Does a sump pump require a dedicated circuit?

[fstime]

Do yourself a favor, buy a Liberty cast iron sump pump from a plumbing supply, 3 year warranties and that is what most plumbers who know what they're doing use, not some Home Depot garbage.

How often did the previous pump cycle on?

Is the circuit breaker tripping? If not, it is probably fine. But i'll tell you what, a 1/3 horse Liberty pump draws about 5.5 amps.

EDIT: Wait, the water heater is on the same breaker? Electric water heaters certainly need their own breaker 20 amps too if i'm not mistaken. That does sound like a lot of load on one breaker.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I would put it on the same circuit as a light or other low draw load that is often used. That way if it trips you'll know right away. If you are in an area where the sump pump runs often and is depended on (ex: more water than the drain can keep up with) then I'd get 2 or 3 of them on separate circuits, for redundancy. Have them at different levels with float switches that will trigger an alarm. Ex: sump pump #1 fails, water level will be allowed to rise to sump #2's level, and the float switch will be somewhere in between. Though probably overkill if 99.999% of the time the pump does not actually need to run. Float switch is still not a bad idea though, I bought two (came as two on ebay) and plan to install it as part of my basement project. Had two instances where my sump pit level went too high because the main drain blocked so my toilet water was backing up into it. Scary stuff.

 

[Doppel]

That only helps if you are at home obviously. If you insist on keeping other electrical components on the same circuit then you need a backup pump of some sort as well (which you may already have). Really we should all have some sort of backup anyhow I suppose. I have had a sump pump seize when a piece of gravel got sucked into the impeller (twice).

As far as the source circuit goes the issue isn't power loading. The issue is failure of one device on the circuit which can trigger a breaker to open. The compressor motor in your freezer or dehumidifier will eventually fail which very likely will trip your breaker. Electronic ballasts can short out triggering a breaker opening as well. For something as critical as a basement sump pump it seems like an unnecessary risk to take to load up the circuit, especially with devices that you know will fail at some point.

I pretty much agree. I have no redundancy because my pump hardly ever runs and my basement is pretty dry. I know a few people who's sumps are always running quite a lot when it rains a lot and it amazes me they are ok being at the behest of their power, with no battery or water-pressure run backup.

 

[Kadarin]

How much sump would your sump pump pump if your sump pump could pump sump?

 

[nickbits]

I think anymore more than 1 backup is overkill as long as you test it regularly.

 

[ControlD]

I pretty much agree. I have no redundancy because my pump hardly ever runs and my basement is pretty dry. I know a few people who's sumps are always running quite a lot when it rains a lot and it amazes me they are ok being at the behest of their power, with no battery or water-pressure run backup.

I don't have redundancy either, but that's because I have been terribly lazy. I need to get that done one of these days I suppose, only been in this house like 16 years now.

 

[waggy]

I pretty much agree. I have no redundancy because my pump hardly ever runs and my basement is pretty dry. I know a few people who's sumps are always running quite a lot when it rains a lot and it amazes me they are ok being at the behest of their power, with no battery or water-pressure run backup.

that's insane.

we have a pump and a battery back up plus a stand alone (old one i had).

My pump is 3-4 years old. this years it's been going a lot. when it turns off it makes a loud "clunk"

i don't think that is good..


edit: weird i been looking about the noise. just read that most likely its the check valve in the piping that is ruined. woooo!

 

[ControlD]

that's insane.

we have a pump and a battery back up plus a stand alone (old one i had).

My pump is 3-4 years old. this years it's been going a lot. when it turns off it makes a loud "clunk"

i don't think that is good..


edit: weird i been looking about the noise. just read that most likely its the check valve in the piping that is ruined. woooo!

A lot of check valves make that noise when they are working. It is the sound of the flapper closing. When you stop hearing anything is often when you should worry about the check valve.

 

[Mixolydian]

How much sump would your sump pump pump if your sump pump could pump sump?

I LOL'd.

 

[JimKiler]

Do yourself a favor, buy a Liberty cast iron sump pump from a plumbing supply, 3 year warranties and that is what most plumbers who know what they're doing use, not some Home Depot garbage.

How often did the previous pump cycle on?

Is the circuit breaker tripping? If not, it is probably fine. But i'll tell you what, a 1/3 horse Liberty pump draws about 5.5 amps.

EDIT: Wait, the water heater is on the same breaker? Electric water heaters certainly need their own breaker 20 amps too if i'm not mistaken. That does sound like a lot of load on one breaker.

