I think with all of our voltage and electric problems the past month that our sump pump got damaged...The water level in it right now after a hard morning storm is about three inches from the top...I never paid attention before to the pump, so I have no idea what the water level needs to be for it to kick on, can someone help??? Thanks a ton!!! *************************************************************** 07-24-05, 04:16 PM frankvan With the voltage problems you were having, as I recall, there is a good possibility that the sump pump motor sat there when the float switch was calling for it to start and, not having enough torque to start, it simply burned out. If the level is three inches from the top you should be able to tell if the float switch is in the position it would be in to call for the pump to run. If the problem had beem caused by the power company's undersized transformer, you may be able to get them to replace the motor, or at least test it to see whether or not their equipment was responsible. It's worth a try.
07-24-05, 06:37 PM kittypal Thanks Frank, I had ny big brother come over and he took a bucket and got some of the water out in case it rains again, tomorrow he will get a new one for me. I have no clue if it was due to the transformer thing, probably, but the pump is several years old and might have gone anyway. Thanks for the reply!!! Smile
07-26-05, 01:47 PM dangergurly9 Kitty...you can buy a sump pump back up.I am not really sure how much they run but if you have anything in your basement of value I am sure it would be priceless!It sits in the hole with your regular pump and when the regular pump stops the backup sounds an alarm and takes over.This is run by a car battery so when your power goes out you are safe!
07-26-05, 03:23 PM kittypal Thanks Dangergurly....I will look into it...my brother did replace the old pump yesterday so all is well...for now!!!! Smile
07-26-05, 04:33 PM Georgia85 What's a sump pump???? Kinda fun to say...Big Grin
07-26-05, 04:53 PM FredPuli Yes, what is a sump pump? Is it like a bilge pump on a ship or boat? That's to empty the bilges,where water collects in the bottom of the vessel.It's needed because they have tried drilling a hole in the bottom of the hull, for the water to run out... Wink
Why would you need a sump/ bilge pump on a house? Doesn't the water drain away in cellars where you are ? Apparently not, so why not? Do you get freak storms of such severity that sometimes the cellar floods and so it's worthwhile having an emergency pump installed ? Confused
07-26-05, 05:03 PM DorianGreyed That is exactly what it is, Fred. Many homes have a sump, or a catch basin in the basement, with an automatic pump installed. Water in the sump is pumped (Liking this wordage, Georgia?) to the house's drainage pipe.
07-26-05, 05:06 PM Sherasi My family has lived in areas that have a lot of ground water and flooding. The sump pump is a device that pumps out the water that collects in a sort of concrete basin below the level of the lowest section of our basement. There is a device that detects the height of the water which kicks on the pump to remove water. Sorta like that floating thing in the back of the toilet but in reverse.
quote: Originally posted by Sherasi: that floating thing in the back of the toilet
That's the ballcock .Kinda fun to say. (Are we allowed to say 'ballcock' on AP? Eek)
07-27-05, 08:03 AM Georgia85 Apparently sump pumps are not widely used in GA except along the coastal areas. Guess that's why I've never heard of them. We've had severe floodings these past 2 summers due to the hurricanes. I'm talking about houses submerged in water...betcha they wouldn't have done much good in those conditions - lol
lol @ Fred!
07-28-05, 12:57 AM gizmogram OMG...this post brought back memories...of bailing out the sump pump...
As a teen in Illinois...we had a sump pump...and whenever we had a BAD storm, we would be down in the basement, bailing it out to avoid flooding.
We were a regular "bucket-brigade"...bailing out the basement...In the midst of tornado warnings usually...
Boy am I glad I don't live in an older home in the midwest these days!
07-28-05, 02:36 AM FredPuli Got It ! Just realised why we don't have 'sump pumps' in Britain.
We don't have cellars.No cellar, no 'sump' Smile.
The only places with cellars are old pubs.
We don't have rain, either.( But we get very heavy dew on cloudy days; ask the tourist board Wink )
We do get tornados, lots of them, but they rarely cause much damage; the 'twister' is only a few metres across.One that hit Newmarket recently damaged glasshouses and some roofs.
07-28-05, 03:32 PM dangergurly9 Apparently here in Michigan we have a lot of ground water.Any home you find with a basement they will have a sump pump.Most people when they buy property to build on,they have to have a Perk test and this determines the water table on the property.I would say 7 out of 10 new homes built here have to have fill dirt brought in because the ground sits so low and has such a high water content.We also have lots of swamps here Roll Eyes and some people find that they "need" to build there. Those would be the city folk trying to move out here into the country. lol.I guess the sump pump has its ups and downs.On the down side,it can cause a lot of water damage if it fails,but on the up side as often as we have tornado's and bad storms..as far as I am concerned I would never live in a house without a basement Wink
07-28-05, 05:13 PM FredPuli Birmingham hit by tornado: Hundreds of houses were wrecked as a tornado cut a swathe through Birmingham today, uprooting trees, throwing cars about etc. Nobody was killed but twenty people were gravely injured. That's Birmingham, England, by the way, not Birmingham, Alabama !
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