Chris (SilverUnicorn) wrote:
Okay, bear with me on this one.....

We had a home built in 2000. The builder installed a sump pump. It
used to run constantly. It failed twice (pipe came loose) and we got a
little water in the basement.

We recently had the basement completed. We did much of the work, but
hired a contractor to do the drop ceiling. He also installed a new
sump pump, with a battery backup (just in case).

That was installed in July. Since then, we have had NO water in the
sump pit AT ALL! Bone dry. When the new pump was installed, it ran for
about 7 minutes and cleared out the pit. Nothing since then. No pumo
operation, no need for the backup, No water in the sump pit at all! We
have had some very heavy rain over this time, but nothing at all in
the sump pit.

Could the old pump have been so bad that it was just pumping the same
water over an over like the check valve was bad? I know it was a lower
model pump, but I can't imagine it was that bad.

Or did someone build miles away that changed the water table so we
don't get any water in the pit anymore?

Really strange to have this happen all of a sudden, but I guess the
old punp could have been that crappy.

Here's a really bad idea of what we have now:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3206/...9b75d367_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2284/...0d3ecdac_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2019/...3311565a_b.jpg

Thanks. This is more of a curiousity than anything.

Chris
A similar thing happened to me. Our
pump ran a lot for many (25) years. Yes,
it would dry up in very long dry spells,
but very rarely. We would be pumping
water even is the dead of winter. Our
town installed a anti-backup system
in the front yard, due to occasional
sewer backup. It's a 4' concrete cylinder
that goes down about 9' where the main
sewer line comes from under the
basement floor. It is a float activated
shut off valve. There is also an ejector
to pump sewage from the house, if we
continue producing sewage, that pumps
into the sewer system (now under back
pressure). Anyway, since this thing
was installed, we only get water in the
original sump when it really rains a lot.
We had 3" of rain last week (remnants of
Gustav in the Chicago area) and the
sump is still dry today. I asked the
town if the anti-backflow unit is taking the
water and illegally pumping it into the
sewer system. I was told that just having
the unit in the front lawn is probably
diverting the ground water. I'm not sure
I believe that 100%. I have seen the
pump in that unit run (there is an indicator
panel in the basement) on a few occasions.

Now, in your case, you said
continuously. Does that mean it never
ever stopped?
That is not right. I would guess that
it was somehow recirculating the water or
it was blocked. But, if the output was
blocked, the water in the sump would
eventually get hot from the motor and
friction (especially for a submersible
pump).
If the outlet outside was dumping near
the house, it would recirculate and cause
lots of extra running. That has
happened to me and many neighbors where an
extender pipe breaks or comes apart near
the house. Long running time can
also happen where there is an
underground spring feeding the sump or the
perimeter drain pipes.