# Sump pump who'd a thought ...



## rikk (May 28, 2012)

This past winter I took the time to clean out the gravel that had accumulated in the sump well, checked out the submerged type pump by filling the sump with water etc.. Well this morning I check out the sump and the float switch is stuck against the side and so can't turn the pump on as the water rises ... fortunately no problem, the water level was still below full. I move the pump a bit, adjust the float and that should be that. Just checked, same problem, float stuck against the side.

So here's what happened ... the sump well is concave in the bottom, and by removing the loose gravel, when the pump runs, it vibrates itself to the center of the well leaving insufficient room for the float switch to work properly ... guess I'll put some gravel, something, in the sump well, to level the bottom ... or even better, make the bottom convex.

Thought might be of interest to those with sump pumps ...


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

rikk said:


> So here's what happened ... the sump well is concave in the bottom, and by removing the loose gravel, when the pump runs, it vibrates itself to the center of the well leaving insufficient room for the float switch to work properly ... guess I'll put some gravel, something, in the sump well, to level the bottom ... or even better, make the bottom convex.
> 
> Thought might be of interest to those with sump pumps ...


Is yours a submersible? There are many sump pump float/switch designs and each one seems to have it's own ideosynchrasies. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o6z3zSgTN0


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## jamesbe (May 8, 2010)

That video is interesting because I have pump #1. The switch went last year, I replaced it with a regular float switch instead of the pressure switch. I tried finding a pressure switch and nobody knew what I was talking about lol


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

carverman said:


> Is yours a submersible? There are many sump pump float/switch designs and each one seems to have it's own ideosynchrasies.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o6z3zSgTN0


Yep by ... "submerged type" I meant submersible, with a float switch that requires room to operate ... so ... for the past 10 years I've been placing the submersible pump (replaced it with a new one this year, using the old one as a backup) _to one side of the well_ leaving the float room to operate. All was ok till I removed the gravel from the well, and so the pump would vibrate itself (not anymore, I tethered it to one side) to the center of the concave well, not leaving the float switch room to operate. The design is in my opinion quite reliable, it just requires a flat working surface (e.g. gravel) so the pump will stay to one side.


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

How old is your house? Nowadays the holes in the weeping tile (plastic tube) are too small for gravel to get through... plus with the fabric that surrounds it, you shouldn't see anything but really really fine particles in the water. Maybe with the old clay tiles, if somehow they separated, you'd see gravel come through. Or if something went wrong during the install.

But even then, I've never seen enough flow in our house to push gravel into the sump pit. If it got into the weeping tile, I think it would just sit there and plug up the tile.

I guess what I'm saying is, maybe the gravel is there by design, to fix the exact issue you're encountering. Do you know that the gravel has been accumulating, or is it possible that it's been there all along?

Our sump is the same style by the way, and is also really finicky with how you place it... had a small flood once because the float got stuck. Ideally one would build a brace to hold it in place, to make sure the float can't get jammed.


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

Barwelle said:


> . I guess what I'm saying is, maybe the gravel is there by design, to fix the exact issue you're encountering. Do you know that the gravel has been accumulating, or is it possible that it's been there all along?


I added the addition in 1993 and although the contractor saw no need (thought the runoff sufficient), I insisted he install the sump basin ... he didn't install the pump, I did. So the sump basin is the newer plastic type, concave bottom. The addition basement floor is about 3 feet lower than the original house, I ran out of money to have a proper drain to the street installed, hence the sump pump ... plus it makes draining the hot tub easier :encouragement: So, the gravel/chunks of concrete could have been put there intentionally or not, hard to tell.

I think what we're saying is ... might be wise to add some gravel to your sump basin and tether the pump to the side.


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