Erma1ina wrote:

There is a special PVC fitting (it may be proprietary?) called an
"IceGuard", billed as a "Sump Pump Discharge Anti-Freeze Device". Heres
a link to a description:

http://www.clarkebasementsystems.com/IceGuard.aspx

Basically, it lets the sump discharge onto the ground next to the house
IF the discharge line freezes. Not ideal, by any means, but better than
pump failure and water in the basement.

For myself, this September I took the principle of the "IceGuard" and
modified it a bit.

I had a new 3" PVC line installed with a slightly 3" "modified wye" PVC
fitting where the 1 1/2" PVC sump discharge line exits the house such
that each arm of the wye is close to vertical. The first arm of the wye
connects directly to the 1 1/2' PVC discharge and the other arm
(slightly down-line from the first) is capped with a cleanout plug you
can unscrew to remove or loosen.

In normal operation, the sump discharge would simply flow down the
entire length (~60 ft) of the 3" discharge line to "daylight".

However, if the temp drops and the sump starts taking in water to be
discharged, I will do 2 things: 1. Dump Calcium chloride pellets into
the discharge line via the leg of the PVC "wye" that is normally capped
so that any water discharged will pass through and carry that deicer
down the length of the line and 2. Loosen or remove the cap (cleanout
plug) so that IF, in spite of increases size of the line and the deicer,
the discharge line freezes, the water will dump out onto the ground,
similar to the way it would with the "IceGuard".

As I said, I just had this installed so, as yet, has not had a real
world test. However, given the kind of weather we're having, I expect a
"test" within the next few months, if not weeks.

I doubt you want to redo your entire discharge line but perhaps you
could use the idea behind that "IceGuard" or even my modification of it,
using some kind of "wye", to give the water a place to go, other than
your basement, but ONLY IF the line freezes.

Hmm, that Ice Guard looks promising, although I'm not clear from their
page if they sell just that or they want to sell their whole service.
I'll give a copy to my plumber to see if he's heard of it. My corrugated
tubing contraption worked more or less... the adapter to the tubing that
plugged into the pipe connector was basically held by friction. So worst
case, if the tubing froze, the blast of water blew the connection apart.
I just don't like the water then pooling across the cement and freezing,
because that's the travel area from the parking pad). The antifreeze
gizmo also sounds useful, except for the fact that I'm not there to add
it. Wish I'd have thought of that back when I lived there though! Or if
I left the upper leg of the Y unplugged, wold that work if the rest
froze or would the drainage just come out of both legs if unfrozen? I'm
definitely going to try to research the Ice Guard though. Maybe someone
around here handles them. At least I'm obviously not the only one to
encounter this problem.

I think what mostly works against me is that the ground only has a very
slight down slope. So it's fine for warm weather; water probably pools
in it but isn't a problem. It's just in freezing weather that it's a
problem.

Oh well, at the rate houses are moving here, I'll probably still be
showing it in the spring, at which point I can reconnect the "old" system.