sump help..

[MRQuad]

guys, what should i do with my sump that when a power outage occur, it will not go overflow?

actually, it's my pump that has bigger gph, sucks up a lot of water.. ended up almost running dry on the chamber where the pump is.. it's making a loud noise when it's almost dry.. as in a loud noise.. (annoying)

some says, i have to put more water on the chamber where my pump is and making sure the pump is fully submerge. if i do that, which is possible.. but when the power outage occur, im pretty sure, im gonna have a overflow..

hopefully my english is understandable.. please, excuse me for my bad english.. thanks! :(

[Chad Hughes]

It sounds like you need a bigger sump! The best way to test to see if your sujmp will overflow during a power failure is to turn you pump off, fill the tank and watch the level of the sump rise. Once the level of the sumpis at the highest level that you want it, shut off the water. This is level will be the level of the sump with the power off.

Now, if your pump is draining your sump faster than it can return, there are a couple of things that you can do. Try and make the sump bigger. This may help with noise, but may not really solve your problem. Most people that have powerful pumps install a valve on the return side of the pump and then trim down the flow to meet the overflow return rate. The valve in my opinion is the best way to deal with it. Another solution would be to add a second overflow to the tank to speed the return of water. You may still need the valve to make slight adjustments to the flow.

Hope this helps!

Best wishes.

[KDodds]

If teh pump is draining the sump faster than it can fill you'll need a) a bigger drain (or more drains) or b) a flow restrictor on the pump. Changing the size of the sump will not solve the problem of its draining faster than it can fill. HOWEVER, if it's teh return chamber ONLY that is running dry, try cutting down the baffle or adding notches, which will effectively raise teh operating water level in teh return chamber.

[ApacheDan]

..just get a check valve from your local hardware store...will cost you less than $10 US ...installed it between your pump and your outflow pipe. In case of power outage, it will prevent the water from coming back to your sump. :D

[Chad Hughes]

Another option, rather than adding more expense would be to vent the overflow. Some folks place a "T" ($.50) at the back of the overflow, leaving the top of the "T" open. This does not allow siphoning, simply overflow. If the oveflow is a closed loop, a small pin hole at the top most section of the overflow will allow air to enter, breaking a siphon if power failure occurs.

Just another way!

Best wishes!

[Chad Hughes]

Sorry, I meant to say return, not overflow...

[MRQuad]

Another option, rather than adding more expense would be to vent the overflow. Some folks place a "T" ($.50) at the back of the overflow, leaving the top of the "T" open. This does not allow siphoning, simply overflow. If the oveflow is a closed loop, a small pin hole at the top most section of the overflow will allow air to enter, breaking a siphon if power failure occurs.

Just another way!

Best wishes!

i can't figure out what you say.. please, can you make a drawing for me to understand? i am pretty new to this.. sorry.. :(

[KDodds]

First... do NOT rely on check valves. I can recall, easily, dozens of stories about check valve failures, including one of my own. I'm not sure what exactly avionics is talking about with the "T" and the siphon break, and by definition, a sump system is an open loop unless the sump is sealed for some reason, in which case, you would not be having this problem. Anyway, first thing, on the siphon break... the returns should not dip much below water level. They will back siphon during a power outage and you will drain to the lowest (sealed) point. So, many people, if they want their returns below the waterline, will drill a hole slightly below the waterline as a siphon break to prevent back siphon. Overflows, by definition, are their own siphon break. Once the in tank water level falls below the point at which it CAN overflow, it will stop draining. If you're not using an overflow, but some type of siphoning setup instead, see the above on siphon breaks. I think this comes closest to what avionics was trying to say. On tees, you can tee off the return and direct any extra flow back into the sump. This will resolve issues of draining the sump too quickly, but not of draining the return pump compartment too quickly (usually not anyway). This has the added benefit, over simple flow restriction, of not putting any extra stress on the pump.

HTH

[Chad Hughes]

All I was trying to say is that if your return line back to the tank, if not drilled, is below the water line, should a power outage occur, you have the potential to draw a siphon back through the return to the sump causing overflow.