So this is my dilema (Sump pump related)

[Arla]

We HAD a sump pump under our house, tonight because of the crappy installation (I suspect a cheap/DIY job by prior owner) tonight after heavy rain, it broke (it turned on, the float got stuck, didn't turn off, by the time I got to it and released the float, smoke was coming out of the housing, now it won't turn on (just makes a grinding noise).

Now, I guess I have three (and a half) options,

1. Replace the sump pump, this will cost about $100 (the prior pump was an Ace .4hp pump), it lasted almost 3 years, I guess $33 per year isn't too bad

2. Try to DIY it myself to improve the design somewhat, my main concern is that the sump Basin is obviously a builders bucket (the rain has eroded the earth around the basin enough that I can now see the handle), that coupled with the pump design (float that can get stuck on wires, pipes, etc etc) caused a definite issue. Ideally if I was doing it and had lots of time to think it through, I'd definitely replace the bucket, possibly change around the outlet pipe and where that's going, problem with this is, it's raining in CA, and we're getting very wet, so this isn't something I can take my time thinking about, perhaps a stop-gap would be replace the pump with something like this instead, so that we're "safe" for now, and then when it's summer think about really digging out a proper basin (speaking of which, does anyone know a good site to look at how a proper basin is really designed, the bucket we have definitely has a few , reasonably large (i'd say 1/2 inch or so) holes drilled round the sides, but I'm curious what holes in the sides a proper basin has) and thinking about doing pipe-work.

3. Hire a professional and get it done properly, this would involve putting in a new basin/pump, digging out a proper path to the kerb for the discharge pipe. My concern is that digging from the house to the kerb (roughly 60 feet?) could be a fairly major task in and of itself, would need to avoid the garden sprinkler system (or do something about it) and I know some utility access is in the front sidewalk. So my biggest concern here, is this would run several thousand dollars, for something that I've been informed isn't a "real" solution to our drainage problem anyway (need someone to design/install a french drain type system around the house, but that's something we've been putting off for a year when we have money).

Thoughts?

All comments appreciated

 

[Arla]

So, an update, after having 2 inches of water in the sub-basement this morning (yay!) I went for option 2 to start with, so far I've jsut replaced the pump, got a Rigid pump with a float that goes up and down a pole, vs the free float, seems to work fine, and has drained the majority of the water out (thank goodness).

The problem that I can see, is that because the Basin is quite small, it's cycling quite a bit (and that's the problem with the fixed float, it doesn't move very far) I'm assuming a bigger basin would HELP resolve this issue, in that it would allow more volume of water to accumulate before the pump will get triggered, so that's going to be the next purchase.

One thing I'm still struggling with, most sump basins seem to have quite a large hole in one side, why is this? Idealy, I would have thought, I need a solid basin and then drill a bunch of holes around the sides (smaller holes) to allow water in, but not the gravel that I intend to put in the surrounding area, am I totally off base?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Cacher_Chick]

There are a different basins for different types of installations. The one with a large single hole is for a drain tile system or sewage pump. Basins are available with no holes or pre-drilled holes, just a little harder to find. The drilled holes only need to be 3/16" and then a filter fabric can be placed around the basin to prevent smaller solids from entering the sump. The sump should be surrounded with 3/4"-1/2" washed stone.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2EHL9?Pid=search

 

[Arla]

Thanks for the link, so wondering, what makes something a crawl space basin, vs a sump basin? I can see that the sump basin holds more (gallon rating) also doens't have the pre-drilled holes (think I can manage drilling holes) the main difference appears to be the shape, is that critical?

Thanks for the assistance.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

No, but the remaining water level (depth of the pump) is. There is no benefit to pumping water that is down below the foundation footing, it only wastes electricity and wears on the pump. The pump/sump basin should be positioned to maintain the water level so it is aways lower than the top of the footing.

 

[Arla]

Okay thanks, wasn't planning to get anything very deep (digging out 24 inches is going to be hard enough) when you say foundation footing, are you talking about the bottom of the concrete? Or the wooden part? Maybe I should take a picture of what's under the house to pos

 

[Cacher_Chick]

Yes, the footing is the concrete which is underground below the walls.