How to Change a Sump Pump Switch from Float to Electronic

[Tardigrade]

My sump pump failed a couple of weeks ago, flooding the basement. I crawled into the crawlspace and tapped on the exhaust pipe. The pump immediately turned on and emptied the sump pit.

The same thing happened this morning. After nudging the pump, it started and has worked a dozen times since. Now for another day of vacuuming up water in the basement!

I think that the problem is the float switch integrated into the pump. From what I've read, electronic pump switches are the best and I'm ready to install one, but how do I bypass the float switch to allow an electronic to take over control of the pump?

 

[DGersic]

Depends on the pump and switch design, post a picture of what you have.

On some, the float switch is integrated in to the pump body and will be harder to bypass than the ones where the float switch is separate and can be removed easily.

Or, if the pump is more than a few years old, replace the pump with one that has whatever style of switch you want to use.

 

[GrayFlattop]

Or you could simply replace the switch in your current pump if the design allows it. Zoeller pumps (or at least some of them) have a serviceable switch.

But if you depend on your basement remaining dry, you should consider a battery back-up pump & control. Many of these pumps will operate (even by house power) once the water level reaches the set point. If you set the switch to go on when the water level is higher than the main pump, you will be covered if the integrated switch fails in the primary pump.

If that's more than you want to spend, the minimally consider a water level alarm - so you can intervene if you happen to be home. Place the sensor in the pit a few inches below floor level to give you time to react.

 

[P0234]

I'm not sure electric switches are more reliable, sounds like its just time for a new switch. Regardless of what you get, something like this adds peace of mind:

https://www.amazon.com/YoLink-Sensor-Worlds-Longest-Detector/dp/B0BZBR1P3Q/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Set it up just slightly above the trigger point for the sump switch and it will send you an alert if your sump is not draining.

 

[Tardigrade]

OK, I assumed the float was wired into the pump and turned it on when the switch in the float was actuated. That's not the case. The wire from the float goes up to the receptacle and actuates the pump from there. I should have stomped through the mud and checked the situation before writing, although I got some valuable advice and I appreciate that. I should remember what ***-U-Me stands for.