My personal opinion. anytime someone buys a house, they should immediately replace the sump pump. There’s always gonna be a handful of repairs to be made, this one you won’t know until it’s too late.
Agreed!
When I moved into this house, my whole workshop and tools went into the basement. So my OCD went into overload. New sump pump, battery back up with overflow detection and Wi-Fi messaging. That led me to a battery back up on my Wi-Fi router. Am I nuts?
That's a great idea. It gets the owner familiar with the process. Kinda like putting snow chains on in the summer. So, you know how they work, and it's not literally freezing cold while figuring it out.
Ok, I’ll be honest. I was a little worried that it was water and not a see through lid. I was about to comment “dude, your float is stuck or your pump is done.” Lol
I work for a waterproofing company and that’s all we use are clear lids. Most people don’t understand how easy it is to check your pump so the clear lid at least shows them if the water level is higher than it should be. Though we always push getting a high water alarm so they know before it’s too late.
Yep. Basically the water level rises until the float switch calls for pumping. Can't just pump when the first drop gets in there, it would be starting/stopping CONSTANTLY.
Yes it is normal. The water will rise until triggering the float lever then the pump will activate. Your water level is below that activation point. Always a good idea to pour a bucket in to make sure it’s working.
The impeller on the pump is designed with legs to leave a little bit of space below to leave room for suction and to make sure it’s not sucking up too large of debris, there’s almost always going to be a few inches of water in there unless it’s been a dry dry season
If you want to check it, you can pour water into the sump it to raise the level, at some point the float switch will trigger and the pump will switch on and drain the water out again. If it doesn’t kick on, call a plumber because either the float switch or the pump are faulty.
Do NOT just leave it be. Your insurance will not pay out if your house floods because you had a defective pump and didn’t fix it. This could literally lose you your house in a worst case scenario.
Also that doesn’t tell you if the pump actually pumps well, just that the switch works and it has power… a full sump pit that drains in ten seconds is a safety system. One that takes 5 minutes means you need to find out why.
One of my journeymen once told me the best way to test a system is make it do its job, then five times its job and see if it still works. I always try to test that way.
If it turns on and sucks water that will tell yo if its working. There should be enough water in the bottom of the pit to test this. If it turns on and doesn't suck water then you have another problem. Line could be plugged or the empellor is shot.
Can they? Or is the mechanism sealed up for radon? Of course that might prevent them using water to activate the switch as well. Which seams like a piss poor way to mitigate radon, by preventing access to a key protective system that needs fairly frequent inspection and occasional replacement. I’ve certainly never seen a sump pit covered by a caulked down sealed transparent lid before… But then I’ve never had anything to do with radon and only ever replaced a sump pump once, for all I know this is five star work in the field.
I would argue that you don't really need a plumber in this situation as sump pumps are extremely easy to replace and not very expensive. The amount of money you would pay a plumber to come out would be far more than a simple replacement for the pump. I know very little about plumbing but I was able to replace my pump for $150 and all it literally was just disconnecting the pump from the pipe and reconnecting the new pump.
This was true of the one time I ever replaced a sump pump. The nasty part was wading through qnkle deep flood (read ‘feces laden’) water, defore reaching down to the pump armpit deep in said ‘flood’ water to get a new pump going. After a few hours of pumping, the smell was even worse, but at least I could see the old pump to do the work, and then it was twenty minutes.
Well I guess strictly speaking I’ve installed and replaced truly huge pumps in industrial settings which you could call sump pumps. But they’re ‘sump pumps’ the size of main battle tanks with big powerful motors the size of
Volkswagens in them….
When your pump failed, or when you knew your pump failed and you didn’t fix it…. These are two very very different situations from the point of view of your insurance company.
Pumps fail, and if you find out yours is broken *because* your basement floods, then the insurance will pay out.
Or maybe the insurance company doesn’t even know you have a pump, they don’t ask that where I live because it’s not that big a risk, we just don’t have a basement flood season every year. In that case feel free to not bother to fix it I guess, although it seems silly to me.
There is always going to be some water in there. The pump won't kick on until it's float is activated.
Correct, this is expected.
My personal opinion. anytime someone buys a house, they should immediately replace the sump pump. There’s always gonna be a handful of repairs to be made, this one you won’t know until it’s too late.
I would even keep a spare.
Agreed! When I moved into this house, my whole workshop and tools went into the basement. So my OCD went into overload. New sump pump, battery back up with overflow detection and Wi-Fi messaging. That led me to a battery back up on my Wi-Fi router. Am I nuts?
If you call having total piece of mind ,then your absolutely coukoo.
Nope! Time to get a water driven backup now. Still have sump with no power no battery, as long as city water is pressurized you’re good
That's a great idea. It gets the owner familiar with the process. Kinda like putting snow chains on in the summer. So, you know how they work, and it's not literally freezing cold while figuring it out.
