Sump Pump Management

[Sump Stumped]

Hi,

I need some advice regarding my sump pit. I have a battery back up pump down there and a ½ HP Ridgid pump. We are looking at getting some severe weather tonight (63 degrees in Chicago in January?????) and there is a distinct chance we may get 1-2 inches of rain tonight which will essentially turn into runoff as the ground is still frozen and saturated from all the pack snow melting over the weekend.

My question is, if the runoff is too much for my main pump to keep up and starts breaching into the crawl space can I submerge another 1/3 HP with a flexible hose attached and stick it in the pit as well?

I also have a Ridgid utility pump as well with a garden hose attached which pumps out 1300 gallons per hour as well. There is about a 3 inch lip in the crawl before it becomes the basement proper.

I have just put up new walls in my basement after I got flooded in August of last year and I would hate to have it happen again, though the last time it was mainly coming up from the toilet as the the power went out and the sewage lift station for the neighborhood did not have a back up generator.

Any other ideas on how to control the possible flooding due to too much runoff swamping my pumps would be truly appreciated.

[Ace Sewer]

You can stick as many pumps as you can fit in that pit, but do it with some common sense... at the risk of stating the obvious here are a couple basic concerns;

- something, probably a float, turns each pump on and off. make sure that something is not prevented from moving freely by stuffing another pump in beside it. (at extreme risk of stating the obvious, if there is no float or something similar.... it just runs when you plug it in, you will destroy it pdq if you run it dry)

- plug enough things in on the same circuit and you will trip a breaker... put 4 pumps down there and when the last one kicks on you might have none.

- your flexible hose discharges where? when it's spitting water it will want to jump out of whatever its stuck into so make sure you secure it.

if this is a tonight only worry, just set your alarm clock and get up and check it.

[westcoastplumber]

If you call Zoeller and answer their questions about square footage, sump size, head and length, they will tell you the correct size pump or sytem to use.

Sounds like you need a professional to install the correct sump, discharge, pump and secondary pump with alarm, since this basement is a finished basement, and a professional electrician.

[Sump Stumped]

Most of the horrible stuff missed us, thank god. Though I feel bad for the residents down in Indiana who got 5 inches of rain. Thanks for the advice, I have contractor grade 100ft extension cables so I don’t trip out the pumps. The flexible discharge hose would be travelling about 10 feet to a window and then outside the back yard if it became necessary to use. I was only going to use it in an emergency if my regular pumps were getting swamped by runoff. I have a contractor I found on Angie’s list who specializes in basements coming round to take a look tomorrow evening.

I was also considering buying a 3.5 HP gas utility pump as an instrument of last resort as that thing kicks out 8000GPH but my wife is against spending more money on equipment (I recently bought a 5500 watt generator), I think it may be a wise investment for $350 in my opinion.

I never thought about my place flooding and I think we live in scary times concerning the weather, just got to try and make ourselves safe.

[Sump Stumped]

Sounds like you need a professional to install the correct sump, discharge, pump and secondary pump with alarm, since this basement is a finished basement, and a professional electrician.

I have a Basement Watchdog with alarm as my secondary pump and a 1/2 HP discharge pump which seems to be quite adequate on normal rains. This new setup has yet to be fully tested by a big storm but after flooding last time and all the pain we went through I just don't want it happening again. I ended up starting smoking because of it, now trying to give it up again:o