Well point eating pumps

[Lanzz]

Hey all - I have a vinyl pool in a pretty wet area - there is evidence that the liner floated in the past, but in the year I have owned the house, I have not had that issue. The pool has an 8 inch well point near the deep end - with a submersible automatic pump at the bottom - I had that pump replaced when I first moved in a year ago. Also, I just had a new liner installed this month and it looks great. We had almost 2 inches of rain on the weekend and when I went out to the well point (I check it a few times a week, it is usually dry or just a little water in the bottom...) It was full of steaming hot water. So - the pump must have overheated trying to move the water and failed. In a big hurry, I went and bought a cheap submersible pump and cleared the water out of the well point - it took about 3 hours. Then - I bought a 1/3 horsepower submersible automatic pump at HD. I put it in Saturday and it failed already today. Since the prior pump lasted a year - I cannot figure out what has change which is causing the replacement pump to last 5 days. I do know that the pump short cycles a lot - it pumps water out and additional water takes its place - until the area dries out. So - I don't expect the pump to last forever - but something seems amiss - and different. Any thoughts? (I put another new pump in just now - a Little Giant automatic submersible. It is working hard to get the water out and the liner looks fine} - but I really worry that there is something new going on.

 

[W.J.Christy]

Is the inlet to the pump clogged or restricted? Could it be resting in soft sand or mud causing a lack of flow?

If the pump is starved.for water it could easily over amp and burn up.

 

[wgipe]

Is the inlet to the pump clogged or restricted? Could it be resting in soft sand or mud causing a lack of flow?

If the pump is starved.for water it could easily over amp and burn up.

I poured some 57 gravel in the bottom of my sump and also invested in a good Zoeller sump pump with a stand to make sure it stayed out of the mud. It’s done very well, and stayed functional all winter even despite freezing Ohio weather.

 

[Lanzz]

thanks, wgipe - was wondering about a better quality pump. Will try one of those next.

 

[Lanzz]

Is the inlet to the pump clogged or restricted? Could it be resting in soft sand or mud causing a lack of flow?

If the pump is starved.for water it could easily over amp and burn up.

WJ - it put two small lengths of PVC in laying the bottom of the well point to keep it off the rocks and sand at the bottom. Seems like the constant on/off short cycles kill it - and I do not have a way to avoid those unless I go with a manual pump and let a lot of water accumulate and then operate the pump manually.

 

[wgipe]

thanks, wgipe - was wondering about a better quality pump. Will try one of those next.

After a ton of research, I bought this: Zoeller N98 - 1/2 HP Cast Iron Submersible Sump Pump Non-Automatic along with the stand and check valve. I bought a solid state water level sensor from hydro check (HC6000v2) off Amazon that alarms if there is a failure of any type. It is a beast, and seems like it will last a long time.

 

[Lanzz]

I wish I had room for that pump, wgipe- I am limited to a pump that fits in a 8 inch pipe - so about 7.75 x 7.75 is about all that fits. I will see if they have a smaller version of that tank you got. I did just order the Hydro Check from Amazon - that is a great idea, because I will be able to control the on/off points to prevent the pump from short cycling - really great idea. I will try the Hydro Check for now with the current Little Giant pump in manual mode and when that dies, I will get something more robust.

 

[Lanzz]

OK - here is my new setup - with the Hydro Check installed on a custom 3/4" pvc pipe setup with a check valve. Right now, connected to the new Little Giant pump with the auto start/stop removed. When this pump dies, I will get a better pump, but this seems like it will do the job for a while. First picture is before it went into the sump and the second one is looking down into it after installation.

 

[wgipe]

OK - here is my new setup - with the Hydro Check installed on a custom 3/4" pvc pipe setup with a check valve. Right now, connected to the new Little Giant pump with the auto start/stop removed. When this pump dies, I will get a better pump, but this seems like it will do the job for a while. First picture is before it went into the sump and the second one is looking down into it after installation.

Nice! I think you’ll be really happy with it.