Hey all,
My kid noticed the carpet was wet in the corner of the basement and since we don’t have a pet, it caught my immediate attention.
All said and done, there’s a leak in the pipe coming out of the sump pump. I’m not a plumber, so excuse me if my terms aren’t right. But it appears to be a leaking gasket in the back-flow-preventer (see photo)
How can I bypass or fix this so I don’t have to check it all night until HD opens?
Any and all ideas are welcomed!!!
Joe
“Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional,
illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous
mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is
entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end”
R. J. Wiedemann LtCol. USMC Ret.
Replies
did you try to retighten the bolts?
Got any gasket material left over from working on your car?
Wrap it with plastic and let it drain back into a bucket or the sump.
Work on my car? Why would I do that, that's what a mechanic is for.
The sump is sealed for radon protection but I could go into a bucket. That would be a start. "Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end" R. J. Wiedemann LtCol. USMC Ret.
Hi,
Looks like it is spraying out under pressure before the one way value.
Possibilities:
Valve is stuck closed, undo the clamps, remove the valve and see if it is moving ok. Free it up and/or bypass it.
Output pipe is plugged and the lower joint is the weakest link. Check the outlet.
Flexible pipe has a hole, put a piece of rubber over the leak and add another hose clamp.
Line is clear, pump runs fine. Only leaks when the water is sitting on the valve (valve moves fine - you should have seen my shirt when I figured that out)
You can see the water dripping from the middle of the valve.
Does the back flow preventer just keep the pump from running the same water over and over again? Or is there something more important?"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end" R. J. Wiedemann LtCol. USMC Ret.
Hi,
Right, the valve keeps the amount of water in the uphill secion of pipe from dumping back into the sump. Depending on what is going on at the outlet end, it also stops the pipe from siphoning water into the sump from outside.
Duct tape gasket? ;-)
Unless I have a freak accident or I get one of the 100 year floods, there's no chance of siphoning water into the house. The end of the line is free and clear.
It's about an eight foot run straight up until the pipe turns downhill outside the house. Is that too much water to be running back down each time it runs?"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end" R. J. Wiedemann LtCol. USMC Ret.
Sounds like it could be bypassed temporarily. I woud think the trip level for the pump has a greater on-off difference than the amont of water in that section of pipe. To check, pop the top off the sump and use a hose or other means to add enough water to get it to turn on (after removing the valve).
Yep, the check valve keeps the pump from pumping the same water over and over. Whether you need it or not depends on how high you're pumping the water, and what's on the outside -- in most cases the system will manage OK without the valve.Worst case you could be pumping into a force main and you'd have a flood without the valve, but if this is just a basement sump pump (and not an ejector pump for the whole house) then that's unlikely.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
If you end up replacing it you should install a gate or full bore valve above this valve.
There might be lots of water behind/above the valve make sure you have somewhere to drain this into.
By the way the lid is for smell not radon.
By the way the lid is for smell not radon.
Incorrect sir, mine is sealed for radon. Prior to the radon guys coming here to mitigate the radon, it was just a lid, now it's a sealed lid.
Can I just remove the back flow flap to prevent the pressure build up for the night?"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end" R. J. Wiedemann LtCol. USMC Ret.
I understand why its now sealed, getting the radon vented is good.
As others have said, the "flap" maybe stuck. As a temporary fix you can remove the flap but the head of water in the pipe might be enough to switch the pump back on when it drops back in to the sump. Adjusting the float switch will take care of this. You might have to remove the lid to do this. The radon should not be a worry as it should be power vented to the outdoors.
This might sound rather dumb, but what about wrapping it with some duct tape?
Might be good enough until HD opens. Got away with it recently on a
plumbing vent flashing boot on the roof that was leaking.
-d
I'm just going to use some duct tape to redirect the water into a bucket. It's only about 8 hours until the store opens.
Thank god my kid felt the wet carpet, it would have been going all night if he didn't tell me. "Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end" R. J. Wiedemann LtCol. USMC Ret.
I would tighten the clamps a little. Don't get them too tight, sometimes that will cause a leak, or the clamp will break. They aren't really all that strong. If they tighten easy, they were too loose.
Ok, now that I have the problem fixed, how do I prevent this from happening again?
I do have plans to add a battery backup, but does anyone have a recommendation for a water alarm?
Had I known about this an hour or two earlier, it would have been much easier to cleanup.
thanks
Joe
"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional,
illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous
mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is
entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end"
R. J. Wiedemann LtCol. USMC Ret.
Frankly, when you try to protect against something like this you're always fighting the last war. Next time it will be the dishwasher that leaks, or the garbage disposal, or a fitting will pop loose in the bathroom.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith