was good to go. Wrong answer! The following spring the neighbor across the road called the county highway department because the water which usually ran across his property and through a pipe under the road in front of my house had become plugged with slush and ice. This is a 30" pipe or sluiceway. The county Hwy. dept. came out and dug out the ends of the pipe. When they did they piled the snow etc. next to the opening on the side where the water had to go to run off. My whole front lawn became flooded and I ended up with 44" of water in my cellar. The pressure under the floor cracked the floor from the front wall to the rear wall, lifted the floor about 4" and it looked like a geyser down there. Of course the hwy. dept. wouldn't accept blame for any of this and I was told to deduct any losses I incurred off my income taxes. Big deal!

Next year the floor had settled back down. I drilled several holes in it to relieve the pressure and put 600' of plastic pipe from corner to corner and front to back to lead into a new sump hole 2'x2' which I had cut out and formed up sealing it up from outside water. I strapped the pipe down to the floor with cable straps and secured them with Ramsets. I then covered the floor with 4" of #2 stone and poured a new 4" concrete floor cap over the stone. I was very lucky I built the cellar 13 blocks high to begin with. No head room problems.

Now I have 3 pumps [ 2" discharge 3/4 HP ] in the 4'x6' hole and 1- 1/2 HP pump in the other hole. I also keep 2 pumps handy for backup. I also ran a 4" sewage pipe through the cellar wall which connects to 265" of drain pipe which is underground and goes to the lowest point in my back yard. I have check valves on all the pumps. Not the cheap plastic junk either. Solid brass! Good to go? Almost!

As long as we don't have a power failure I'm OK. In case I do, I have 2 6500 watt generators to power the house and pumps. I also have a back up 5500 watt gen. just in case

All 3 pumps in the main sump hole have whip type level switches. They are set at levels which will allow 1 or 2 or 3 pumps to run as required. As I type this I have one pump which has not shut off for several days and one which cycles on and off every few minutes.

Good to go!

Lynn