Service life for a sump pump?

[JDgreen227]

The 3/4 hp pedestal type Craftsman brand sump pump with a vertical float in my addition basement is ten years old now and still works perfectly, but I did replace the vertical float switch atop the motor housing about 3 years ago "just in case". Had one of the submerged type pumps with the tethered float prior to that and the float hung up twice and the water overflowed the sump pit. Have to wonder what kind of a service life one can expect from a quality sump pump if it never runs dry and fails from overheating. Opinions, please?

 

[jaotguy]

depends on the "use" ...

runs a few times each year on occasion = lifetime

runs most of the day for a week solid = several years

runs solid 24 hrs a day for a week or so = 1-2 years


in the "off season " ... pull the pump, remove the lower leg and check the bearing / bushing in the bottom by the impeller ... they tend to wear and get sloppy ..... other than that , it should run for many years

 

[JDgreen227]

depends on the "use" ...

runs a few times each year on occasion = lifetime

runs most of the day for a week solid = several years

runs solid 24 hrs a day for a week or so = 1-2 years


in the "off season " ... pull the pump, remove the lower leg and check the bearing / bushing in the bottom by the impeller ... they tend to wear and get sloppy ..... other than that , it should run for many years

Good advice...mine almost never gets extended use, there was 2.5" of rain here yesterday but the pump almost never turned on...my brother who lives in the city has the same hp pump and he told me his was turning on about every 15-20 seconds. In the city there is so much pavement the rainfall just bounces off and runs into the sewer system which gets overtaxed quickly and most of the homes where he lives have really old tile drainage systems. Here the soil is almost all clay so the rainfall takes a while to percolate down. Appreciate your input.

 

[bigtiller]

Don't forget the check valve above the pump. When it quits working you're done pumping.

 

[newbury]

I keep a spare pump ready to hook up and swap into the sump pump hole.

Often when you REALLY need the pump, after several days of heavy rain, there is a shortage of them because a lot of them are failing.

 

[AMD]

I keep a spare pump ready to hook up and swap into the sump pump hole.

Likewise; I too have a spare.
Ours quit the first night we stayed in our new house - pedestal style - and I replaced with a submersible. It runs every 5 - 10 minutes in the spring and sometimes even more depending on the weather. It slows to maybe once an hour throughout the rest of the year but is going on 2.5 years now. The sump hole dried the first summer but not last.

 

[JDgreen227]

My backup is that I saved the 3/4 hp submersible pump that I used for the first year, the problem with the tethered floats is that sometimes they get hung up in the crock and that's why mine didn't turn on. My next door neighbor had a pump with the type of pressure switch built in the pump itself that turns it on but two years after his house was built the switch went bad and his basement (finished) got really wet.

 

[jaotguy]

.my brother who lives in the city has the same hp pump and he told me his was turning on about every 15-20 seconds.

ask him if he has a check valve in his "out" pipe ... if he doesn't, the water he just pumped out will just come back in the same pipe and refill the pump pit....

 

[JDgreen227]

ask him if he has a check valve in his "out" pipe ... if he doesn't, the water he just pumped out will just come back in the same pipe and refill the pump pit....

Yes he has a check valve where it should be but the water inflow was so great his pump could barely keep up....

 

[jaotguy]

looks like ... time for a second pump in the pit with a second out line ,cause if that pump fails ......