I have a pretty elabrate Sump pump pipe discharge set up. My sump pump is outdoors and takes on water pretty fast during hard down pours. I currently have a weep hole in the correct spot, but when the water level goes over the the weep hole, the pumps ability seems to diminish and has in the past air locked. I was wondering if adding a air line vent, in place of the weep hole, extending above where the water would be able to reach is a good idea and would it even work. I would have to put a "T" pvc pipe and extend it approx 2 feet. Thank you for any and all suggestions. I can provide pictures and other information if anyone needs.
Sump Pump Weep hole
- Thread starter TDP
- Start date
koditten
Well-known member
I'm confused what the weep hope is.
I can's see how adding a velt would work. The pump would just push water out the velt hole when the pump turned on.
Any chance at posting a pic?
KO
I can's see how adding a velt would work. The pump would just push water out the velt hole when the pump turned on.
Any chance at posting a pic?
KO
Omphaloskeptic
Well-known member
How big is your weep hole? Recommended size is 3/16".
I had to muck out the pit on my previous home's sump pump, and also the pump had to work against a fairly high 'static head' pressure from the back-flow check valve to the top of the discharge pipe loop. I alleviated this problem by extending the drain line from the top of the discharge loop which created a siphon action assisting the pump's efforts. I also installed a 'weed-blocker cloth' mesh screen over the pit to help prevent debris from being washed into the pit of the outside basement stairwell. There also may be some debris in your discharge pipe which is interfering with the function of the weep hole even if it is sized properly.
Ah, the joys of wet-vacuuming a flooded basement; I don't miss them a bit!
I had to muck out the pit on my previous home's sump pump, and also the pump had to work against a fairly high 'static head' pressure from the back-flow check valve to the top of the discharge pipe loop. I alleviated this problem by extending the drain line from the top of the discharge loop which created a siphon action assisting the pump's efforts. I also installed a 'weed-blocker cloth' mesh screen over the pit to help prevent debris from being washed into the pit of the outside basement stairwell. There also may be some debris in your discharge pipe which is interfering with the function of the weep hole even if it is sized properly.
Ah, the joys of wet-vacuuming a flooded basement; I don't miss them a bit!
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Gary S
Well-known member
I've never found a need for a weep hole. I have two sump pumps in my basement and have never had a problem with airlock or anything else. I have my backflow valves a foot up out of the sump hole, and from there, the pump has to lift the water 8 feet out of the basement. My pumps sit dry all winter, and in a dry summer, they sit dry all summer. In a wet summer, they get water and always fill themselves without any need for a weep hole.
You might have other issues if you need a weep hole.
You might have other issues if you need a weep hole.
Clik
Well-known member
Weep hole allows the pipe above the check valve to drain so that it doesn't freeze into a solid column of ice.
Most sump pump problems are sludge in the pit or a pump not properly speced for the amount of head pressure. Many people see a pump rated to lift X and assume because their elevation difference is X they are OK. They fail to allow for friction loss etc.
Air lock is a myth.
Most sump pump problems are sludge in the pit or a pump not properly speced for the amount of head pressure. Many people see a pump rated to lift X and assume because their elevation difference is X they are OK. They fail to allow for friction loss etc.
Air lock is a myth.
Outlander
Well-known member
My check valve it at the bottom, between the pump and the vertical section of pipe. Should I be moving it? That said, I guess I don't have a weep hole.
michael037
Member
I think Clik has it right. I've sold pumps for 20+ years here and have never fitted a weep hole to the discharge pipework, but then again, we don't get the extreme weather like some of you guys. The weep hole is on the discharge side of the pump, so really shouldn't affect the pumping performance of the pump.
Michael
Michael
I just drilled a 5/32 hole and watched how my sump pump works. To my shocking amazement, a water stream coming out of the weeping hole is running like crazy, but my sump pump managed to empty the tank in less than 10 seconds. Looks like the hole does not lessen the performance that much.
signcrafter
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 9, 2012
- Messages
- 12,325
I live where everyone has sump pumps and it freezes in the winter and I have never seen or heard of a weep hole. I've replaced a bunch of pumps in my life. Not saying I know everything, just find it weird that I've never heard of a weep hole if one is needed.
Is the purpose of this weep hole to alleviate pressure when the pump kicks off? I get a lot of noise out of the sump pump plumbing in my new place and no ability to check the system for a vent because it's cast into the floor and into the outside ICF wall.
This may just be the ticket.
This may just be the ticket.
DangerousDan55
Well-known member
Here is my angle on the vent.
With your vent hole located between the pump & disch check valve, it does not act as a anti- siphon. IF you didn't have a disch check valve in you line, you would need a vent hole drilled at a high point to prevent the siphon or back flow effect that would refill your sump.
