Sump Pits and Pumps - Flood Protection
A good sump pit and pump is the heart and soul of any and all flood protection system. It is not a secret that rain water can fill your basement in a matter of hours, destroying everything as it rises. below are a few good tips for making sure your sump pit and pump are working properly and are going to work when the time comes that you need it.
Tips to make sure your installation is working properly.
The discharge line from the pump needs to get outside as fast as possible. Don’t run the line all the way through your house because you want it to look pretty or be hidden when it goes outside. The more times that pipe turns, the harder it is for your pump to get rid of the water. You want it to be easy to get rid of the water and normally going straight up from the pump and out does the trick. If you need to go a long distance, increase the pipe size of the discharge line to compensate.
Use pumps that have a pressure switch instead of a float to turn on the pump when the water level gets high. pressure switches have a lot less of a chance of getting stuck and never got caught up in the sidewalls of the pit or the weeping tiles. Little Giant makes a great pump with a great pressure switch that is built to last.
Replace your pump every five years no matter what! Lets face it, if manufactures built things like they use to they would never make money, with this in mind your sump pumps are not built to last forever so don’t think they will. Replacing your pump after five years is highly recommended, as I have seen so many homes in my day flooded for this exact reason. Keep your old pump though as a back up, you never know when your installed pump is going to suck up a small stone or something and jam up on you. Having a back up pump is great for those just in case moments.
Install a high level water alarm! For around 20 bucks you can buy a water alarm that has a few little probes that go into your pit and when water reaches them a sound like a smoke detector is what you hear. This noise can alert you that your pump is not working and you can get it fixed or see whats wrong so you don’t get flooded.
If you are in a high flood zone or your area is prone to large storms where the power can go out, get a back up batter power supply for your pump. This way when the power does go out, your pump will still run for an hour or so, depending on what kind of system you install.
Make sure your pump is the right horse power for your application. Under-sizing the horse power of your pump will result in the pump not being able to keep up with the amount of water that may be coming in. Size it right, and if your not sure how to do that just contact your local plumber who should have an idea based on where you live what is good to use.
Never buy the cheapest pump you see. This is your home guys, spend a little money and buy a pump that is around 200 to 250 or buy a brand name that you recognize. A cheap pump is just that, cheap!
Install a union above the top of the pit so that is you need to replace the pump fast, you can. A union is a fitting that allows you to join to ends of a pipe together that you can later take apart if you need to. This helps you in those “OMG the pump stopped and we need to change it fast” type of moments.
Install a high quality check valve onto the discharge line. This prevents water from going back into the pit after the pump turns off. When water goes back into the pit after the pump turns off you can cause whats called short cycling and this means your pump will keep pumping the same water over and over again which makes it wear out faster.
If you pump never comes on make sure at least twice a year you test it with a garden hose and some water to insure the system is working properly. Rinse out the pit and check for debris inside.
I hope you found these tips helpful and if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask me.
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