I had the same problem in the previous house, I also bought a Hypo
pump, I put a small sump in the corner of the cellar that was easiest
to pass the output hose throught the wall to an outside drain. The sum
was only 8" by 12" and a depth of 12", I didn't even line it just dug
it down into the clay. Float switch I wired close to the body of the
pump to be able to work in a confined sump.

It worked perfectly for 2 years, however it was always going off every
5 mins which I thought was strange even in dry periods, therefore
phoned water company to say I thought they had a problem. They came
and had a look, put a camera down the drains outside and found there
was a hole, which they fixed. Pump still going off every 5 mins!
Called them again. Old guy came out see the sump and the pump going,
went outside to his van to get his listening stick, placed it on stop
valve to neighbours property and said they had a leak! Cost them a
chunk of money to have it dug up and fixed but it cured my problem.





John Laird wrote:

Terry wrote:
John Laird wrote:

I now have a small submersible sump pump, which will be installed in
due course ... I bought one which will deal with small particles, so as not to clog
with the silt coming off the concrete, and which claims to pump down to
8mm minimum depth, as I was hoping to use it to clear most of the water
that has gathered at the moment.

But... the pump won't get "started" in the 2" deep area of the puddle
that I can easily get to.

Is it possible that you've bought the wrong pump?

Naturally ;-) I did a fair bit of Googling and decided on one that
would a) not barf at small pieces of grit and b) keep going down to a
sufficiently shallow depth (8mm I think). The fact that it needs about
4-6" of water to get going was, strangely, not advertised.

It is possible to buy "puddle suckers" that are specifically aimed at
doing what I am (currently) doing. However, they are fearsomely
expensive to buy, and even to rent would cost as much per day as the
pump I have bought which will (ultimately) do what I want.

I may give the manufacturer a ring and see if there's a helpdesk or
tech support line and see if they have any clever ideas. The
troubleshooting guide advises the pump may need to be tilted to assist
in air removal, but this is assuming it's sitting in some depth of
water anyway and has developed an air "lock".

I've had a problem in the cellar for years which lets the water in when
the water table rises far enough. It is entirely unpredictable - no
sign of water despite the amount of very heavy rain we've had recently
(although it usually takes a few weeks before anything starts
happening...) Strange thing is it might not happen for 2 or 3 years
then it floods twice in a year! - and when it does it seems to come in
rather rapidly!

Sounds like my house, so far as I can tell. Some of the neighbouring
properties are much older and have cellars, but I have not discovered
whether they have similar problems.

I bought a "Hippo" fully submersible pump (from Argos, if memory serves
me correctly) some years ago because it claimed to pump down to ~4mm
(which it does) and placed it in the lowest part of the cellar, which
is about halfway along . (Obviously we don't keep anything of value
down there and what there is is kept above "high tide" level!)

It stays in place all year round and, to avoid paddling, the mains lead
is coiled up on a hook by the cellar door. At the far end, the end of
the hose is tied onto the underside of old iron coal hole cover. When
water appears, the mains lead is plugged into a socket in the hallway,
the cover of the coal hole is removed and the end of the hose pulled
into the open and off we go!

It works perfectly: the pump never blocks (instructions are to connect
hose to water tap and flush it out backwards if necessary but its never
been needed) and the motor runs in oil and is rated for continuous
running, wet or dry, so I just leave it running and check it
occasionally until it has finished!

The important thing is that it will pump water at any depth above 4mm -
so long as the input vents are covered, it works! This was a major
consideration because there is a peak in the floor at the bottom of the
stairs which traps ~12 - 15mm of water at the end. When the main part
is pumped out, I leave the pump running and use a yard broom to drag
the water up and over the top. Every time sufficient water runs down
the other side to cover the pump inlet, off it goes again, so we are
left with very little water at the end of the day.

(One of these days, when I get a round tuit, I'll smash down into the
concrete to create a sump!)

That is what I will end up doing, but I need to get the floor dry to
work out where the water is coming in, how it flows and settles, and
hence where to dig a sump hole. This is all sub-floor rather than
cellar, so access is limited, awkward, and currently very wet... Not
being able to get under there is currently hindering some coaxial cable
running, a check on the central heating pipes to look for a small leak,
and ultimately drainage of the same to fit additional TRVs and new
lockshield valves.

Never fear, I have high hopes for my bottomless bucket brainwave.

Thanks for all suggestions.

--
"Inertia makes the world go round."