We used rubber sections in every non-buried join that we could because it
really absorbs some of the sound (whooshing, motor hum, etc.). We also
bought a check valve that uses a ball instead of a flap (no SLAP noise.) Not
cheap but nice and quiet.

Anyway, all our buried joins are cemented elbows.

There is flexible PVC available for this, too. But we didn't use the flex
underground and this was our thought: Flex PVC or rubber couplers could get
squished/crushed shut, pierced by a root or gnawed by some creature. It's
not likely, not easy, but it is possible. Plus, we couldn't predict or find
out anywhere how well those rubber sections would stand up to the effects of
being buried for a long period of time. I kept thinking about how some
rubber becomes brittle with age.

I suspect as sprawl makes for more houses built over high water tables
(where houses ain't s'posed to be), the devices for water removal will
become more and more sophisticated. People will be looking at houses like
yours and mine in wonder and amazement at the craftsmanship of our sump
systems... heh heh. People in my area learn to live with pumps - that's the
price we pay for living very near to rivers and/or at bases of mountains.
Every time I see stories on the news about drought in the plains, I imagine
the feasibility of miles and miles of that ribbed black tubing stretching
from my house to the affected area. If it works for oil??????

-Oldy

"dakota" wrote in message
om...
Thanks for the replies. My pump does run occasionally (once or twice
a day I suppose) even when we have a hard freeze, I guess because of
the natural water table in the area.

It sounds like I'm on the right track.

My next question... is it better to connect the pipe sections together
with cemented couplers, or should I use those rubber couplers with
hose clamps? I realize the cemented couplers are probably best since
they won't ever leak, and they're cheaper too - but I'm wondering if
the rubber couplers would make installation easier (ie, if I need to
remove a section to adjust the grade) as well as making repairs easier
if a section breaks?


"Tom Eller" wrote in message
...
I'm in central ohio, and my pipe is very similar to what you described
its
only buried around 3 or 4 inches under the grass and dosent freeze, we
get
ALOT of water pumped out during spring-fall (poorly built house in a
sub-division), but once the ground freezes water cant get down into
basement
anyway unless you have a spring coming up under your basement floor. As
long as their is a little bit of a grade water should not stay in pipe
and
will have all run out between pump last runs and ground gets around to
freezing down to where the pipe is in the winter.