Hi there,
I apologize for the length but I like to be thorough for the sake of not having to go back and forth with questions and answers :-) I sincerely appreciate your time and advice. Thank you.
Configuration:
I have a Ridgid SP-500 main pump (http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/SP-500-Sump-Pump/EN/index.htm)
I have a Basement "WatchDog" Emergency battery backup, model BWE; it's the yellow pump. http://www.basementwatchdog.com/basement_watchdog_emergency.htm
Sump pit is approx. 18" across by at least 18" deep.
Background:
When I first installed the backup pump about 2 years ago, my discharge line AFTER the lift area was about 20 ft to the exit of my house. The pump worked fine then. Last February, the outside portion of that discharge pipe froze (because the home builder put a portion of it 1/4" from the ground surface...eek). That discharge pipe was totally replaced to route to my crawlspace's backup sump pump's discharge line, which is about 40ft give or take from the pit. I'm 95% sure that after the plumber finished his work, we tested the backup and the main pump and both emptied the pit.
I have an issue now where the backup pump pumps water up the lift, which is about 9.5 ft from the bottom of the sump pit (same as it's always been) BUT then the water drains back down into the backup sump's 1.5" pipe, and therefore does not actually pump any water ALL the way out the discharge line. Actually, when I activate the backup pump, I don't see the pit's water level go down so naturally, I assume the water that is being pumped to the lift is only the water that's been there (beneath where the check valve is). I removed the pump from the pit to take a look and removed the strainer cover so I could see that there were no obstructions of any kind, and there wasn't, and also to see that the pump was actually moving when manually activating the switch; it looked good. I checked the checkvalve, which still looked like new, and it seemed ok. I questioned the battery so I even attached my car battery to it for a test and got the same results: water moved up to the lift but that's as far as it got. I'm beginning to suspect that 1) the pump is either not working as hard as it used to and/or 2) the new, much longer distance from the lift area to the house exterior is causing a hit in performance.
I have re-read thru the backup pump's manual and verified that I have the 3/16" weep hole and water comes out of it pretty well when I activate the backup pump and I don't see the pump's water level rise. I hold my hand to each section of the backup pump's discharge pipe up to the lift and can feel the water go up and then back down.
FYI - the dual pump configuration in the pit is the typical parallel setup where both pumps are on the pit bottom and then they join via a Y-connector, which is the same configuration I had before re-doing the length of the overall discharge line. See page 4 of the WatchDog user manual, Installation B. My setup looks just like this. The link is at the top of this posting.
Before I go out and buy a backup pump with more horsepower, I wanted to solicit your professional advice. Thank you very much.
Jim
Git-R-Dun
I apologize for the length but I like to be thorough for the sake of not having to go back and forth with questions and answers :-) I sincerely appreciate your time and advice. Thank you.
Configuration:
I have a Ridgid SP-500 main pump (http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/SP-500-Sump-Pump/EN/index.htm)
I have a Basement "WatchDog" Emergency battery backup, model BWE; it's the yellow pump. http://www.basementwatchdog.com/basement_watchdog_emergency.htm
Sump pit is approx. 18" across by at least 18" deep.
Background:
When I first installed the backup pump about 2 years ago, my discharge line AFTER the lift area was about 20 ft to the exit of my house. The pump worked fine then. Last February, the outside portion of that discharge pipe froze (because the home builder put a portion of it 1/4" from the ground surface...eek). That discharge pipe was totally replaced to route to my crawlspace's backup sump pump's discharge line, which is about 40ft give or take from the pit. I'm 95% sure that after the plumber finished his work, we tested the backup and the main pump and both emptied the pit.
I have an issue now where the backup pump pumps water up the lift, which is about 9.5 ft from the bottom of the sump pit (same as it's always been) BUT then the water drains back down into the backup sump's 1.5" pipe, and therefore does not actually pump any water ALL the way out the discharge line. Actually, when I activate the backup pump, I don't see the pit's water level go down so naturally, I assume the water that is being pumped to the lift is only the water that's been there (beneath where the check valve is). I removed the pump from the pit to take a look and removed the strainer cover so I could see that there were no obstructions of any kind, and there wasn't, and also to see that the pump was actually moving when manually activating the switch; it looked good. I checked the checkvalve, which still looked like new, and it seemed ok. I questioned the battery so I even attached my car battery to it for a test and got the same results: water moved up to the lift but that's as far as it got. I'm beginning to suspect that 1) the pump is either not working as hard as it used to and/or 2) the new, much longer distance from the lift area to the house exterior is causing a hit in performance.
I have re-read thru the backup pump's manual and verified that I have the 3/16" weep hole and water comes out of it pretty well when I activate the backup pump and I don't see the pump's water level rise. I hold my hand to each section of the backup pump's discharge pipe up to the lift and can feel the water go up and then back down.
FYI - the dual pump configuration in the pit is the typical parallel setup where both pumps are on the pit bottom and then they join via a Y-connector, which is the same configuration I had before re-doing the length of the overall discharge line. See page 4 of the WatchDog user manual, Installation B. My setup looks just like this. The link is at the top of this posting.
Before I go out and buy a backup pump with more horsepower, I wanted to solicit your professional advice. Thank you very much.
Jim
Git-R-Dun

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