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Joe J

"hr(bob) " wrote in message
...
On May 26, 6:09 pm, "Joe J" wrote:
wrote in message

...

On May 26, 5:37 pm, "Joe J" wrote:
I'm lost. We purchased a ranch with a basement and apparently we are
in
a
low area so our sump pump runs a lot.

We have your basic sunken sump crock and we have 2 submersible pumps
in
it.
The primary pump runs underground to a sewer at the street. The
backup
just
drains out to the yard and only is supposed to run if the primary
would
fail.

They both use float switches and the primary sump pump float switch
died,
so
I installed a new one.

My problem is I don't know where to set the kick in level, to turn on
the
pump. Meaning, how high should the water level get in the sump crock?

There is a 4" drain pipe from the drain tiles that empties into the
sump
crock and it is about 10 inches below the top of the sump crock. When
should the primary kick in?

If I set it low, water constantly runs in from the inlet. If I set it
high,
so it doesn't kick in until the water is above the inlet pipe, than
for
the
most part the water seems to equalize itself in the crock and it maybe
runs
every 5-10 minutes in spring.

Should the pump kick in below the inlet pipe level, or just let it
equalize
itself until there is enough water pressure coming in to raise the
float?

The general answer is having the pump kick on at a
lower level is safer as it will keep the water around
the house at a lower level. The downside as you note
is that with the same size sump basin it will eject
less water each time and run more. You could try
a compromise and have it kick on when the water
reaches the mid-point of the pipe. You could try a
bit higher too, doing it only gradually and checking
the basement for any water after heavy rains.
If the basement stays dry you will be pumping less
water and that's good.

How much you want to push it also depends on
what's in the basement. Empty unfinished basement
and finished basement are different risks.

Poured walls and 80% of basement is finished and carpeted. 2 bedrooms,
full
bath, family room and exercise room.
No water problems at all, just need to run a dehumidifier in the warm
humid
months.

Supposed to hit 95 tomorrow, way tooooo early for that kind of weather in
Wisconsin.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I have a similar situation here in the Chicago suburbs. I finally set
the main pump to come on when the water level in the inlet pipe is
almost to the top of the pipe. That way, the pump runs MUCH less
often, and does run for a longer time as it not only pumps the sump
down, but also the accumulated water in the pipes feeding the sump.
But, the total run time is probably the same overall, and greatly
reduced nujmber of starting of the pump should make the pump last a
lot longer. Be sure to disable the main pump a couple of times each
year so the water level comes up high enough to trigger the backup
pump, and then be sure to turn the main pump back on (don't ask me how
I know to do thatg).

OK, this pump is giving me fits. Last night the float got stuck in the on
position and the pump ran continuous for at least an hour, maybe more. My
wife wakes me at midnight, so down I go give the float a nudge.
Half asleep when I put the cover back on the crock, I jammed it against the
backup. Primary again got stuck and backup was jammed. So neither pump ran
for hours, otherwise it's about every 10 mins, this time of year. Pulled
the cover off this morning and the backup started and the water came rushing
in. Basic question...where was that water accumulating when the pumps
weren't running? Rising somewhere, but where? First house with a sump in
30 years and this is new to me.
By float switch I mean the kind that floats in water and you plug the pump
AC cord into it, not the kind on a rod that moves up and down.