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Sump Pump Discharge Questions
Hi -
I recently bought a house with a flotec pedestal pump in a basement sump, and a terrible leaky flexible hose that the previous owners ran to a sink when needed. Based on last spring, the basement rarely floods - pump only ran after extended rain - at least two days continuous, heavy rain. Don't know about spring thaw - moved in after that. I'm considering replacing the pedestal pump with a submersible (same brand, same hp 1/3). Also want to install permanent discharge. Was planning to use the inexpensive flexible black plastic stuff for the run up to the sill, then put PVC through the sill, and outside. I bought some 1 1/4" PVC at home depot (they were out of elbows for 1 1/2". ) Here are my questions: 1) Submersible vs pedestal - any reason not to change? 1/3 hp enough for this kind of intermittent running? Rise is about 9 feet. 2) PVC - Okay to use 1 1/4 ? I've noticed other posts seem to recommend 1 1/2". Is there much difference? 3) I'm a bit nervous about drilling through my sill and siding (vinyl) - any special things I should know before I do that ? (Plan to use a hole saw on a corded drill). 4) Okay to let PVC run on surface downhill and just empty behind a hedge down the hill several feet? Some folks seem to be saying the discharge will smell terrible and mess up the lawn in the area it dumps. The gutter goes in the ground and I assume either runs to sewer or to drywell. Guy at home depot said don't tap into that or I might overflow the calculated capacity for that system. 5) People suggest various vacuum break systems - some say drill small hole just above check valve, others suggest adding T outside with riser - do I need the latter? Thanks all for any help. Michael Jasper |
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John Davies wrote:
5) People suggest various vacuum break systems - some say drill small hole just above check valve, others suggest adding T outside with riser - do I need the latter? Install a check valve at the pump discharge outlet, as another poster suggested, Make sure the valve is readily accessible in case you need to remove it for cleaning. Important!!! - install a reducing tee and a small ball valve above the check valve so you can drain the discharge pipe for winterizatioon and servicing. The real purpose of a vacuum breaker is to protect your potable water system. I don't see any reason you would have any need for one on a sump pump. I think he is referring to the outlet, one might want a way to break the vacuum, when the pump is off, so that the pipe will drain, which could be important if it is subject to freezing. This is where you would put in a "Y" or "T" fitting, at the top end of the drain run, so that it will drain on its own. Probably un-needed in a low use situation, and you would have to be careful of that the pipe doesn't plug downstream, since that would overflow. So that is a mixed bag, with good and bad. |
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