Frozen sump pumps & hoses

Ministik Man

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So got home Saturday night after a +7 degree day and hear the sump pump running every 1/2 hour checked the pump and basin and water is pouring in

Go out side and find after 19 years the sump pump drain hose system has frozen and split wide open. The water is pumped out and running right back down the side of the house

10:00pm so time for the Red Green show, out came a new roll of duck tape to hold the split pipes together. Now it is pumped away from the house like before

so CHECK your sump pump hoses so it does not back up into your basements
 

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MrHankey

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Noticed our sump in basement was slowly filling and pump was pumping,dug out the pump out pipe from under the snow ended up having to steam it out.had a ice plug bout four feet under ground
 

Ministik Man

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Noticed our sump in basement was slowly filling and pump was pumping,dug out the pump out pipe from under the snow ended up having to steam it out.had a ice plug bout four feet under ground

I Hate this sump pump system in houses

Who ever came up with that stupid idea should be shot..

Lets water proof the whole concrete basement wall the put a 10" hole under the foundation and run all the water into the house -- then pump it out again

Everyone I know has had their drain hose on the ground freeze up and break.. I had mine mounted to side of the house off the ground -- now it froze and broke

DUMB IDEA

Any one change theirs and have it work properly - with out freezing
 

sledderdoc

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I Hate this sump pump system in houses

Who ever came up with that stupid idea should be shot..

Lets water proof the whole concrete basement wall the put a 10" hole under the foundation and run all the water into the house -- then pump it out again

Everyone I know has had their drain hose on the ground freeze up and break.. I had mine mounted to side of the house off the ground -- now it froze and broke

DUMB IDEA

Any one change theirs and have it work properly - with out freezing

I run heat tape on mine as soon as it leaves the foundation. It's insulated and buried. Actually melts the snow on the ground around it. It's always a good idea to check them often. I discovered my float was stuck and the sump wouldn't shut off. Simple fix but could have been a lot worse had she burnt out.
 

Beels

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I Hate this sump pump system in houses

Who ever came up with that stupid idea should be shot..

Lets water proof the whole concrete basement wall the put a 10" hole under the foundation and run all the water into the house -- then pump it out again

Everyone I know has had their drain hose on the ground freeze up and break.. I had mine mounted to side of the house off the ground -- now it froze and broke

DUMB IDEA

Any one change theirs and have it work properly - with out freezing

My house built last year, has only a 45 degree elbow sticking out of the wall. I think it's a stupid setup too. If the ground around the house is saturated and the pump is running, pumping right back where it came from isn't helping anything.
 

MrHankey

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I was thinking of drilling a 1/4 inch hole on the discharge side of pump on the underside so if it did freeze it would just circulate the water in the sump,but by drilling a hole it should allow the water to drain back and avoid freezing
 

Beels

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We are on a septic tank,if I were on town sewer that sucker would be tied into a drain some where

Against code most places. The town I live in, a lot of the older homes have their sumps tied to the sewer system. A few years back, we lost power for a few hours during a rain storm. When the power cut back in, everyone's sump pumps ran and overloaded the sewer system and a bunch of people had sewer backup in their basements.
 

stuckenough

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I Hate this sump pump system in houses

Who ever came up with that stupid idea should be shot..

Lets water proof the whole concrete basement wall the put a 10" hole under the foundation and run all the water into the house -- then pump it out again

Everyone I know has had their drain hose on the ground freeze up and break.. I had mine mounted to side of the house off the ground -- now it froze and broke

DUMB IDEA

Any one change theirs and have it work properly - with out freezing

I have to go along with you on that one. It's always puzzled me why you would import ground water into your basement just so you could rely on some mechanical device to pump it out again. If anything...drain the water into an off site tank and pump it out of there...strange!
 

moto.racerx

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It really is a daily headache wondering if the system is frozen never mind leaving on a beach vacation in the dead of winter.
 

Merc63

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You should remove the hose in the winter so it doesn't freeze and clog up. I let mine shoot out the house towards the property line swale where it should drain towards the city right of way or freeze up.

I also have a hot tub pump as a secondary sitting in there if the water level gets too high that will discharge into the sewer on the floor of the Laundry room.
 

52weekbreak

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I Hate this sump pump system in houses

Who ever came up with that stupid idea should be shot..

Lets water proof the whole concrete basement wall the put a 10" hole under the foundation and run all the water into the house -- then pump it out again

Everyone I know has had their drain hose on the ground freeze up and break.. I had mine mounted to side of the house off the ground -- now it froze and broke

DUMB IDEA

Any one change theirs and have it work properly - with out freezing

My sumps (yeah there are 2 - long story) exit the house through the sill plate just below the first floor. I then have a piece of plastic eavestrough so it is open on the top. This is sloped away from the house. Never had a problem
 

52weekbreak

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I have to go along with you on that one. It's always puzzled me why you would import ground water into your basement just so you could rely on some mechanical device to pump it out again. If anything...drain the water into an off site tank and pump it out of there...strange!

As pointed out by Beels this is against code because if put into a sanitary sewer this results in a lot of extra water running through the treatment plant at best. At worst it overloads the system and contributes to sewer back ups. I am on an acreage so just don't have any choice. Gotta pump everything
 

rsaint

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We are on a septic tank,if I were on town sewer that sucker would be tied into a drain some where
Have seen and done it into septic tank in winter months and switch a valve and outside in summer time as not much ground water in winter months USUALLY.
 

teamgreen

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My parents house in Sherwood Park had the hose running out and it was a pain in the a$$. It froze, broke, flooded sidewalk, etc. The County came in last year and plumbed them all into the sewer system, dug up the street and drilled it up to the house. Havent had a problem since.
 

rsaruk

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My parents house in Sherwood Park had the hose running out and it was a pain in the a$$. It froze, broke, flooded sidewalk, etc. The County came in last year and plumbed them all into the sewer system, dug up the street and drilled it up to the house. Havent had a problem since.
Probably plumbed into storm water drains on the street not the sewer.
 
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