Sump pump Question - No more water?

Okay, bear with me on this one.....

We had a home built in 2000. The builder installed a sump pump. It used to run constantly. It failed twice (pipe came loose) and we got a little water in the basement.

We recently had the basement completed. We did much of the work, but hired a contractor to do the drop ceiling. He also installed a new sump pump, with a battery backup (just in case).

That was installed in July. Since then, we have had NO water in the sump pit AT ALL! Bone dry. When the new pump was installed, it ran for about 7 minutes and cleared out the pit. Nothing since then. No pumo operation, no need for the backup, No water in the sump pit at all! We have had some very heavy rain over this time, but nothing at all in the sump pit.

Could the old pump have been so bad that it was just pumping the same water over an over like the check valve was bad? I know it was a lower model pump, but I can't imagine it was that bad.

Or did someone build miles away that changed the water table so we don't get any water in the pit anymore?

Really strange to have this happen all of a sudden, but I guess the old punp could have been that crappy.

Here's a really bad idea of what we have now:

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Thanks. This is more of a curiousity than anything.

Chris

Reply to
Chris (SilverUnicorn)
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Chris (SilverUnicorn) wrote: ...

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I'd guess you're in an area that has been undergoing longer term drought conditions and the water table has dropped since 2000 w/ the occasional rains as yet simply not enough to recharge it to the point you're getting infiltration again.

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Reply to
dpb

A similar thing happened to me. Our pump ran a lot for many (25) years. Yes, it would dry up in very long dry spells, but very rarely. We would be pumping water even is the dead of winter. Our town installed a anti-backup system in the front yard, due to occasional sewer backup. It's a 4' concrete cylinder that goes down about 9' where the main sewer line comes from under the basement floor. It is a float activated shut off valve. There is also an ejector to pump sewage from the house, if we continue producing sewage, that pumps into the sewer system (now under back pressure). Anyway, since this thing was installed, we only get water in the original sump when it really rains a lot. We had 3" of rain last week (remnants of Gustav in the Chicago area) and the sump is still dry today. I asked the town if the anti-backflow unit is taking the water and illegally pumping it into the sewer system. I was told that just having the unit in the front lawn is probably diverting the ground water. I'm not sure I believe that 100%. I have seen the pump in that unit run (there is an indicator panel in the basement) on a few occasions.

Now, in your case, you said continuously. Does that mean it never ever stopped? That is not right. I would guess that it was somehow recirculating the water or it was blocked. But, if the output was blocked, the water in the sump would eventually get hot from the motor and friction (especially for a submersible pump). If the outlet outside was dumping near the house, it would recirculate and cause lots of extra running. That has happened to me and many neighbors where an extender pipe breaks or comes apart near the house. Long running time can also happen where there is an underground spring feeding the sump or the perimeter drain pipes.

Reply to
Art Todesco

Make sure the installer did not cap off the pipe in the sump pit while he installed the pump. He may have forgotten to remove the cap. No water at all is suspicious fcompared to what you had.

The check valve is typically not in the pump but in the pipe. Did he also replace part of the pipe when he put the new pump in?

So there is no water infiltration? I can't see how that could be related to the pump. I had something like this happen to me when the city was working on a big water main about 2 miles away. It returned after the summer.

Reply to
CL "dnoyeB" Gilbert

Also, with the 2 pump 1 pipe system, if either of your check valves fail, your water will never leave the pit.

Reply to
CL "dnoyeB" Gilbert

The ground water levels are seasonal and can vary from month to month

Reply to
mike60510

Agree. Here in NJ, it's common for there to be more water in Spring, then decline to the point where many sump pits are dry during summer. That can hold true even if you get a heavy rain during the Summer.

Also, with new construction, often the amount of water that makes it to the sump pump declines after the first 5 years or so. That's because the disturbed soil allows rainwater to penetrate more easily around the foundation than normal compacted soil will. Over time the soil returns more to normal.

Reply to
trader4

Thank you for all of the replies. The pit access is not capped from what I have been able to determine, and the contractor had his own pump with a hose to empty the pit before he started. The water was never coming feom the pit access, but rather when the old pump would stop, seemed to be coming back through the exit pipe, leading me to believe the check valve was bad and it was recycling the same water over and over.

I will keep an eye on it, but it figures it's resolved itself (for now) since we paid $400 for the battery backup.

LOL

Chris

Reply to
Chris (SilverUnicorn)

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