high chrome slurry pump quick connect

sump crock

Anonymous User

I am installing a sump pump in my basement, and after digging the pit about 18 inches wide and 20 inches deep so far, I notice an inch of water accumulating in the bottom of the pit over about 2 hours. I calculate this is about half a gallon in an hour. It seems to be oozing from the side of the pit. Our area had an all-time record monthly rainfall of almost 13 inches in July 2003, so I am guessing the water table has risen a bit. All the sump crocks I've seen are impermeable to water. I realize sump pumps are supposed to be kept free of sand and silt, but is there some kind of sump crock that would allow this high level of ground water to ooze into it to be pumped out by the sump pump?

jjbex(IL)

Do you have a tile around the footing to drain into the pit? What are you trying to accomplish with this pit? Since you are digging a sump pit, what about digging an ejector pit and plugging up the floor drain?

hj(AZ)

I am not sure what kind of crock you have, but we used to use a section of 15" or 18" sewer tile which created an open bottom for the water to enter the pump.

packy(MA)

easiest way i have found is to put a few inches of 3/4" crushed stone in the bottom of the hole you have dug, take a 5 gallon plaster bucket, drill a bunch of 1/2" holes in the bottom and the sides, place it in the hole and surround it with more 3/4" stones. a number of companies make submersible pumps designed for this application. they have a little float attached to their side and it all fits very neatly in the bucket. you can even put a cover on the bucket and drill it for the discharge and the wire.

Gary Slusser

I'd use 1/4" holes but... if you want it to work right, you need a much larger hole than what you've got now. It takes time for the water to get into the hole and if it doesn't run fast enough it isn't 'drawn' in from very far away from the pit when it's needed. I'd suggest a 24" x 36" hole done as packy says but with something like an outside plastic trash can made for the purpose. I'd also use some (or all) smaller gravel like 2B or 3B; more chips than chunks. That's so the dirt sides don't wash out from under the floor into the gravel pack. And I'd add an inch or two under the pump and set it on a thin patio block (or piece of one) and set that on that gravel with the pump on it. You also need to prevent the pump from moving (walking over time due to the torque of startup) so the float doesn't become hung up and can't turn on the pump. And buy the pump and then fit the rest of the stuff to it rather than doing all this and then being limited to the type size of pump that will fit the hole. In this case, bigger is better. And use a check valve on the discharge line and make sure the line can fully drain if you are in a freeze area. And don't leave the end of the line lay in water that will freeze.

Anonymous User

I've got the pump and I'm sizing up what will fit it. I'm not too worried about how rapid the ooze takes to fill the crock, I just wanted to take advantage of the high water table. Since I dug the hole 4 days ago, I've accumulated about 3-4 gallons of clear clean ooze in the bottom of the hole. There's been almost no rain during that time. The sump pump is being installed to separate the footer drainage from the floor drain, and to pump the storm drainage out to the street, and to allow me to install a short standpipe to isolate the floor drain should it back up with sewage. At present the ends of the footers are hanging over the grating of the floor drain, so that they discharge over the floor drain and then into the sewer. which is contributing to the city-wide problem of sewer overflow during heavy rain. Recently I had a small amount of sewage backup, which was immediately diluted by an overwhelming amount of storm drainage. All the footers converge on the floor drain, there is less than 12 inches separating these points. I've been chipping out the concrete around these points, and will have to install some kind of small (3-4" I.D.) flexible drainage tubing into the terracotta footer drains to guide them around the floor drain/standpipe and into the sump crock. I know this will make the area around the floor drain look like a can of worms, but it already looks like that. Thanks for the tip on preventing the walking of the sump pump during operation. I had not considered that, and the pump directions don't mention it. I am planning on securing the outlet pipe to the lid of the sump, then using a rubber sleeve to allow the lower pipe to be removed from upper portion. The pump directions do mention keeping sand and gravel out of the pump mechanism, and that was my main concern. When the ooze is stirred up, some of the clay is suspended, but will settle out over several hours. Does this kind of suspended material damage sump pumps? The sump hole is in solid clay with an occasional 1-2" diameter stone in it, there appears to be no sand or gravel in the hole or anywhere nearby. I have found a 20-gal garbage can which swallows up the sump pump with room to spare, and plenty of vertical space, probably more than I need. The plastic is not as thick as that of the dedicated plastic sump crocks available, I am a little concerned about drilling a lot of holes, which I guess would likely crack the thinner plastic during the vibration of the pump, and result in the separation of a large piece of the bottom of the crock over time. The cost of this garbage can is 10% of the cost of the available dedicated sump crocks, and it's much more appropriately sized. What I am thinking is (1) drilling a 1 1/2" hole in the bottom of this "crock", gluing a 3" to 1 1/2" PVC reducing bushing on the outside/bottom of the crock, then from the inside attaching/gluing a 1 1/2" PVC cleanout plug receptor sealed with a removable drain plug. This setup would reinforce the thin plastic on the bottom of the crock and make it less likely to develop large cracks. I don't think I would be able to pull the crock out without destroying it once installed. The bushing would protrude about 1 1/2" down into the sump hole. I could drill extra holes in the sides of the bushing, but I don't think it's necessary, since the downward opening of the bushing is shaped like a funnel, tapering from 2 1/2" to 1 1/4" where it connects to the inner PVC fitting. (2) Lining the bottom of the hole with a 3-4 inch layer of coarse gravel, a grade locally used for backfill of basements and footer drain trenches. This gravel is recommended by the local drainage/building supply people as good to resist clay infiltation of drain pipes and to prevent water/frost heaving of basement walls. (3) After the crock is set in the hole, filling the gaps around the side with the same gravel. I would seal the top edges of the hole against the edge of the crock with concrete, and cover the opening with a piece of stained marine plywood or pressure treated plywood. (4) In the crock the drainage plug would be left out until I see how the ooze is handled by the sump pump. If I find coarse particles, fish, etc. getting into the bottom of the sump, I could just plug up the bottom and forget about it. I could even apply a burst of water under pressure to the threaded fitting to back flush the gravel bed if the hole ever got jammed with clay. The PVC fitting installation would be a trivial extra expense and trouble for me, since this is a DIY job. Your thoughts and comments have been and will be much appreciated.