Sorry it is a gas water heater but the blower needs electric current.

I pretty much agree. I have no redundancy because my pump hardly ever runs and my basement is pretty dry. I know a few people who's sumps are always running quite a lot when it rains a lot and it amazes me they are ok being at the behest of their power, with no battery or water-pressure run backup.

Our yard is very hard clay so when it rains the sump pump gets a lot of use. Between last night and today i emptied the sump 6 times and it would refill. Granted it was raining last night and today. Although now we have snow, Yeah Minnesota!

The builder's plumber came with a replacement today and i told him wow this new one is quiet. I could her the old one from the main floor. He said that is not normal so maybe my original sump pump was defective from the get go. The plumber also pointed out that if my pipe outside freezes I will burn out the sump pump motor so in the winter i will remove that. I did check it this winter and it never froze nor did we hear sump pump go off.

Also the sump had some debris but nothing that would have caused the pump to stop working.

 

[DrPizza]

As far as your circuit, a water softener uses a trivial amount of power - like charging a cell phone. I don't know how much the blower motor on the water heater uses, but I doubt it's significant. I'm going to guess about 15 watts & 50 watts for those two, respectively.

And, having the water heater on the same circuit provides an indirect alarm of a problem. If the sump is on its own dedicated circuit, you won't know something happened until the basement is flooded.

 

[iGas]

Depends on the circuit, and pump horse power.

1/4 hp = 187W (start 4 Amps @ +/-1 Amps)
1/3 hp = 246W (start 7 Amps @ +/-1 Amps)
1/2 hp = 373W (start 10 Amps @ +/-1 Amps)
3/4 hp = 560W (start 14 amps @ +/-1 Amps)

[add]
I just re read the OP post, and found that he have many devices on the circuit. It is possible that the circuit is overload and would often trip the breaker. And, it may cause the pump fail prematurely.

Check the pipe size to volume (gallon per minute), and lift/head pressure of the pump, and height from the pump outlet to the highest point that the water need to be lifted. Then size according to sump pit volume and area average rain fall.

It may be that the pump is over sized, hence it is over drawing the circuit if the breaker trip frequently. And, if that is the case, you can install less hp sump pump to prevent power over drawn of the circuit.

 

[iGas]

As far as your circuit, a water softener uses a trivial amount of power - like charging a cell phone. I don't know how much the blower motor on the water heater uses, but I doubt it's significant. I'm going to guess about 15 watts & 50 watts for those two, respectively.

And, having the water heater on the same circuit provides an indirect alarm of a problem. If the sump is on its own dedicated circuit, you won't know something happened until the basement is flooded.

Depends on the motor hp rating.

 

[waggy]

A lot of check valves make that noise when they are working. It is the sound of the flapper closing. When you stop hearing anything is often when you should worry about the check valve.

exactly what i just read. long as it keep my basement dry it can be as loud as it wants.

 

[iGas]

exactly what i just read. long as it keep my basement dry it can be as loud as it wants.

If the check valve fail. You will hear the motor hum, and frequent on/off cycling due to water draining back into the sump (you will hear gurgling water as well).

 

[JimKiler]

Depends on the circuit, and pump horse power.

1/4 hp = 187W (start 4 Amps @ +/-1 Amps)
1/3 hp = 246W (start 7 Amps @ +/-1 Amps)
1/2 hp = 373W (start 10 Amps @ +/-1 Amps)
3/4 hp = 560W (start 14 amps @ +/-1 Amps)

[add]
I just re read the OP post, and found that he have many devices on the circuit. It is possible that the circuit is overload and would often trip the breaker. And, it may cause the pump fail prematurely.

Check the pipe size to volume (gallon per minute), and lift/head pressure of the pump, and height from the pump outlet to the highest point that the water need to be lifted. Then size according to sump pit volume and area average rain fall.

It may be that the pump is over sized, hence it is over drawing the circuit if the breaker trip frequently. And, if that is the case, you can install less hp sump pump to prevent power over drawn of the circuit.

Pump is not oversized, it died. No matter what circuit i plug it into, the circuit breaker will trip.

 

[child of wonder]

Our yard is very hard clay so when it rains the sump pump gets a lot of use. Between last night and today i emptied the sump 6 times and it would refill. Granted it was raining last night and today. Although now we have snow, Yeah Minnesota!

The builder's plumber came with a replacement today and i told him wow this new one is quiet. I could her the old one from the main floor. He said that is not normal so maybe my original sump pump was defective from the get go. The plumber also pointed out that if my pipe outside freezes I will burn out the sump pump motor so in the winter i will remove that. I did check it this winter and it never froze nor did we hear sump pump go off.

Also the sump had some debris but nothing that would have caused the pump to stop working.

I'm in Minnesota, too, and the town I live in used to be a swamp so despite the 4 inches of snow on the ground, our sump pump continues to run every 15 minutes thanks to all the moisture lately.

Yesterday it peaked at running once every 4 minutes.

But we have a solid primary, a battery backup, and a brand new sump sitting in a box ready to go if needed so we're in good shape. My main worry is if the line outside freezes but it's running often enough that it shouldn't freeze.

 

[JimKiler]

I'm in Minnesota, too, and the town I live in used to be a swamp so despite the 4 inches of snow on the ground, our sump pump continues to run every 15 minutes thanks to all the moisture lately.

Yesterday it peaked at running once every 4 minutes.

But we have a solid primary, a battery backup, and a brand new sump sitting in a box ready to go if needed so we're in good shape. My main worry is if the line outside freezes but it's running often enough that it shouldn't freeze.

The plumber said since our valve going out of the house if 3 feet above ground if we take the tube off it will not freeze because a frozen pipe = burnt motor. Next fall i will take it off. I checked it this winter several times thinking the same thing, couldn't this pipe freeze.

 

[waggy]

If the check valve fail. You will hear the motor hum, and frequent on/off cycling due to water draining back into the sump (you will hear gurgling water as well).

I will have to keep that in mind.

right now it goes off every 30 minutes for like a minute. the "thunk" at the end worried me but i read it was teh valve (and davestall confirmed). i feel much better knowing it is working fine.

i just spent 10k on my basement. my kids playroom is downthere. though i have a 2nd living room i haven't got any furniture yet.

 

[child of wonder]

The plumber said since our valve going out of the house if 3 feet above ground if we take the tube off it will not freeze because a frozen pipe = burnt motor. Next fall i will take it off. I checked it this winter several times thinking the same thing, couldn't this pipe freeze.

On my house the pipe only extends 12 inches from the side of the house then I have to use 1 1/2" hose to get the water away from the house. I'm concerned that hose will freeze.

However, since the water coming out is probably 40F or warmer and the thing runs every 15 minutes, I should be fine.

 

[waggy]

On my house the pipe only extends 12 inches from the side of the house then I have to use 1 1/2" hose to get the water away from the house. I'm concerned that hose will freeze.

However, since the water coming out is probably 40F or warmer and the thing runs every 15 minutes, I should be fine.

My pipe was 2 foot underground. but it wouldn't pump out for some reason. when we had the basement done part of it was redoing the pump. teh plumber said he could snake it but most likely collapsed or blocked. he suggested the cheapest and best method was to just have the pipe outside with a movable hose.

i asked if it would freeze (i'm in Northern ILL). he said he has never seen one freeze solid.

teh last few years i have kept a eye on it. even with 2ft of snow on it it pumps out and melts teh snow around it.

i would go out on really cold days and check it. sure there was some ice but never much.

 

[FallenHero]

Well, after getting a half inch on a power outage, I have decided 3 things:

All containers in the basement will be plastic bins
A battery backup to the pump is a must
Next year, a natural gas whole house backup generator will be installed.

 

[Mixolydian]

the "thunk" at the end worried me but i read it was teh valve (and davestall confirmed).

The sump pump at my parents' house did that for the entire 15 years it was in operation. Interestingly the new one doesn't do that at all.

 

[ControlD]

The sump pump at my parents' house did that for the entire 15 years it was in operation. Interestingly the new one doesn't do that at all.

The older style check valves had a sort of ball mechanism that got pushed up when the pump ran. When the pump stopped the ball would drop back down making a thunk sound. I recently replaced mine (the ball mechanism broke loose and shot out the end of my sump discharge one day). The newer ones just have a rubber flapper mechanism that pretty much runs silently. I sort of liked the old style better.

 

[Mixolydian]

The older style check valves had a sort of ball mechanism that got pushed up when the pump ran. When the pump stopped the ball would drop back down making a thunk sound. I recently replaced mine (the ball mechanism broke loose and shot out the end of my sump discharge one day). The newer ones just have a rubber flapper mechanism that pretty much runs silently. I sort of liked the old style better.

I don't think it was the check valve, because the new pump uses the same check valve that was already on the pipe. Flapper style, I'm pretty sure.