How can a drain tile that empties into the sump, which means it is draining
water into the sump, reduce the frequency of the pump activity -- not
possible? Where in the front yard is this drain tile, it should be
surrounding the house at the footing level of the basement to remove water
from that area. Tile in any other area should be removed as it is increasing
the water in the basement.

I have lived in two houses in high ground water areas, usually this means
that somewhere around or under the basement there is a small seeping spring
that the pump is constantly draining. If this is true, always keep a backup
pump on hand, plus a generator in case the power goes out, if you are on
city water get a quality water powered pump such as the Base Pump as a final
back up.

In the two houses with high ground water, both were dry and habitable, but
we took action to prevent and accidents and the keep the equipment
operational at all times.

"lagman" wrote in message
oups.com...
All,

I just moved to the midwest from Texas, into a house with a basement.
The sump pump runs every 15-20 minutes when dry, and every few minutes
when raining (The previous owner installed a drain tile in the front
yard that empties into the sump, and the area I live in has a high
water table). The previous owner claimed that the pump ran even more
frequently before the tile was installed. The pump empties into a
city owned french drain. It has a backup battery powered pump that I
have tested and works fine. Since basements are new to me, I have a
few questions:

With the amount of use this pump is getting, what is its life
expectancy? Are there any warning signs I can look for that will tell
me its time to get a new pump (other than a flooded basement)?

How much electricity do these things use? Would it be worth looking
for a more energy efficient solution?

Do you think it will run this often during the winter (I am in Iowa)?
Will the pump be able to keep up when the snow melts in the spring?

If the worst were to happen and the pump and backup pump were to fail,
there is a drain in the basement located about 6 feet from the pump.
I checked to see if it empties into the sump crock and it does not, so
I assume it empties into the sewer. Would all the water just go down
the drain?

Thanks,
Dan