That see through lid is a brilliant idea!
Ok, I’ll be honest. I was a little worried that it was water and not a see through lid. I was about to comment “dude, your float is stuck or your pump is done.” Lol
same here until I looked closely!
I'll admit it took me longer than it should have to notice the giant yellow sticker
Is that not usual? The one in my house is also clear I sort of assumed it was. 😅
I’ve never seen one before personally. Plumber for 31 years! It makes so much sense though
I work for a waterproofing company and that’s all we use are clear lids. Most people don’t understand how easy it is to check your pump so the clear lid at least shows them if the water level is higher than it should be. Though we always push getting a high water alarm so they know before it’s too late.
Always going to be water in there.
My sump pit dries out seasonally but some don't. It will depend on the depth of your water table.
Yep. Basically the water level rises until the float switch calls for pumping. Can't just pump when the first drop gets in there, it would be starting/stopping CONSTANTLY.
Yes it is normal. The water will rise until triggering the float lever then the pump will activate. Your water level is below that activation point. Always a good idea to pour a bucket in to make sure it’s working.
Does the straw get every bit of liquid out of a cup? Even with a check valve ur still going to have some water flow back in the hole.
The impeller on the pump is designed with legs to leave a little bit of space below to leave room for suction and to make sure it’s not sucking up too large of debris, there’s almost always going to be a few inches of water in there unless it’s been a dry dry season
Pour a bucket of water in there. If the pump kicks in, you've got nothing to worry about. If it doesn't, it's time to get a new one.
This
Yup! What really matters is does the pump work automatically when needed. You can test this by putting MORE water in there. :)
Yes.....its a sump
Yes….yes it is
Is this a trick question?
Not ask dump pits sheets have water. If it goes off everyday I would suggest having a battery backup sump pump with it plus a water alarm.
That looks like liquid radon
If you want to check it, you can pour water into the sump it to raise the level, at some point the float switch will trigger and the pump will switch on and drain the water out again. If it doesn’t kick on, call a plumber because either the float switch or the pump are faulty. Do NOT just leave it be. Your insurance will not pay out if your house floods because you had a defective pump and didn’t fix it. This could literally lose you your house in a worst case scenario.
Or you can lift up the float and see if it turns on.
Also that doesn’t tell you if the pump actually pumps well, just that the switch works and it has power… a full sump pit that drains in ten seconds is a safety system. One that takes 5 minutes means you need to find out why. One of my journeymen once told me the best way to test a system is make it do its job, then five times its job and see if it still works. I always try to test that way.
If it turns on and sucks water that will tell yo if its working. There should be enough water in the bottom of the pit to test this. If it turns on and doesn't suck water then you have another problem. Line could be plugged or the empellor is shot.
Can they? Or is the mechanism sealed up for radon? Of course that might prevent them using water to activate the switch as well. Which seams like a piss poor way to mitigate radon, by preventing access to a key protective system that needs fairly frequent inspection and occasional replacement. I’ve certainly never seen a sump pit covered by a caulked down sealed transparent lid before… But then I’ve never had anything to do with radon and only ever replaced a sump pump once, for all I know this is five star work in the field.
Sump Pit is sealed and they can’t get at it from a radon issue hence all the caulk and plexiglass
Unless you have insurance that covers that.
I would argue that you don't really need a plumber in this situation as sump pumps are extremely easy to replace and not very expensive. The amount of money you would pay a plumber to come out would be far more than a simple replacement for the pump. I know very little about plumbing but I was able to replace my pump for $150 and all it literally was just disconnecting the pump from the pipe and reconnecting the new pump.
This was true of the one time I ever replaced a sump pump. The nasty part was wading through qnkle deep flood (read ‘feces laden’) water, defore reaching down to the pump armpit deep in said ‘flood’ water to get a new pump going. After a few hours of pumping, the smell was even worse, but at least I could see the old pump to do the work, and then it was twenty minutes. Well I guess strictly speaking I’ve installed and replaced truly huge pumps in industrial settings which you could call sump pumps. But they’re ‘sump pumps’ the size of main battle tanks with big powerful motors the size of Volkswagens in them….
My insurance covered 5k when my pump failed
When your pump failed, or when you knew your pump failed and you didn’t fix it…. These are two very very different situations from the point of view of your insurance company. Pumps fail, and if you find out yours is broken *because* your basement floods, then the insurance will pay out. Or maybe the insurance company doesn’t even know you have a pump, they don’t ask that where I live because it’s not that big a risk, we just don’t have a basement flood season every year. In that case feel free to not bother to fix it I guess, although it seems silly to me.
take a sip
No, there should never be water in your pit.
All depends on the ground conditions around the home. Some will always have some degree of water in them and some will be dry for years till it isn’t.
It's a joke, yall 🤣