Paul Oman wrote:
my sump pump is in an earthen pit and ground water seeps in causing the
electronic float switch to cycle on and off about every 90 seconds. I am
looking for a delay off switch that would delay the pump from turning
off for 10 or 15 seconds so that the of-off cycling would be greatly
reduced. Cannot find such a 'delay' switch / electrical plug. Any ideas?

paul

Fwiw ... the switch on my pump is contained in a plastic ball (I'll
call it) that's attached to the pump by its electrical wiring. The
length of that wire can be used to provide what I learned in electrical
engineering as hysterisis. Or, the switch goes on when the ball thingy
(another technical term) is say a foot above the pump, and goes off
when the ball is horizontal when tha foot of water has been pumped out.


So you might look into that type of switch. Now, a buddy years ago
built from scratch a switch that triggered a "one-shot" to turn the
pump on via a relay at the water high level, and another switch that
via the "one-shot" turned the pump off at the water low level. The
range of the water depth for that type of solution is unlimited ... but
not certified :-)

So what happens if the pump is turned off? By that I mean there is a
level that water rises to in my sump well, and then stays there ...
until a heavy downpour, spring thaw. Or, I don't keep the well dry, I
just keep it from overflowing onto the floor.

I've driven through the country, and I've seen areas that flood every
spring, and I've seen houses being built there ... and I've seen the
gas powred pumps runnning out in the yard the next spring ... big
mistake imo ... unless the whole area is properly drained.

Ever considered a basement fish pond?