I worked for Shell oil on pumps. BIG pumps! (retired)
On some of our Big sump pump, we had vents on the discharge side of the pump.
Follow me here....
The water is pumped out (or evaporated) to such a low level and air enters the pump. Later the sump recieves more water raising the sump level. The water level tries to enter the pump suction & the trapped air inside the pump is forced out the vent. So now the pump impeller is submerged in water, or we say it has a suction water supply.
Now, lets plug the vent hole!
Now after a low water level conditon & the pump impeller is dry, with air in the pump all the way up to the disch check valve. Now you recieve water into the sump. The level rises up to the pump suction. BUT, the air is now trapped inside the pump & disch pipe due to No vent. The water level can reach the top of the sump & the pump still cannot get rid of the air to alow the water reach the pump impeller. Let me say this is true for only a centrificul pump.
A no vent situation is just like when you have a kitchen sink full of water & then take a drinking glass, hold it upside down & lower it into the water. The air is trapped inside the glass!
Now imagine a pump impeller inside the glass. It Aint Pumpen!
So, as long as there is a vent, the water level inside the pump is Always the same as the level in the sump. Thus the pump has a suction supply.
The Pump Whisperer!
With your vent hole located between the pump & disch check valve, it does not act as a anti- siphon. IF you didn't have a disch check valve in you line, you would need a vent hole drilled at a high point to prevent the siphon or back flow effect that would refill your sump.
I worked for Shell oil on pumps. BIG pumps! (retired)
On some of our Big sump pump, we had vents on the discharge side of the pump.
Follow me here....
The water is pumped out (or evaporated) to such a low level and air enters the pump. Later the sump recieves more water raising the sump level. The water level tries to enter the pump suction & the trapped air inside the pump is forced out the vent. So now the pump impeller is submerged in water, or we say it has a suction water supply.
Now, lets plug the vent hole!
Now after a low water level conditon & the pump impeller is dry, with air in the pump all the way up to the disch check valve. Now you recieve water into the sump. The level rises up to the pump suction. BUT, the air is now trapped inside the pump & disch pipe due to No vent. The water level can reach the top of the sump & the pump still cannot get rid of the air to alow the water reach the pump impeller. Let me say this is true for only a centrificul pump.
A no vent situation is just like when you have a kitchen sink full of water & then take a drinking glass, hold it upside down & lower it into the water. The air is trapped inside the glass!
Now imagine a pump impeller inside the glass. It Aint Pumpen!
So, as long as there is a vent, the water level inside the pump is Always the same as the level in the sump. Thus the pump has a suction supply.
The Pump Whisperer!
DangerousDan55
Well-known member
Oh, yes you can connect to the exsisting vent & raise it higher. But, water will spray out. Just have it spray in back into the sump.
Now for freezing? Not much cold weather in TeXas. But, I would agree that a weep/drain hole above the disch check valve woul drain water from pipe exposed to a freeze. Very simular to a fire hydrant. Hydrants has the actual valve under ground with weep holes above the valve to drain the water from the hydrant to below the freeze depth.
Now for freezing? Not much cold weather in TeXas. But, I would agree that a weep/drain hole above the disch check valve woul drain water from pipe exposed to a freeze. Very simular to a fire hydrant. Hydrants has the actual valve under ground with weep holes above the valve to drain the water from the hydrant to below the freeze depth.
Rgerber2065
New member
Dan I previously had a pump installed with no weep hole for many years... I recently replaced pump and added weep hole per instructions however where I live my pump is constantly running about every 10 minutes... That being said my pit always has some water in it and bottom of pump is always submerged. My issue is I live in an area with clay in in soil and it creates a sludge (iron ochre) in my pipes which I have to flush about once a week to keep my drain pipes around basement from backing up ... However now when I do that as soon as level rises above weep hole my pump does not seem to pump water out very well. Should I plug the weep hole back up ?
know that this thread is 5plus yrs old.
RTM
Well-known member
Boosting an old thread for a very similar question:
I use a sump pump on my flat roof house with a low spot at a bad point. I use a Little Giant 5-ASP pump with a vertical discharge, PVC piped up maybe two inches, then turn horizontal and goes to a standard garden hose fitting, and a hose. Hose runs off the edge of the roof, and a bit over the side. The pump starts fine about 80% of the time, but at times it air locks. I go up, unscrew the hose 'til it leaks, and then it starts fine.
At times, the pump will be stopped, and the water will continue to siphon off for a long time.
Is there an integral weep hole on the pump that no one talks about in their manuals that might be plugged?
Why does it only air lock some times?
Seems to me like a small weep hole drilled into the top of my PVC pipe should stop the air lock. Also the easiest solution vs climbing onto the roof in the pouring rain, fancy automation, or a vacuum breaker.
Am I missing something? I know it will spray a bit of water while running, but I can live with this.
