Our basement flooded with about 1" of water in the unfinished area
(concrete) and most of the carpeted area wet. This was after a lot of
rain and melting snow in the last few days in Detroit. Turned out the
breaker on the sump pump outlet had tripped and caused it to stop
pumping. I want to know some reasons why the breaker tripped so I can
prevent this from happening again. Is it just because the pump was
running a lot due to large volume of water, is it due to a failing
pump, could there possibly be a short, or what else can trip a
breaker? I did notice some pebbles getting stuck in the pump's inlet
area. Don't know if they can get sucked into the pump and cause the
motor to draw too much current or is there some sort of screen which
keeps large debris out?? The pump and switch are both functioning with
the breaker reseted.

The pump is about 8 years old Hydromatic with a diaphragm switch
(piggyback electrical plug style). The switch broke in December so I
replaced it with a float style from Lowes (also piggyback electrical
plug style). I would imagine the float switch is pretty simple and not
much can go wrong with it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Obviously there is a problem with the pump or wiring. We cant see it,
so we dont know. If there's a chunk of wood or some junk in the
impeller, it will seize and cause the breaker to trip. The motor
bearings may be siezed, the cord may have a bare spot, switch filled
with water, etc.....

You should RUN and TEST all sump pumps at least twice a year,
preferably more often. Clean out the pit regularly. Have a second
pump in the same or another pit if you are really concerned about
carpeting or other things, and have a separate circuit for that pump.
I'd guess you only have one pump, and have ignored the pump.

All you can do now, is clean up the mess, then determine the problem
with the pump, or just replace it. Then get a second pump, set the
float higher, and use a separate circuit. There are also 12V battery
pumps, but you got to keep the marine battery charged.


On Tue, 8 Jan 2008 19:46:17 -0800 (PST), wrote:

Our basement flooded with about 1" of water in the unfinished area
(concrete) and most of the carpeted area wet. This was after a lot of
rain and melting snow in the last few days in Detroit. Turned out the
breaker on the sump pump outlet had tripped and caused it to stop
pumping. I want to know some reasons why the breaker tripped so I can
prevent this from happening again. Is it just because the pump was
running a lot due to large volume of water, is it due to a failing
pump, could there possibly be a short, or what else can trip a
breaker? I did notice some pebbles getting stuck in the pump's inlet
area. Don't know if they can get sucked into the pump and cause the
motor to draw too much current or is there some sort of screen which
keeps large debris out?? The pump and switch are both functioning with
the breaker reseted.

The pump is about 8 years old Hydromatic with a diaphragm switch
(piggyback electrical plug style). The switch broke in December so I
replaced it with a float style from Lowes (also piggyback electrical
plug style). I would imagine the float switch is pretty simple and not
much can go wrong with it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Debris in the impeller will jam the pump and eventually trip the breaker. I
would also check the nameplate on the pump to determine the amperage draw of
the pump, then be sure the circuit is dedicated or at least not overloaded
with other devices, lights, outlets etc.



wrote in message
...
Our basement flooded with about 1" of water in the unfinished area
(concrete) and most of the carpeted area wet. This was after a lot of
rain and melting snow in the last few days in Detroit. Turned out the
breaker on the sump pump outlet had tripped and caused it to stop
pumping. I want to know some reasons why the breaker tripped so I can
prevent this from happening again. Is it just because the pump was
running a lot due to large volume of water, is it due to a failing
pump, could there possibly be a short, or what else can trip a
breaker? I did notice some pebbles getting stuck in the pump's inlet
area. Don't know if they can get sucked into the pump and cause the
motor to draw too much current or is there some sort of screen which
keeps large debris out?? The pump and switch are both functioning with
the breaker reseted.

