- This topic has 7 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 2 months ago by
PLUMBILL.
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david sewell
I have a sump pump that seems to be getting rid of water about every half hour. There hasn’t really been significant rain-fall in my area. Yesterday, I went down into the basement, removed the lid (to where the sump pump is), and looked into the hole. The water in there didn’t seem to be very high. Is there a problem with my pump?
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Make sure the pipe from the sump extends 5′ to 10′ from the foundation of the building or you could be just recirculating the water.
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Thank You for your response. With regards to what you suggested, I believe the pipe ends at about 10′ from the foundation of my townhouse. I could stand outside and see where the water is coming out (through a hole/spacing that’s at the edge of my lawn). The water that is “spit-out” flows down the sidewalk (away from my house).
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Oh, you live in a town house I was afraid of that.
What general contractors would do to cut cost is tie together all the drain tile for all the units instead of individual independent drain systems.
So if your sump is the lowest or next to the lowest of all the units you get everyone’s ground water this time of year or when it rains alot. Yes, your pump is going on more then the others and you are paying for most of the electric to remove that water.
You could check with the person in the unit next to yours to see if they have a sump, you then could unplug yours and see if theirs turns on when the water rises.
Of course as the water level rises make sure yours does not overflow.
Only one sure way to fix the problem, try to move to a higher unit so some others sump is working more then yours.
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What you’re saying makes SO MUCH sense. I always thought it was weird that when I looked down the sidewalk, I never saw anyone else’s sump pump spitting out anything. Does that mean that I alone am getting the load?….because, once again, I’ve never seen any other sump pump on my side of the street (about 12 townhouses…in groups of 3)spit out anything. Is it possible that their sump pumps spit out the side of their houses?
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You would have to look for yourself were any other sump pumps might discharge, many things are possible.
I have seen it many times and yes that is what Im saying you are most likley getting the load if your sump is at the low point.
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Who could I call to find out if my sump pump is indeed the lower pump of those on my side of the townhouse complex? Is there someone who has the documentation?
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The builder should know and have plans for the building, they might just put you off and not give you a stright answer.
Check with the local building inspector, they are suppose to check the drain tile when they do the footing inspections and if it is new they will have the plans handy.
Last, you could check with the plumber that did the plumbing, they might have a good idea how everthing is connected.
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