Edit: sorry, pic did not work, or the idiot behind the wheel didn't.
I use a sump pump on my flat roof house with a low spot at a bad point. I use a Little Giant 5-ASP pump with a vertical discharge, PVC piped up maybe two inches, then turn horizontal and goes to a standard garden hose fitting, and a hose. Hose runs off the edge of the roof, and a bit over the side. The pump starts fine about 80% of the time, but at times it air locks. I go up, unscrew the hose 'til it leaks, and then it starts fine.
At times, the pump will be stopped, and the water will continue to siphon off for a long time.
Is there an integral weep hole on the pump that no one talks about in their manuals that might be plugged?
Why does it only air lock some times?
Seems to me like a small weep hole drilled into the top of my PVC pipe should stop the air lock. Also the easiest solution vs climbing onto the roof in the pouring rain, fancy automation, or a vacuum breaker.
Am I missing something? I know it will spray a bit of water while running, but I can live with this.
Edit: sorry, pic did not work, or the idiot behind the wheel didn't.
Last edited:
gizardlizard
Well-known member
The last Zoeller pump I bought, has a vent built into the base that you need to clean out periodically. I also bought a battery backup pump that came with a weep hole built into the check valve.
DGersic
Well-known member
RTM
Well-known member
My pump only needs > 1/8" to run.
When I reroofed 17 years ago, they reduced the pooling area substantially, but didn't completely make it go away. When we get multiple inches of rain in short succession, it worries me.
We've had so many drought years here it was rarely a problem. Our "normal" rains were not a problem. The last three years we've had the storm of the century come thru.
RTM
Well-known member
I saw a video on a pool cover pump with a weep hole built in, but searching the pump docs did not mention one.
The pump by itself doesn't talk about it. When installed with a check valve, they say to use one. But I don't have a check valve (Pic added above)
Shiftless
Well-known member
I too live in the Bay Area. Last week we had a storm that delivered over 4 inches of rain. Last night it rained almost 2 inches. The seasonal creek was running pretty strong.
My next door neighbor had his garage flooded for the first time in decades. The grate that protects the 18 inch storm drain got clogged with dirt and debris and backed up to a level about 6 feet above the grate.
I helped him clear the drain but the damage is done.
This is the view from the corner of our property. Thankfully we are well above this level. My neighbor is not.
Shiftless
Well-known member
I do have a sump pump set up in the crawl space next to and slightly above a finished room in our basement. During heavy rains it catches water that gets past the French drain across the uphill boundry of our lot.
The PVC pipe runs upward a total of about 6 feet and then goes through the wall and downward about 2 feet and then connects with a perimeter 3 inch tube that carries all of the downspout rainwater down to the city storm drain. No weep hole and I’ve never had an “air lock” and never heard of this problem until I read the above posts.
The big battery is a group 27 lead acid model that is stand by power for the inverter in case we have a power failure during a big storm.
You can see water in the pit. This only happens during big storms.
The white pipe on the left brings water from a different area uphill in our crawl space.
I could probably eliminate all of this if I dug an 8 foot deep trench alongside the house and built a deeper French drain but I would still have to pump out the water from the low end because there is no easy gravity flow from that point.
Just part of the challenge of living in a 75 year old house, right?
The PVC pipe runs upward a total of about 6 feet and then goes through the wall and downward about 2 feet and then connects with a perimeter 3 inch tube that carries all of the downspout rainwater down to the city storm drain. No weep hole and I’ve never had an “air lock” and never heard of this problem until I read the above posts.
The big battery is a group 27 lead acid model that is stand by power for the inverter in case we have a power failure during a big storm.
You can see water in the pit. This only happens during big storms.
The white pipe on the left brings water from a different area uphill in our crawl space.
I could probably eliminate all of this if I dug an 8 foot deep trench alongside the house and built a deeper French drain but I would still have to pump out the water from the low end because there is no easy gravity flow from that point.
Just part of the challenge of living in a 75 year old house, right?
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Shiftless
Well-known member
It’s all better now…
DGersic
Well-known member
For that setup, I don’t think you need one, but it wouldn’t hurt anything to have it.
The idea is to allow the pump to spin up to speed without having to do so while trying to lift a big column of water. With a normal sump install, that’s 3’ to 4’ of pipe in the pit, and another 8’ or so to get over the foundation and out of the basement. The check valve keeps most of that 10’ to 11’ of pipe full of water. The weep hole allows the bottom 1’ or so to drain, so the pump spins up against no resistance.
You're only lifting 2” of water. That won’t stop anything. Assuming the rest of that assembly runs down to the ground somewhere, the hose should be mostly empty from gravity draining it.
A small (1/8”) hole would allow the hose to drain better, maybe. Worst case, it won’t help, but won’t hurt.