The pump is about 8 years old Hydromatic with a diaphragm switch
(piggyback electrical plug style). The switch broke in December so I
replaced it with a float style from Lowes (also piggyback electrical
plug style). I would imagine the float switch is pretty simple and not
much can go wrong with it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

wrote in message
...
Our basement flooded with about 1" of water in the unfinished area
(concrete) and most of the carpeted area wet. This was after a lot of
rain and melting snow in the last few days in Detroit. Turned out the
breaker on the sump pump outlet had tripped and caused it to stop
pumping. I want to know some reasons why the breaker tripped so I can
prevent this from happening again. Is it just because the pump was
running a lot due to large volume of water, is it due to a failing
pump, could there possibly be a short, or what else can trip a
breaker? I did notice some pebbles getting stuck in the pump's inlet
area. Don't know if they can get sucked into the pump and cause the
motor to draw too much current or is there some sort of screen which
keeps large debris out?? The pump and switch are both functioning with
the breaker reseted.

The pump is about 8 years old Hydromatic with a diaphragm switch
(piggyback electrical plug style). The switch broke in December so I
replaced it with a float style from Lowes (also piggyback electrical
plug style). I would imagine the float switch is pretty simple and not
much can go wrong with it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


I had a customer once who had a circuit breaker repeatedly trip several
minutes after resetting it. It shut off some lights in her basement. I saw
her sump pump plugged into an outlet and unplugged it. That solved the
problem. She had the pump replaced and it has been fine since.

In addition to the reasons that you suggested, the breaker could have
tripped because of a loose connection at the breaker. The breaker may have
weakened with age. Maybe the circuit isn't big enough for the size pump
that you have. Is the pump on a dedicated circuit?

In article , wrote:
Our basement flooded with about 1" of water in the unfinished area
(concrete) and most of the carpeted area wet. This was after a lot of
rain and melting snow in the last few days in Detroit. Turned out the
breaker on the sump pump outlet had tripped and caused it to stop
pumping.

Just one question: when you say "the breaker on the sump pump outlet", do you
mean the breaker for the CIRCUIT that the sump pump outlet is on? Or do you
mean a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet that the sump pump plugs into?

If the former... ignore the rest of my post. You've gotten good advice from
other people who have responded.

If the latter... shut off the breaker, replace the GFCI outlet with a standard
outlet, and turn the breaker back on. Sump pumps should NOT be on
GFCI-protected outlets.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

A working sump pump is critical in my house or serious damage can occur. If
a pump displays any problems, it is replaced with a new standby pump that I
keep on hand. I don't trust iffy situations. Also the pump should be on its
own dedicated circuit and breaker and should be constantly monitored to
ensure it is in good working condition.

wrote in message
...
Our basement flooded with about 1" of water in the unfinished area
(concrete) and most of the carpeted area wet. This was after a lot of
rain and melting snow in the last few days in Detroit. Turned out the
breaker on the sump pump outlet had tripped and caused it to stop
pumping. I want to know some reasons why the breaker tripped so I can
prevent this from happening again. Is it just because the pump was
running a lot due to large volume of water, is it due to a failing
pump, could there possibly be a short, or what else can trip a
breaker? I did notice some pebbles getting stuck in the pump's inlet
area. Don't know if they can get sucked into the pump and cause the
motor to draw too much current or is there some sort of screen which
keeps large debris out?? The pump and switch are both functioning with
the breaker reseted.

The pump is about 8 years old Hydromatic with a diaphragm switch
(piggyback electrical plug style). The switch broke in December so I
replaced it with a float style from Lowes (also piggyback electrical
plug style). I would imagine the float switch is pretty simple and not
much can go wrong with it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks for all the replies. The pump is on its own circuit, and it is
a single non-GFCI outlet. A basement dryer came and worked 6 hours
with the vacuum, setup 2 large dehumidifier and some fans, ripped the
carpet at the seams, pulled out the padding, ripped the baseboard and
insulation. I'll have to decide about whether to keep the carpet as
someone suggested when the immediate crisis is over.

The below post is of particular interest and describes my current
situation. After all night running the dehumidifiers and fans, this
afternoon the sump pump circuit tripped again, plus a separate circuit
one dehumidifier is on. They tripped independently. Resetting the
breaker and few seconds later trips again. Unable to be home, I called
an electrician to check it out. They are installing a new sump pump
saying the old one was bad, but didn't say anything about the
dehumidifiers, just that a lot of things are running. I'll have to ask
them to clearify. They thought it was weird that the equipment ran all
night and then started tripping. They said if circuits are close to
being overloaded, it would've happened much quicker. Supposing a
degraded/breaking pump was the original culprit, why now is the second
circuit tripping even when the pump isn't running?


