"Don Phillipson" writes:

It is no trouble to check. Just remove the sump
cover (desirable to stop children playing in the water)
and if there is any water there jiggle the float switch.
If the pump is OK it will run briefly.

I have an interesting/sad/morbidly amusing sump related story from my
childhood....

We had hamsters that had a cage in the basement. They had babies, and
there were maybe 7 or 8 of various sizes in there at the time. The
crafty little *******s escaped their cage one day, and I didn't find
out for maybe 36 hours.

The thing I learned from a vet regarding hamsters though--they can
smell water, and seek it out when thirsty.

Well, that's the day I fished a number of drowned hamsters out of the
sumps. *sigh* Poor buggers. At least the cat didn't pay them a
visit. I felt terrible.

So, rodent owners--consider sealing the pit if you'll be keeping your
rodent pets on the same level as the sump.

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/