Sump pump running often
 

Hi,

I noticed that the sump pump in my house seems to be running every 1.5 hrs
even when there is no rain. When I checked the sump, I found that there
seemed to be some flow into the sump from one of the two pipes draining
into it. How can I find out where the water is getting drained from?

Any help is appreciated.

In article ,
R Kannan wrote:
Hi,

I noticed that the sump pump in my house seems to be running every 1.5 hrs
even when there is no rain. When I checked the sump, I found that there
seemed to be some flow into the sump from one of the two pipes draining
into it. How can I find out where the water is getting drained from?

Follow the pipe and see where its coming from.

--
Rich Greenberg N6LRT Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time zone. I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L

Rich Greenberg wrote:

In article ,
R Kannan wrote:
Hi,

I noticed that the sump pump in my house seems to be running every 1.5 hrs
even when there is no rain. When I checked the sump, I found that there
seemed to be some flow into the sump from one of the two pipes draining
into it. How can I find out where the water is getting drained from?

Follow the pipe and see where its coming from.

The pipe runs under the basement floor. How do I follow it?

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 17:50:40 -0500, R Kannan
wrote:

I noticed that the sump pump in my house seems to be running every 1.5 hrs
even when there is no rain. When I checked the sump, I found that there
seemed to be some flow into the sump from one of the two pipes draining
into it. How can I find out where the water is getting drained from?

Hook up your garden hose to the pipe and (carefully) turn the water
on. Listen for water flow to see if you can determine where the water
is going. It should be going into a drain pipe higher up in the
basement or ceiling.That's the only thing that comes to my mind....

Do you have any other drains that seem restricted or are backing up?
If a drain pipe is restricted the water can back up through your sump
drain.

Good luck on this one. You may end up calling a plumber. Or get some
enzymatic drain cleaner intended for septic treatment and treat all
your drains for a few weeks to see if the problem goes away.

John



John Davies TLCA 14732
http://home.comcast.net/~johnedavies/
'96 Lexus LX450
'00 Audi A4 1.8T quattro
Spokane WA USA

John Davies wrote:

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 17:50:40 -0500, R Kannan
wrote:

I noticed that the sump pump in my house seems to be running every 1.5 hrs
even when there is no rain. When I checked the sump, I found that there
seemed to be some flow into the sump from one of the two pipes draining
into it. How can I find out where the water is getting drained from?

Hook up your garden hose to the pipe and (carefully) turn the water
on. Listen for water flow to see if you can determine where the water
is going. It should be going into a drain pipe higher up in the
basement or ceiling.That's the only thing that comes to my mind....

Do you have any other drains that seem restricted or are backing up?
If a drain pipe is restricted the water can back up through your sump
drain.

Good luck on this one. You may end up calling a plumber. Or get some
enzymatic drain cleaner intended for septic treatment and treat all
your drains for a few weeks to see if the problem goes away.

John

I do have one slow drain but I thought the clog was local (in the trap may
be) but I would look into it. Thanks.

I thought the sump collects ground water around the basement walls, Is there
an overflow mechanism that allows backed up drain water to collect in the
sump. The water is collecting very slowly (not at the pace you would expect
if a drain water is flowing in). Also, should'nt shutting off all water
stop the flow? I am not sure if it does that.




John Davies TLCA 14732
http://home.comcast.net/~johnedavies/
'96 Lexus LX450
'00 Audi A4 1.8T quattro
Spokane WA USA

R Kannan wrote in message ...
Hi,

I noticed that the sump pump in my house seems to be running every 1.5 hrs
even when there is no rain. When I checked the sump, I found that there
seemed to be some flow into the sump from one of the two pipes draining
into it. How can I find out where the water is getting drained from?

Any help is appreciated.

Couple of things come to mind from your post. Type of soil, location
of home in reference to other homes, proper water drainage away from
foundation, high water table, short-cycling the disharge water back to
foundation wall, check valve on discharge pipe.

Jim Erickson wrote:

R Kannan wrote in message
...
Hi,

I noticed that the sump pump in my house seems to be running every 1.5
hrs even when there is no rain. When I checked the sump, I found that
there seemed to be some flow into the sump from one of the two pipes
draining into it. How can I find out where the water is getting drained
from?

Any help is appreciated.

Couple of things come to mind from your post. Type of soil, location
of home in reference to other homes, proper water drainage away from
foundation, high water table, short-cycling the disharge water back to
foundation wall, check valve on discharge pipe.

Thanks for your help.

The soil is clay probably holding up more water. The home is NOT at a lower
level compared to the nearby houses.There is a gradual slope down of the
grade away from the house. I checked the sump pump discharge which is to
wetlands about 70 ft away from the foundation wall.

There are two pipes leading into the sump both buried under the basement
floor. Only one of them seems to be slowly discharging into the sump.

In article ,
R Kannan wrote:
Rich Greenberg wrote:

In article ,
R Kannan wrote:
Hi,

I noticed that the sump pump in my house seems to be running every 1.5 hrs
even when there is no rain. When I checked the sump, I found that there
seemed to be some flow into the sump from one of the two pipes draining
into it. How can I find out where the water is getting drained from?

Follow the pipe and see where its coming from.

The pipe runs under the basement floor. How do I follow it?

You could plug the basement end and see where water starts appearing.
(Written with tongue firmly in cheek.) :-)

--
Rich Greenberg N6LRT Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time zone. I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L

Sounds like you bought my old house! The pipe on my old house that almost
always had some type of discharge into sump was from a perimeter french
drain system. There was a lot of water that would accumulate in a swale next
to the house (About 10' from foundation) and when it became heavily
saturated it would seep into the ground under the crawlspace, into the
french drain and into the sump where the pump would continue it on its way
to the street.

Its probably no use in tracing the pipe. I would check to make sure your
downspouts extend as far from the house as feasible, make sure your ground
slopes away from you house an not towards it and that you have no low spots
with standing water in them within 15' of your house.

All of this may not keep the water from coming into the sump. You must
ensure your pump doesn't fail or you will end up with a flooded basement.
You may want to consider a battery backup and having a second pump available
as a standby (Because of course Home Depot WILL be closed when you pump
dies). I know, it happened to me.

"R Kannan" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I noticed that the sump pump in my house seems to be running every 1.5 hrs
even when there is no rain. When I checked the sump, I found that there
seemed to be some flow into the sump from one of the two pipes draining
into it. How can I find out where the water is getting drained from?

Any help is appreciated.