My sump pump rarely cycles during summer months, but much more frequently during winter months. This is completely opposite of what I'd expect. But what I want to know is if its ok for my pump to be cycling roughly every 5 minutes, staying on for only about 5-10 seconds, even when it hasn't rained or snowed in days. Am I recycling the water or what? Please help...
Mine used to cycle every minute. Occasionally it didn't shut off. Nothing was wrong, just a lot of water.
I don't know what your weather is, so I don't know how opposite it is. A friend's house was built on a spring; his pump ran constantly all year long.
Where does your water go? Sometimes it is dumped into a drywell, and then just flows back. Hopefully not; it ought to go into a storm sewer or well away from your house.
Has it done this for over a year, or is the the first winter?
A common problem that causes lots of cycling is a bad check valve.
I'm guessing the water exits into the storm system. But I'm really not sure where it goes once it leaves the house.
It is usually a lot more active in the winter. But I don't recall it running this frequently in previous winters... My pump is brand new and has a built in check valve, so I don't think that its the valve. Its still running as much as my old pump was...
Well, maybe that too, but if the sump is going from high enough water to activate the pump to low enough water to shut it off, then the pit, pump, and switches are not well matched.
check sniff pump area. my sewer line went bad and caused this once:(
Will make sump stinky
God is playing games with your head.
My pump takes 22 seconds. I would go down to your basement and see what is happening. If the water is rising, and then the pump runs and the water goes down to a few inches from the bottom, then it's ok.
Well, you might be recylcing the water. I had a friend who was sleeping in her basement because she gave her bedroom to her old mother (and her other bedroom she used for her artwork). Her sump pump went up 5 feet and ejected literally 2 inches from her basement wall, and the water all ran down through the dirt back into the sump. For a given molecule, it probably took less than 5 minutes, and there was a continuous flow. The pump ran almost all the time. My sump pump otoh ejects 25 feet from my house on the side of a hill, which takes it farther away. It doesn't have to be as far as mine but should be farther than hers. Where does yours eject?
IF you want it turn every 10 minutes and stay on for 10-20 seconds, LOWER the weight on the float shaft, so that the float will have to rise higher before it turns on the pump. Also a check valve would keep the water level from getting a head start every time. I don't have one, but I have months where it doesn't run at all, so it's ok.
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It depends on the installation, but if the check valve is bad, much of what is pumped out can drain back in, so it is constantly re-pumping the same water.
A) I didn't mean weight. I meant whatever hits the switch and turns on the pump. It just happens that mine is heavy enough to be used as a weight.
B)Not all sump pumps use a moveable cog on a float shaft, but they're all adjustable in some manner.
More importantly, you may be able to delay the turning on of your pump for weeks or months at a time, depending on what the water table is outside.
For example, I physically kept the float down so that it didn't trip the swtich to turn on the pump. I saw that the water would rise another inch or 2 inches, but no more. I adjusted the sump pump to turn on only when the water was 2 1/2 inches higher, (which is still 3 inches below the top of the sump) and for most of the year, the water never gets that high. My next door neighbor has his pump set for 2 inches lower (4 altogether) and his pump runs every 20 seconds almost all year long. Even though we have the same water table (townhouses)
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Adjust the float so the pit fills for longest cycle, look into water draining back in that was pumped out. Longer cycles are easier on the pump.
That would explain a short idle time, but not a short run-time.
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