Sump pump problem
 

My sump pump runs all the time. When it's raining a lot. This could
be once a minute. I had a failure this year and installed a backup.

Today, I noticed that when my neighbor's pump runs, it comes up thru
his down spout.

1. Should his sump pipe be connected to his down spout?

2. His house is only about 20 ft from mine. Is his water just
recycling into my house?

3. How long should my pump last if it is running so frequently?

Thanks!

It comes up thru his downspout ? Do you mean water comes out of the
top of the downspout ? I am having difficulty imagining what you are
describing.

It is best to have the water taken as far away as possible from your
house. *Hypothetically* to the farthest corner of your yard.

He has his down spout run into pvc pipe that hooks to his sump pump
pipe. When the pump turns on, the water gushes out of where the
aluminum downspout connects to the pvc. Then it ponds at the corner of
his house. Since his house sits within 20ft of mine, I wonder if my
sump pump is working overtime. First, it works on my water, then it
has to pump the water from his recycling.

I think he did it himself, so I'm wondering if he just has a blockage
in the pipe that goes to the yard or is it wrong to hook up your down
spout to the sump pipe. The guy's not the easiest to talk to, so I
want the facts before I talk to him.

"Randy" wrote in message
ups.com...
He has his down spout run into pvc pipe that hooks to his sump pump
pipe. When the pump turns on, the water gushes out of where the
aluminum downspout connects to the pvc. Then it ponds at the corner of
his house. Since his house sits within 20ft of mine, I wonder if my
sump pump is working overtime. First, it works on my water, then it
has to pump the water from his recycling.

I think he did it himself, so I'm wondering if he just has a blockage
in the pipe that goes to the yard or is it wrong to hook up your down
spout to the sump pipe. The guy's not the easiest to talk to, so I
want the facts before I talk to him.


Your neighbor's sump pump setup is probably causing himself a problem.
Common sense and every sump pump advice site say that sump pump discharge
should be at least 20 feet from the house and flowing away from the house.
Try to get your neighbor to locate the sump pump discharge 20 feet or more
(and down slope) from both your houses. You need to do the same.

If your sump pump is not vented properly, it will discharge some water but
not all. Then the water will just flow back into the pit, and have to be
discharged again soon. I found out mine had been installed incorrectly
after calling the (jerk) plumber back three times. It works fine now, but I
too am left wondering if it will fail early because of all the running it
did.

"googled" wrote in message
news:1112500725.97e14970ca800c24a76ad9d8d304e04a@b ubbanews...

"Randy" wrote in message
ups.com...
He has his down spout run into pvc pipe that hooks to his sump pump
pipe. When the pump turns on, the water gushes out of where the
aluminum downspout connects to the pvc. Then it ponds at the corner of
his house. Since his house sits within 20ft of mine, I wonder if my
sump pump is working overtime. First, it works on my water, then it
has to pump the water from his recycling.

I think he did it himself, so I'm wondering if he just has a blockage
in the pipe that goes to the yard or is it wrong to hook up your down
spout to the sump pipe. The guy's not the easiest to talk to, so I
want the facts before I talk to him.


Your neighbor's sump pump setup is probably causing himself a problem.
Common sense and every sump pump advice site say that sump pump discharge
should be at least 20 feet from the house and flowing away from the house.
Try to get your neighbor to locate the sump pump discharge 20 feet or more
(and down slope) from both your houses. You need to do the same.