In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 05 Dec 2018 16:44:02 GMT, Alphonso Seldon
m wrote:

Hello, I've a basement sump pump it's runs every 6min.and it not even raining
outside is that's normal.

If none of the previous things explain things, and even if they do, see
what happens if you stop the pump, by holding the switch down and off.
You may have to hold the float rod, or the float, down, even if the
water goes somewhat over it. Or you can unplug the pump.

If the water rises all the way to the floor of your basement and a tenth
of a millimeter higher, you're stuck. Your water table, at least this
time of year, is higher than your basement floor. You might as well
leave things as they are because if you change the float level, it will
still pump every 6 minutes, but the water level in the sump will always
be higher.

OTOH, if the water does't rise to the floor, is at least 5 inches below
the floor, you can raise the float level until it's that high and the
pump won't run at all unless it's raining and for a day or two
afterwards. This is what I did when my pump ran all the time --
actually I had to raise it a second time -- and it's barely run at all
for the last 20 years.

You can maybe even go higher. My sump is lined with a plastic cylinder
and I think most are, but if there's a leak anywhere, and I'm sure there
is where the pipes come in, I can imagine water leaking outside the
cylinder and rising all the way to the bottom and side of the cement
basement floor. What happens then? I think it will seep through the
cement and make your floor wet to some extent. Others may chime in on
this point.

Tne guy who sold me my house said to put something in the sump water to
keep it from smelling bad, but I couldnt' rmeember what he said to use,
and it never smells bad anyhow. But there is probably something to be
said for changing the water once in a while. So when I'm in that corner
of the basement, I pull up the float rod so the pump starts and runs for
a while (since the turn off height is lower than the turn-on height.)
This both tests the pump and dilutes the old water with new water. Of
course the new water has been sitting for days or weeks in the dirt or
the corrugated, perforated pipe that surrounds my basement wall, so it's
not that new either.

Don't forget to plug the pump back in.