CJones
Final Approach
Last week Rachel and I moved back to Ames after a 3-year stint in the booming metropolis of Boone, Iowa. Our new place is a 3BR duplex with a partially-finished basement. Lucky for us (sarcasm), we are the side of the duplex that gets the sump pump in our basement. About a month before we moved in, the pump went belly-up and flooded the basement. They installed a new submersible and it appears that they also replaced the 'pit' liner. The 'pit' is appx 3ft deep and about as big around as a small wash-tub. The pump itself has a flexible float switch.
We got about 3" of rain in <6 hrs last night. When we got home late last night, the pump was running nearly constantly -- it would run appx 1 min, stop for ~10 seconds, run appx 1 min, etc. It seemed like it was starting-and-stopping quite a bit, but considering the water that was pouring into the pit, I figured it was 'normal'. Now, nearly 24hrs since we got the rain, the pump is still running off-and-on pretty consistently. It will run ~30 seconds, stop for 30 seconds, run for 30 seconds, etc. Is this normal? It seems like it is starting-and-stopping a LOT! It is a new pump, so I'm pretty confident it won't go belly-up yet, but at the same time I don't want there to be premature wear-and-tear on it for later. My thinking is that the flexible float might be set too short. It looks like the point where it attaches to the pump body and flexes can be loosened to allow more movement of the float. If I put more slack in the float extension, it would let the pit fill more before starting and get closer to empty before shutting off. Right now, it leaves ~6-8" of water in the bottom of the pit. I've never lived in a place that had an 'active' sump before, so I'm not sure if the constant off-on-off-on action is normal or not.
Any ideas?
We got about 3" of rain in <6 hrs last night. When we got home late last night, the pump was running nearly constantly -- it would run appx 1 min, stop for ~10 seconds, run appx 1 min, etc. It seemed like it was starting-and-stopping quite a bit, but considering the water that was pouring into the pit, I figured it was 'normal'. Now, nearly 24hrs since we got the rain, the pump is still running off-and-on pretty consistently. It will run ~30 seconds, stop for 30 seconds, run for 30 seconds, etc. Is this normal? It seems like it is starting-and-stopping a LOT! It is a new pump, so I'm pretty confident it won't go belly-up yet, but at the same time I don't want there to be premature wear-and-tear on it for later. My thinking is that the flexible float might be set too short. It looks like the point where it attaches to the pump body and flexes can be loosened to allow more movement of the float. If I put more slack in the float extension, it would let the pit fill more before starting and get closer to empty before shutting off. Right now, it leaves ~6-8" of water in the bottom of the pit. I've never lived in a place that had an 'active' sump before, so I'm not sure if the constant off-on-off-on action is normal or not.
Any ideas?