sump pump

[eggert28]

Does anyone know what I can do for a frozen sump pump line? My lines going outside are plastic so I don't think fire would work. Any options would be helpful. Thank you.

[Speedy Jim]

Get a roll of corrugated pipe and use it temorarily. Maybe even carry it back inside (garage?) after use.

[Lawrence]

More info would be nice. Boiling water works well if it's not too bad. If the pipe is exposed and of a short distance it could be cut out and replaced or even carried inside to thaw. That poly pipe is cheap. Your other option is wait for a warmer weather.

Interestingly, the BORG where I live stops stocking poly pipe in the winter but Ace hardware keeps it in the back with samples of every diameter out on the isle. Your best choice to avoid the problem is to use a shorter pipe or run the pump manually during the cold weather so the pipe can be drained.

I live up in the northwoods our low tonite is expected to be negative

30 below farenheight.

[Harry K]

I can't think of any reasonable way to thaw out the line. Once the weather allows, correct the lay of theline so water does not remain in it. There should be a constant slope down to the pipe outlet once it leaves the heated space.

Harry K

[Steve Barker]

depending on the length of the freeze, you can put a garden hose on your hot water tank, put a quantity of hot water in the sump, then take the hose out and start hosing the suspected frozen area. Once it starts moving any small amount of water, keep the warm water going into the sump to finish the thaw job. Then take the low spots out of the line to prevent pooling. Been there, done that.

[J.C.]

Don't know how much or where it's located but if you can get to it, hair dryers work pretty good.

[Art Todesco]

Sometimes, if the freeze is underground, you just may have to bypass the whole thing and use an above ground pipe/hose until it thaws. I've done that in the past. Now I have a 4" PVC pipe underground from the house to the edge of the property, which is sloping downward. Both the AC pump and battery pump exit the house (1

1/2" each) and dump in the 4". It empties pretty fast and doesn't have too much time to freeze.

[mm]

I don't have enough detail to understand the problem.

My 1 1/2 or 2" sump pump line only extends about 3 inches out of the house, about 8 inches above the ground, and there it is inserted into a much bigger (4"?) corrugated flexible plastic pipe which is buried in the ground and comes out the side of a hill just beyond my yard.

If this larger pipe froze, the water would just pour out of the connection onto the lawn. The smaller pipe won't freeze becasue it is empty except when the pump is running.

If you are in a critical situation now, water in the sump rising and about to go over the floor, and no outlet for the pump, you might cut your pipe off 3 or 4 inches from the wall outside. If there is ice in the stub -- I doubt it -- you could use anything, like a hammer and chisel, or an ice pick. to break up the ice inside.

[Mike Hartigan]

This happens to me every couple of years. I normally have a 1.5" corrugated hose connected to the pipe to lead the water away from the house but I sometimes forget to disconnect it before the deep freeze (d'oh!). Fortunately, I can go 2-3 weeks without running the pump before the water rises to an uncomfortable level. The pump normally runs a few times a day, but when I unplug it during one of these frozen pipe episodes, the water rises to the level of the drain tile, then stops for a couple of weeks before resuming its rise. Presumably, I'm filling up the drain tile during the pause. Usually we get a thaw during that time, and all is, once again, right with the world! Of curse, it then takes an hour or so to pump out all that water, but I digress.

I keep a length of 1.5" hose on hand just in case. I disconnect the vertical pipe at the check valve, connect the hose, and run it to the floor drain to be pumped out by the ejector pump. I'm sure our local sewer department wouldn't be thrilled with that, but it serves the purpose.