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  #1  
Old 06-12-2007, 02:32 PM
God of all things Harley
 
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Sump pump questions

I recently sold my house and bought another that has a sump pit and pump. This is new to me.....I've never owened a house with a pit and pump and have a few questions. Keep in mind we haven't had any significant rainfall in a month. My pit fills every 15-20 minutes with clean clear water, no muddy stuff, and then empties. After talking to my neighbor who lives 50 feet beside me on the same elevation I discovered that their pit is almost always dry and currently has no water in it.....the same goes for my other neighbors. Do I have an issue? Maybe a leak in the water line from the street to the indoor meter? Just a FYI, I live in town on a hill with no low wet areas. Any ideas on this matter would be great!!!

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  #2  
Old 06-12-2007, 02:37 PM
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if you suspect your water main .. monitor your water bill

you live up north so maybe your sitting on an aquifer(dp)
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  #3  
Old 06-12-2007, 02:49 PM
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Yes, wouldn't a comparison of the metter reading inside your house with the one at the street give you a good idea of a leak of that size?
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Old 06-12-2007, 03:03 PM
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20 Feet can be a huge difference if a water vein is near your house it will fill, his tile maybe draining or seeping elsewhere. I live in the sump pump capital of the world so let me know if you need any other advice.

the real trick is to make sure you have a back up sump pump because the ALWAYS fail sometimes months sometimes years,,,,like the Oil Pressure guage on a W124, it just a matter of time.
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  #5  
Old 06-12-2007, 03:43 PM
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You're probably on top of an aquifer or vein but monitoring your water bill wouldn't hurt.

If your pump is an AC unit it's not a bad idea to rig up a 12V battery/trickle charger/DC to AC converter to plug it into since oftentimes heavy rainfall coincides with the loss of power.
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Old 06-12-2007, 03:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dee8go View Post
Yes, wouldn't a comparison of the metter reading inside your house with the one at the street give you a good idea of a leak of that size?
If I pop the cap off at the sidewalk is there a meter inside? If so, should that reading match the one for the inside meter?
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Old 06-12-2007, 03:47 PM
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their usually is a meter on the ones outside down here...
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  #8  
Old 06-12-2007, 03:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Howitzer View Post
20 Feet can be a huge difference if a water vein is near your house it will fill, his tile maybe draining or seeping elsewhere. I live in the sump pump capital of the world so let me know if you need any other advice.

the real trick is to make sure you have a back up sump pump because the ALWAYS fail sometimes months sometimes years,,,,like the Oil Pressure guage on a W124, it just a matter of time.
Howitzer, any advice on a backup pump brand or type? Also, my pit is sealed with a plastic top, caulked around the edges and it has a clear window on top for viewing the interior. Is this a standard setup? If it is completely sealed will it leak if the power fails or will the water go elswhere? I'm thinking of pulling the plug tonight to let the pit fill and see what happens.....good idea or not?
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Old 06-12-2007, 03:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDon View Post
their usually is a meter on the ones outside down here...
I'll check it out tonight.
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Old 06-12-2007, 03:54 PM
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Originally Posted by hdexpert View Post
If I pop the cap off at the sidewalk is there a meter inside? If so, should that reading match the one for the inside meter?
My house has a meter at the tap on the main and at the main shut off valve in the basement. Presumably they will both read the same if there is no leak. If your sump is running that much, I would think it would show up in a comparison of the two meters.

I'm not a plumbing expert, but I sometimes pretend to be.
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  #11  
Old 06-12-2007, 03:58 PM
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It is not a leaking water main if it were water would be bubbling out of the ground. Personally the best sump pumps are the submersable with the upright as a back-up.

A back up pump with battery power is the key.
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Old 06-12-2007, 03:59 PM
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More later gotta golf.
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  #13  
Old 06-12-2007, 04:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hdexpert View Post
Howitzer, any advice on a backup pump brand or type? Also, my pit is sealed with a plastic top, caulked around the edges and it has a clear window on top for viewing the interior. Is this a standard setup? If it is completely sealed will it leak if the power fails or will the water go elswhere?
When my Radon mitigation system was installed, part of the process was to install a sealed sump pit cover like you described: a viewing port in the top and sealed around the edge.

If the pump fails, water will continue to accumulate until it finds the path of least resistance, which would probably be the caulking around the edge of the sump pit cover.

As far as back-up sump pumps, I use the Basement WatchDog "Big Dog". This has a 12 volt battery to provide pumping in the event of power failure, but the pump can also run off 120 volts if the power has not failed. I find this feature important because if the main pump fails (as in jams or burns out), you are not running down the battery while 120 volts is still available.

http://www.basementwatchdog.com/basement_watchdog_bigdog.htm

Last edited by thorsen; 06-12-2007 at 04:11 PM. Reason: Forgot link
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  #14  
Old 06-12-2007, 04:15 PM
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I have my HVAC units in the basement and the evaporator drainage goes into a small sump for each unit that pumps up into a drain. It sounds like your sump is processing more water than can be attributed to A/C condensate (unless you have a big house and it's really humid) though so this probably isn't the case but just a thought. Is there anything else in the house that might drain there? I guess I'm steering the opposite direction from the other posters in thinking that it's not coming from the ground.
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  #15  
Old 06-12-2007, 04:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cjlipps View Post
I have my HVAC units in the basement and the evaporator drainage goes into a small sump for each unit that pumps up into a drain. It sounds like your sump is processing more water than can be attributed to A/C condensate (unless you have a big house and it's really humid) though so this probably isn't the case but just a thought. Is there anything else in the house that might drain there? I guess I'm steering the opposite direction from the other posters in thinking that it's not coming from the ground.
The AC has been off for days so that can't be it. The house doesn't have any internal leaks so I'm leaning towards the aquafer or underground spring. I wonder if there is a way to divert this away from the house. I'm thinking of having a company come out that detects water without having to dig. Anyone here ever use this type of service?

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