Sump pump questions

[thecaptain0220]

Hey guys, I could really use some advice on a few things. I have some questions about installing a new sump pump. Long story short, I was going to just install a backup pump, but realized my main pump needed replaced too when I started.

Depth is a big question for me. When I moved in I replaced the pump and the previous installer had the pump sitting on two blocks stacked on top of each other. The depth of the sump is 17.5" and the top of the inlet pipe is at about 6". There seems to be some sediment on the bottom of the sump pit, but I cant see to the bottom. Do I dare set the new pump on the bottom? The top of the main pump sits at 12", it would be very submerged. I also dont want it sucking up everything on the bottom. Will the water just flow back in to refill it up to the intlet?

Is it fine for the pumps to be fully submerged? When I realized my main pump needed to be replaced, I purchased a Barracuda main / backup combo. The thing I find weird about it is that the backup and main pump are installed at the same level. This means that the backup pump will pretty much always be submerged. If you look at the picture on the box it shows that it is supposed to be this way, but their diagram shows them offset.

The main pump sits 12" tall and the float switch is set to 11". The backup pump is 8" tall and its switch is set to 13.5". This means the backup pump will spend most of the time fully submerged. Is this ok?

They dont mention a 1 way check valve in the installation for this kit. I assume that one will need to be used? The previous installer had the check valve installed at the top of the pipe, about 4' off the ground. This meant that when the pump stopped all that water went back into the sump. Should the check valve be right after the pump instead?

Finally the reason my main pump died so fast, in my opinion, is that the water softener is backwashing into the sump and the pump is then sitting in very salty water for a long time. Here is a picture of the main pump when I pulled it out.

My filter is backwashing directly into the pipe. Do you think that I could connect the softener this way?

 

[Mr_David]

they are submersible pumps. It's okay if they are under water.
they cycle on /off less if they allow more water to fill the sump before the kick on. It all depends on how you want them to operate.

How big is the discharge line 2" or less?
4' of 2" not going to hold a lot of water.
if it seems like 2 much water is draining back into the pit then low the check valve. That valve will bang shut with more ferocity when the is more vertical pipe above it.

 

[thecaptain0220]

Here is what I have done so far. The old pump doesn't look to great, but it still works. I took the two cinder blocks out and put it at the bottom. It has been running for about an hour now and water is still draining in. Should it eventually stop? Is the point to drain all the water from around the foundation? It seems like in the old setup the pump was above the inlet level and only ran during heavy rain, etc. Is that incorrect?

 

[thecaptain0220]

Well I wanted to let it go longer, but the old pump seems to have given up. I let it run for 3 or 4 hours and it just kept filling up and emptying. With the pump off it fills to about the top of the inlet and stops. I feel like if I put the float switch below that point it will just run continuously.

 

[KULTULZ]

My filter is backwashing directly into the pipe. Do you think that I could connect the softener this way?

Not to HI-JACK the thread, but just wondering...

You say filter. Do you have either an iron or carbon backwash filter now? And you want to now direct your softener backwash to the sump crock?

Is the white material on the pump calcium and the brownish iron/manganese?

 

[thecaptain0220]

I'm not 100% sure what the filter is. It backwashes into the outlet, but after the check valve. It is the black line in the pic above. The softener is backwashing directly into the sump. I was wondering about connecting the softener after the check valve too.

 

[KULTULZ]

I'm not 100% sure what the filter is. It backwashes into the outlet, but after the check valve. It is the black line in the pic above. The softener is backwashing directly into the sump. I was wondering about connecting the softener after the check valve too.

...hmmpf...

Softener discharging directly into the discharge tubing after the sump pump check valve. Never thought of that. It will keep backwash trash out of the crock. Where does the sump discharge go, to a septic tank or open discharge?

Does the sump also receive water from drain tiles? Regardless, the crock should be kept fairly clean as sediment is hard on the pump impeller/seals.

 

[thecaptain0220]

Im not sure where the discharge goes too. I do know what when I had the check valve off, once all the water had drained out, I could feel air coming back in. Does this seem to point to it being open? If so I assume that its going somewhere on the property. There is a large tube at the edge of the property that is some sort of clean out.

I am also not sure about the drain tiles. I should contact the people who built the house. This is a little weird, but one time the wife of the people who built the house stopped by. She was in the area and wanted to stop and take a look I guess. She said something about them not wanting a sump pump when they built the house, that they wanted it to drain out to the field behind the house, but they had put one in anyway when they built the house. That is when she told be the tube by the field was a clean out.

I was able to get the old pump up and running again, it has sucked up some stuff from the bottom that I had to clean out. I left it running all night and its been running all day today. It seems that if you lower the water level below the inlet, there is always more water that comes in to fill it back up. Im not sure if this is a design problem with they way they installed it or if it is normal. Either way it seems to me that my float switch cut on position needs to be above the inlet so that under normal conditions the pump isnt running all the time.

 

[KULTULZ]

If the crock is filling continuously, there may be either interior or exterior tiles designed to catch water around the foundation.

As for the pump itself, do you have the Install Manual or can see a serial number to lookup online as to proper installation? Can you remove the clean-out and see if there is water running there?

The actual pump should be put on a stand and the bricks/blocks removed (IMO) and the crock cleaned out of any sediments. The WS softener discharge will not be all salt as it is exchanged for calcium/magnesium during backwash (and also collects in the crock).

The majority of the salt will be discharged to the septic tank, sewer or open discharge and/or you.

One poor soul posting here had a stream of some sort running under the house.

 

[dariushbabri]

I'm not 100% sure what the filter is. It backwashes into the outlet, but after the check valve. It is the black line in the pic above. The softener is backwashing directly into the sump. I was wondering about connecting the softener after the check valve too.

طراحی سایت​

 

[dariushbabri]

طراحی سایت