Can't believe it happened again!

12 years ago

Major rain again this week and with me working (too much!) my pump box flooded again! (So embarassing as happened last year as well!) I managed to get both pumps (external) dried out and started but the Sequel is whining again. I spent $160.00 last fall having the bearings and seal redone on this pump from the flood last year. I've had below ground external pumps for 8 years and never had problems before just crazy weather this year. Our local river is flooding right now which it hasn't done this time of year in over 30 years. I also put another sump pump in my house this year which has been running every 1/2 hour for the last week!

My problem is there is no room in the pump box to put a sump pump pit. The water did not come in from the top it came in through a small opening around the skimmer line at the bottom of the box--ground water coming up. I have three options as I see it.

1. Remove part of the box flooring and put a 3 or 4" shower drain with a 90 to go under the box and to a sump pit located outside the box. This would involve some creative digging under my box which is buried and digging a sump pit beside the existing pump box which I will have to check regularly for water to pump it out somewhere in the yard.

2. Raise both pumps on concrete blocks which will put the pump intakes at only 2 or 3" below water level. The Sequel pump is the one the throws the breaker as the electrical box is near the bottom of the pump so only 1" water can go in the box and it shuts off the GFC.

3. Remove pumps and put above ground. Problem is both skimmer line and settling chamber lines are 16" below ground at the bottom of the box. Piping would have to go up 18" to get out of the box and to ground level. I have a priming pot on both pumps but if I understand things correctly both skimmer line and sc line would have to have a check valve somewhere before the pumps but I don't know where. This option would involve alot of replumping as all valves are also currently in the box.

I do have an old thread on this forum that shows pictures of my pump box if anyone is interested. Suggestions welcome. Patti

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Comments (4)

mike_il
12 years ago
Patti,
You also have a fourth option and that is sealing the skimmer line going into the box. Yes the pumps can be mounted above the ground. To tell you what would be needed I would need more information such as where these pumps are pumping and where they are sucking from?
Mike
jalal
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for suggestions Mike. I did put a drain line in the box going under the box into a container buried in the ground outside pond. Also raised the big pump about an inch. It's drawing from a 300gal sc. Output from settling chamber is only 12" down from full water level on sc. 2" line going 1 ft into pump box which is 18" down from ground leval. Fernco fitting, 2" ball valve, a 22degree elbow, 3" pipe to priming pot which is connected to pump. Pump and priming pot 22" in length. Pump has 1 1/2" discharge but after the fitting has a short section of pipe then a fernco increaser followed by the check valve then a 2" ball valve. Pumps 20ft through 2" line buried line that is sloped up to waterfall box intake is 3 ft above ground level.
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mike_il
12 years ago
Patti,
In your first post you said the water goes in around a small opening around the skimmer pipe coming into the box. In one of my pump boxes I have 10 pipes coming in or going out. It is a fiberglass box that has been in the ground for 19 years. I could have used bulkhead fittings to go through the box walls but I did not. What I did was to take a small piece of plywood and put a hole that is little larger then the OD of the pipe. Then took a piece of liner about the same size of the plywood. Then on the outside of the box I silicone caulked the liner to the box over the pipe hole and put the plywood over that and ran bolts through the assembly in each corner of the plywood to clamp the liner to the box. Then ran the pipe through a small hole in the center of the liner and used a hose clamp to seal the liner to the pipe. After 19 years not one of the connections leak a drop of water. But I still have had that box flood 4 times. One time was when we had a freak storm and we got 16 inches of rain in 24 hours in a small area. The first 8 inches was not a problem but the last 8 inches caused flooding and I had a stream 4 inches deep running over the box. One time was when a lid on a primer pot broke and came off which drained about 2000 gallons of pond water in and out of the box. The other two times were caused by power failures and the small sump pump that I have in a 4" pipe connected to the bottom of box as a sump pit did not run.
Mike
jalal
Original Author
12 years ago
Thats alot of pipes! I did have a liner under the box which came up the sides and ends 8" stapled then just 2 x 6 green wood on the bottom and sides of box. I forgot in my post the the two lines going to the waterfall went through drilled holes in the ends of the box so some water may of entered there but very little. I removed one of the floor boards that just happened to be in line with the skimmer line, dug an 8" deep trench to the other side and under the box and put a 2" line in the trench to a pit outside the pond. Filled the trench in the box with gravel. Havn't managed to get the 15" wide culvert pipe my son's friend gave me (he owns the company) in the outside pit but we've had torrential rains since then and the box isn't flooding. Wish I had your knowledge on repacking bearings because the bigger pump is whining again. I have two sump pumps in my little 1100 sq ft house and they are running every 15 minutes the last three days and the floor of my basement is 5 ft below ground level. We've had so much rain this year that they are saying the local farmer's have major crop failure. Potatoes are going to cost a mint this winter.