advice needed for check valve configuration when installing backup sump pump
#1
03-03-11, 10:14 AM
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advice needed for check valve configuration when installing backup sump pump
I want to install a battery backup sump pump. The discharge for the current A/C pump comes out of the pit and above the floor for about 2 feet before bending 90 degrees. It goes another 2 feet to the wall and then up the wall. About 3 feet more up the wall (total 5 feet off the floor) is the check valve.
Would it be best to put in a connector below the point where the discharge out of the pit bends the first time, and add check valves for each pump? My concerns are: 1) there are now 3 check valves -- is there any harm in the redundancy of having the third one? 2) do check valves have to be above the floor and at same height? I'm not sure by the time I bend and extend for the battery backup that its check valve will still be above the floor. I'm confident it would be above the drain lines emptying into the sump, though.
I tried ASCII drawings but they didn't format well here.
Would it be best to put in a connector below the point where the discharge out of the pit bends the first time, and add check valves for each pump? My concerns are: 1) there are now 3 check valves -- is there any harm in the redundancy of having the third one? 2) do check valves have to be above the floor and at same height? I'm not sure by the time I bend and extend for the battery backup that its check valve will still be above the floor. I'm confident it would be above the drain lines emptying into the sump, though.
I tried ASCII drawings but they didn't format well here.
#2
03-03-11, 02:42 PM
Assuming you will be tying the backup's discharge into the AC pump's dicharge with a tee or wye you need to have a check valve in each pumps discharge pipe and they need to be below the tee or wye. If one of the check valves is above the junction the pump will just recirculate the water back down through the other pump and not discharge.
It's not real critical where the check's are mounted but I would keep it to two if possible. The third check valve could cause some air lock problems.
It's not real critical where the check's are mounted but I would keep it to two if possible. The third check valve could cause some air lock problems.
#3
03-03-11, 04:50 PM
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So if A is as it is now, and B is the version with 3 check valves in place, is C a better alternative?
#5
03-07-11, 03:47 PM
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Obviously I wouldn't make it look like C, but if I were to looking from the right of C, facing the wall, the next question becomes: keep check valves at same height (C2), keep backup pump valve as close to pump as possible (C1), or keep both valves close to their respective pumps, which requires moving the one up high and replacing it with a joiner (C3).
#6
03-08-11, 03:44 AM
Doesn't really matter where the check valves go as long as they are below the tee or wye. Having them higher up allows more water to return to the pit after the pump shuts off so i would go low if I had a choice.