On Jan 9, 5:41*am, "John Grabowski" wrote:
wrote in message

...






I had a customer once who had a circuit breaker repeatedly trip several
minutes after resetting it. *It shut off some lights in her basement. *I saw
her sump pump plugged into an outlet and unplugged it. *That solved the
problem. She had the pump replaced and it has been fine since.

In addition to the reasons that you suggested, the breaker could have
tripped because of a loose connection at the breaker. *The breaker may have
weakened with age. *Maybe the circuit isn't big enough for the size pump
that you have. *Is the pump on a dedicated circuit?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Doug Miller wrote:
In article , wrote:
Our basement flooded with about 1" of water in the unfinished area
(concrete) and most of the carpeted area wet. This was after a lot of
rain and melting snow in the last few days in Detroit. Turned out the
breaker on the sump pump outlet had tripped and caused it to stop
pumping.

Just one question: when you say "the breaker on the sump pump outlet", do you
mean the breaker for the CIRCUIT that the sump pump outlet is on? Or do you
mean a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet that the sump pump plugs into?

If the former... ignore the rest of my post. You've gotten good advice from
other people who have responded.

If the latter... shut off the breaker, replace the GFCI outlet with a standard
outlet, and turn the breaker back on. Sump pumps should NOT be on
GFCI-protected outlets.



Doug
I'm not trying to troll or be quarrelsome when I say that there is no
exception for sump pumps in the code requirement for all outlets in
unfinished portions of basements to be GFCI protected. If it is an
unfinished basement then the outlet must be GFCI protected. If the GFCI
trips then there is a five milliampere or greater current leak in the
pump, it's cord, or controls. If the pump cannot pass winding integrity
testing then replace it. I can't think of many deadlier scenarios then
somebody on there knees on a conductive concrete floor trying to clear
out the intake of a sump pump while the pump has a case fault. Yes I
know; if the Equipment Grounding Conductor of the circuit is intact and
has a low enough resistance, and the fault is delivering enough current
to trip the circuits Over Current Protective Device (OCPD), and the OCPD
is working properly... The basic theory of personnel safety is that it
should take at least two failures to put someone in jeopardy of serious
injury. The more failures it takes to jeopardize someone the better.
Leave the GFCI in the circuit and test it at least monthly.
--
Tom Horne

"This alternating current stuff is just a fad. It is much too dangerous
for general use." Thomas Alva Edison

In article 9efhj.50004$8Z1.32051@trnddc05, Tom Horne wrote:
Doug
I'm not trying to troll or be quarrelsome when I say that there is no
exception for sump pumps in the code requirement for all outlets in
unfinished portions of basements to be GFCI protected. If it is an
unfinished basement then the outlet must be GFCI protected.

I disagree:

Article 210.8(A)(5) Exception No. 2: "A single receptacle or a duplex
receptacle for two appliances located within dedicated space for each
appliance that, in normal use, is not easily moved from one place to another
and that is cord-and-plug connected in accordance with 400.7(A)(6), (A)(7), or
(A)(8)."

This would seem to apply to a receptacle supplying a sump pump, which is an
appliance "located within dedicated space", "not easily moved", and
"cord-and-plug connected".


If the GFCI
trips then there is a five milliampere or greater current leak in the
pump, it's cord, or controls. If the pump cannot pass winding integrity
testing then replace it. I can't think of many deadlier scenarios then
somebody on there knees on a conductive concrete floor trying to clear
out the intake of a sump pump while the pump has a case fault.

How hard is it to unplug the pump?

Yes I
know; if the Equipment Grounding Conductor of the circuit is intact and
has a low enough resistance, and the fault is delivering enough current
to trip the circuits Over Current Protective Device (OCPD), and the OCPD
is working properly... The basic theory of personnel safety is that it
should take at least two failures to put someone in jeopardy of serious
injury. The more failures it takes to jeopardize someone the better.

I can't argue with that, but...

Leave the GFCI in the circuit and test it at least monthly.

... if you're going to do that, then you should have a second sump pump that
does not require 120VAC to operate.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.