Sump Pump Discharge

[jerg1213]

I recently moved into a house with a sump pump in the cellar. There is a rubber hose attached to the discharge pipe maybe about 3 feet from the pump that goes back to drain at the pump. I have attached a couple of pictures. Does anyone know the purpose of this setup? I've never seen anything like it.

 

[CT18]

Someone may have been to lazy to hard pipe it. It also may have leaked and the person that repaired it used that plastic pipe

 

[MicEd69]

Possibly just a way to drain the discharge line, but I don't know why they would have placed it that far down stream. And there should be a weep hole above the check valve anyway which would do the same thing.

Possibly a return line so they could reduce the cycling of the pump, but that is a bit strange.

 

[jerg1213]

The discharge from the pipe has the black plastic pipe that transitions to the steel pipe. There is a fitting screwed into the steel pipe that has a shutoff and the red rubber hose is connected to the valve. The red hose seems to be an old piece of air hose that was used. The red hose drains back to the sump pump and can be seen in the second picture. I do want to repipe the pump dicharge since it currently leaks at the transition. I'm trying to determine if there is a reason I should consider keeping the red line.

 

[MicEd69]

As I said in my reply above, is may have been an attempt at reducing the cycling of the sump pimp. That is an awfully small sump. I would suggest digging the sump deeper and doing away with that line that goes back to the sump. The valve is closed now, and I see no use for that line for a "normal" sump and sump pump installation.

As I said above, there should be a weep hole just above the check valve. That is not something that is normally done for a sump pump in a conditioned place, but as this is a cellar and it appears the discharge line exits the cellar rather close to the sump. You have an issue with water in the outside line freezing should that line be full of water. I'm assuming you cellar maintains enough heat to keep the sump area from hard freezing.

 

[jerg1213]

As I said in my reply above, is may have been an attempt at reducing the cycling of the sump pimp. That is an awfully small sump. I would suggest digging the sump deeper and doing away with that line that goes back to the sump. The valve is closed now, and I see no use for that line for a "normal" sump and sump pump installation.

As I said above, there should be a weep hole just above the check valve. That is not something that is normally done for a sump pump in a conditioned place, but as this is a cellar and it appears the discharge line exits the cellar rather close to the sump. You have an issue with water in the outside line freezing should that line be full of water. I'm assuming you cellar maintains enough heat to keep the sump area from hard freezing.

When I go to replace the discharge pipe, I also plan on removing the pump, digging the hole deeper, and installing a sump basin. The furnace is nearby, so it does stay above freezing in the area. I'll check for a weep hole above the check valve. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[MicEd69]

If you can slope the discharge line from right above the pump all the way to the discharge point, you shouldn't put a weep hole above the check valve. but there should be one below the check valve to avoid possible air lock of the pump.

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

That looks like one nasty sump, just a hole cut in the concrete floor. Is it lined? If you don't have a proper plastic sump I'd add that first. Maybe it's already there but invisible in the photo.

 

[jerg1213]

That looks like one nasty sump, just a hole cut in the concrete floor. Is it lined? If you don't have a proper plastic sump I'd add that first. Maybe it's already there but invisible in the photo.

No, it's not lined. As I mentioned earlier, I will be digging the hole deeper and installing a sump basin. The floor is dirt, so it will be fairly easy to do.