I got cover off sump pit (I posted about that). The reason I took it off is because having issues with pump. it was coming on, run for like a second, shut off, come on, etc. Then stop altogether. Or it would come on, run to empty the pit, and shut off like normal. I had issue before and I pulled on discharge pipe coming from pit and shook and little and has worked fine for months. Thought maybe float stuck on basin wall. So I can see float and it moves freely. with cover still on I was able to reach in one of the holes and lift float but pump didn't come on even though there was enough water in pit that it should have come on. then suddenly it started the short second long bursts, then came on and emptied pit. right now when I lift float it comes on. So I am guessing float switch bad and need whole new pump as seems like one unit.

current pump is myers. SP25V1 1/4 hp 6.5 amps. don't see GPH listed. not sure if this is good sizing or if should get larger. the basement is an addition 24x30, pit is 18", pipe is 1 1/2". there is 30 rise up out of pit, 90 elbow, 2' run to wall and there is check valve in this run. 90 at wall. Then 7' rise. 90 elbow to outside and then another 90 outside to connect to drain pipe. so 9 1/2' rise, 4- 90's, and and about 2 1/2' horizontal total. I have never had it overflow. when very hard rain it runs probably every 30 sec? although I can't be sure because it is unfinished at this point so not down there whole lot and isn't something I have thought about timing or actually measuring the number of inches of rise in pit during a heavy storm.

one thing is that the range from on to off doesn't seem like enough which I would think contributes to the frequency of the pump coming on it comes on and empties pit quickly, then comes on again in short amount of time. . not sure if this distance is pretty much same for all pumps? or how much adjustment there is?

 

I would start by testing the float switch. Reach in there and slowly tip it or move it to cause the pump to turn on. Repeat this many times to see if there is an intermittent problem. Also move the float around anywhere it will reach to see if it can touch anything which could cause it to get stuck and not turn the pump on.

 

If the float switch does not turn on at the level you set then it should be replaced. It is not worth repairing a float switch becase it is likely to need constant attention.

You can get separate float switches. If your pump has a built in float switch that is failing and you cannot get an exact replacement switch then you will need to do some kitbashing (jury rigging) and if shun that then a new pump is called for.

The ideal is for the pump to start before any of the perimeter drain piping is more than 2/3 covered and the pump should nearly empty the pit before stopping. If (or rather since) you don't know how high the water got in the drain piping you would use the drain pipe ends exposed in the pit as the height reference.

You might get away with a higher pump turn on level. The success depends on geological conditions under your house and the downside is that the far side of the basement gets flooded.

If you do get flooding, allow the pump to run a whole week when you make a new float setting before concluding whether the new setting worked okay.

Sometimes the pit is too small to promote the desirable longer pump cycles happening less frequently, and there is no easy improvement.

 

the float moves freely. it doesn't rub the sidewall of the pit. when pulled up, pump comes on. when release it pump shuts off. But like I said, with pit full above point that pump should have come on yesterday, it did not. I played with float, jiggled it, slid up and down and pump did not come on. then hour later, on its on, it once again started coming on for like a second, then off, then on, continuing for a while and then came on and emptied pit and seems to work fine now. But there was something going on before? I didn't install it, so I don't know anything about the setup. I found instructions online, and looks like there isn't any float adjustment, and the travel between on and off is only 4 1/2". I think I read when trying to see what size pump I should have that an inch, in an 18" pit, is equal to a gallon of water. so It only pumps out 4 1/2 gallons of water at a time? actually less since pit has slight taper and bottom small than top. seems like a lot of cycling. the pit is like 22" deep and the pump comes on when water level is probably 4-5" below the bottom of the two drain pipes. the pump is sitting on two bricks that are on the bottom of the pit. there is a lot of mud, but not above the level of the bricks. I will clean that out.

 

Is your switch just a floating ball with a wire coming from it or is your switch mounted above the water with a metal rod going down to the float?

 

mounted above water with metal rod going down and float rides on that rod. according to the instruction manual, the company makes an A1 model (mine is V1) that has a tether float. it does have 7" between off and on points.

 

Your switch should be relatively easy to replace since it's above the water and easy to access if that turns out to be the culprit. A key to figuring this out is so experiment with the pump until you figure out when or why it's quitting.

 

well it seems to have stopped working at all. no amount of sliding, jiggling the float can get the pump to turn on. I may have to buy a new one while I take this out. Don't know if I want to be without one while I look for parts. put a spare one that has hose connection in pit last night. Luckily we got little snow/rain/slush last night and I didn't get flooded.

 

so I know I don't have all info, but from what I did provide, does 1/4 hp sound about right?

current pump has wire going in, then another wire coming out and going to float. is the switch wired as a switch loop? like the hot/neutral enter pump. The neutral goes to the motor, the hot goes back out to the switch, then returns to the main housing and goes to the motor. Like to know how wired so I can "jump" it to test motor.

edit: heard big box store pumps not really suggested. The local supply has only 1/3 and 1/2 hp. The 1/3 models are Myers MCI 033 $184.54 and Liberty L257 $179.83

 

You can think of it either as power to the pump and then to a switch loop, or as power to an ordinary switch and then to the pump. The exact physical arrangement may look like one or might look like the other depending on the locations of all of the terminal screws.

Hot should go to the switch first and neutral should go to the pump first.

 

I would bypass the float switch and power the pump directly. That will tell you if it's just the switch or if the pump needs to be replaced.

 

Not sure if this is understood, but this pump only has 1 plug. This isn't piggyback setup where the pump plug plugs into the float switch plug, then into the outlet.

So I cleaned it up before working on it. then started testing. I plugged it in and push the float rod up and down over 100 times and the pump came on/off every time. Then I was doing something else for few minutes and went back and it didn't come on. pulled down then back up and it came on. then it worked 10 or so times in a row. once it didn't work, but while it was up I jiggled the rod and it started. Then it started not working no matter how many times I went up and down and jiggled the rod. But I noticed that with the rod up, and pump not running, if I put hand on pump or ear near it I could feel/hear it humming. Given this, I would think my problem is the pump itself. Would you agree?

when putting this back together, should I put the check valve inside the pit? right now it is on the short horizontal run between pit and wall. I thought if put inside pit I would think less noisy. Now you can hear a sound when pump shuts off and water hammer hits check valve.

 

maybe I jumped to wrong conclusion. I noticed some hum is the switch housing when pump not working. sometimes I could hear it in switch, then in pump. sometimes some crackling noises in switch. trying to see how to best bypass the switch. the pins on the pump that the switch plugs into are so close so risk of shorting them. maybe small bullet receptacles.

 

You can also bypass the switch at the switch if that has better access.