Sump Pump set up

[GMCGarage]

Whats your thoughts on a sump pump?

My situation. I use a aftermarket sensor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X6AJ9E/?tag=atomicindus08-20) to turn on and off the sump pump. This allows the water to rise higher, and the pump not be on and off as much.

My issue is, the sump pump is now submerged all the time, and the switch on the pump is bad (its stuck on the on position). The aftermarket sensor controls it, so right now its fine.

I was going to replace, do you think I should set the sensor lower, and let the sump pump cycle more, or let it go as it is.

 

[matt_i]

I would (and did) go with this or a version of it sized for your needs.

https://www.sumppumpsdirect.com/Zoeller-M53-Sump-Pump/p3751.html

 

[mike93lx]

I would leave it alone and use the factory switch.

My last house had three sump pumps that ran all the time. Never felt the need to try and improvise a "solution"

 

[GMCGarage]

I would leave it alone and use the factory switch.

My last house had three sump pumps that ran all the time. Never felt the need to try and improvise a "solution"

Its also an alarm, either high water or pump failure. It was there when I bought it.

Guess my question is, why do they call them submersible if they really shouldnt be

 

[GMCGarage]

I would (and did) go with this or a version of it sized for your needs.

https://www.sumppumpsdirect.com/Zoeller-M53-Sump-Pump/p3751.html

I dont need a new pump, if anything just a new switch. Thanks though.

 

[mike93lx]

Its also an alarm, either high water or pump failure. It was there when I bought it.

Guess my question is, why do they call them submersible if they really shouldnt be

Submersible for a short period of time. They are designed to pump water automatically to a certain level. By bypassing that, you are no longer meeting their design

 

[Earp69]

I felt the same way about my pump, it would run for 3 or 4 seconds and shut off. I bought a square d switch and used a piece of all thread and a toilet bowl float. Now it pumps for 10 seconds at a time. Short cycling anything is bad, sump pumps are no exception

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, two switches are the best solution.
The first switch turns the pump on when the sump level is high and at it's maximum, the other turns the pump off when the level is at its minimum because you don't want to run the pump dry.

 

[3onthetree]

I think it's better practice to not fully cover even a submersible sump pump all the time. Too much mineral deposit and scale buildup, eventually the gasket on the switch housing or the lever boot could deteriorate/impede the lever. I realize it doesn't matter since your switch is fried and you are using the electronic probe anyway, but my opinion would be to keep the water level where the on point of your vertical/tethered float was probably engineered to keep the switch housing above water.

The bigger question is why you raised the water level to avoid constant running:
- If from a high water table, where the natural water height stops just below the footing drain tile pipe, then just raise the pump on blocks and set your electronic probe so it engages the pump when the water starts to fill the pipe. With a high water table its ok to have some water sitting in the footing drain tile, but you want at least an airspace in the pipe to allow water to enter and to allow capacity to drain the rain water at the far end from the pump. You also do not want water touching the bottom of slab, so it takes experimentation on pump heights depending on where your slab/footer/pipe is and how the pipe is tied in to the pit.
- If only from periodic heavy rains, there's no reason to allow the pit to fill above the pump to extend the pump's cycle.
- If it's from an oversized HP/GPM pump, then get a smaller pump.

 

[engineer2]

People from the Chicago suburbs are experts on sump pumps. My Zoeller short cycles and I don't worry about it. I have a battery backup pump and WiFi high water alarm. Keeping the water level artificially high is dangerous since you have little cushion in case of a deluge. Often a basement sump pit overflow occurs due to a torrential downpour that overwhelms the system for an hour or so. A nearly empty pit buys you some time.

 

[matt_i]

I dont need a new pump, if anything just a new switch. Thanks though.

I'm going to represent that Zoeller design as the finest float switch I've found in a sump pump, to-date. If it were my own system, I would question putting in two $80 switches (think you said you wanted to replace) that don't really work as they should when a new pump-package is only a $20 bill more.

I claim no wide expertise, have worked on a half-dozen or so in my life. Even some industrial ones with double digit hp motors and ~20ft deep sumps.

Its float switch design is also used in Zoeller's trash/sewage lift pump, has had success in my parents house for about a year now also.