old contractor put in sump pump but too far out from wall and the pipe coming out of it comes up about a foot off the floor and then goes to wall. Makes area not useable. Plumber and I were talking and no problem to bust up small area of floor to re-route pipe over to wall and then patch concrete (this is in closet area) Can I run a small piece of conduit from sump pump to wall to route the corded plug to the outlet?

does the sump pump have to be on GFCI? It is going to be finished basement eventually. I thought there was exception that sump pump did not need to be on GFCI but that may have been eliminated in 2008 like exception for garage door openers was eliminated. I do know that there are no local code deviations regarding this.

Can I put a sewage ejector pump on this same circuit? --of course I will check to make sure the current draw is OK. Can I put anything else on the circuit or does it have to be dedicated?

 

I don't like the idea of burying sump runs, makes servicing more difficult.

No GFCI on sump(GFCI don't like motors), but should be a dedicated single outlet. Same for sewage pump.

They could be on the same circuit, but each on a dedicated circuit is safer. You do not want those two circuits to fail due to something else malfunctioning.

 

If servicing is only concern, then I think I'd be OK. It is a very short run -only about 2-3 foot-- and I would use conduit big enough to get the plug through. If it is not a code violation, then I probably will do it.

One issue with putting sump pump and ejector pump on their own circuits (or both on the same but without anything else) is that you might not know if it isn't working. If I put the bathroom light on the same circuit, it might clue me in that something is wrong. same idea with smoke detectors. If you put them all on separate dedicated circuit, you might not notice the lights flashing indicating they are on battery power. But if you put the stairway light on that circuit, you are not as likely to miss the fact that the circuit lost power.

 

New code requires a GFCI on a sump pump (and wet locations), but my state has modified this portion of the code to say a GFCI is not required for a sump pump! Also some states go by older codes which do not require this.

So basically this is a local thing as to if GFCI is required or not. I have read of people having constant tripping problems with GFCI's on sump pumps.

As to a GFCI on a garage door, this is required and VERY important. A small child was electrocuited recently because the garage door became electrified.

Basically new code says everything in a garage must be on a GFCI. (But again a local thing due to modifications to the new code and older codes still being used in some areas.)

 

check your local codes for GFCI recomendations.

A sump pump needs dedicated circuit.
Think that if you have a heavy rain, you do not want your circuit to overload because it is also being used by some other device, and cause the breaker to trip, rendering your pump useless when you need it most.

As for the problem of not knowing if there is a problem with the circuit, it is safer to install an alarm system like WaterWatch to let you know when the sump is not working.
To be on the safe side, it is also interesting to have a battery operated backup pump that will kick in when the alarm sounds, with enough power to handle the job until you get the main pump back on.

 

No. Cords cannot be installed in conduit.

 

I was concerned that the corded plug could not be in conduit, like it can't be in the wall. Really seems silly that I can't put it in conduit 4" below surface for 2foot run? Can anyone explain the reasoning in that to me? The cord is capable of being in water (it's a sump pump!) and if conduit is large enough to get plug through to replace pump in future, what is the problem? The alternative is to run cord on floor so that it is possibly damaged or someone trips on it!

 

If you cut your trench with a concrete saw before chipping you should be able to get a fairly neat cut. Then instead of filling with concrete simply place a grate or steel plate flush with the floor. How you support the grate flush with the floor can be your choice but you could probably just put legs on it.

Since the cord is water proof you could just lay it at the bottom of the trench.