my sump pump is in an earthen pit and ground water seeps in causing the electronic float switch to cycle on and off about every 90 seconds. I am looking for a delay off switch that would delay the pump from turning off for 10 or 15 seconds so that the of-off cycling would be greatly reduced. Cannot find such a 'delay' switch / electrical plug. Any ideas?
Fwiw ... the switch on my pump is contained in a plastic ball (I'll call it) that's attached to the pump by its electrical wiring. The length of that wire can be used to provide what I learned in electrical engineering as hysterisis. Or, the switch goes on when the ball thingy (another technical term) is say a foot above the pump, and goes off when the ball is horizontal when tha foot of water has been pumped out.
So you might look into that type of switch. Now, a buddy years ago built from scratch a switch that triggered a "one-shot" to turn the pump on via a relay at the water high level, and another switch that via the "one-shot" turned the pump off at the water low level. The range of the water depth for that type of solution is unlimited ... but not certified :-)
So what happens if the pump is turned off? By that I mean there is a level that water rises to in my sump well, and then stays there ... until a heavy downpour, spring thaw. Or, I don't keep the well dry, I just keep it from overflowing onto the floor.
I've driven through the country, and I've seen areas that flood every spring, and I've seen houses being built there ... and I've seen the gas powred pumps runnning out in the yard the next spring ... big mistake imo ... unless the whole area is properly drained.
Rather than a delay, you need to adjust the switch high and low levels. Often this is done by sliding a stop on the guide the float is on. Not knowing what you have, I can't say exactly what you need not seeing your switch/pump, but you are right that 90 seconds is too many cycles.
I would look into directing whatever water possible away from the home by regrading new downspout drain lines well away from home, and if at all possible run a underground drain line from the sump to a spot well away from home thats at a lower grade. a outside french drain is another option if say you live at the base of a hill.
the first step to water control is minimizing the problem.
I don't follow what the delay switch would accomplish. If water is coming in that fast, delaying the 'on' would cause the sump to overflow.
If it can go the 10-15 sec without overflowing you can replace a subersible pump with a pedestal and perhaps gain a bit on the duty cycle. Depends on the depth of the sump.
Or, as it is in an 'earthen pit' you could deepen the sump and change to a pedestal type pump (if you have a submerible now). Maybe even put an extension on the pedestal and go really deep with the sump.
The come in many flavors. Some have "stops" that can be moved. My current one has a screw adjustment as it uses a pressure switch rather than a float switch.
I wonder if you might profit from finding out why you have so much water needing to be pumped. Maybe you need the grade around your home adjusted.
Believe me, I've "been there done that" twice on the sump pump issues. For the last 23 years. I have a spring under my basement. Both my sumps run at least every 15 minutes even during a drought.
put the sensor in small cup that has a small hole in the bottom, such that the cup can fill quickly with water over the top of the cup when water is filling the sump. then when the pump starts the pump will drain the wate out of the sump and the cup will SLOWLY drain through the small hole in the bottom of the cup, the pump will continue to run until the cup is empty...
you can control the dely with the size of the hole in the bottom of the cup...
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