The Different Parts of a Sump Pump System

Your sump pump is the heart of your basement waterproofing system, but did you know the pump itself is only a fraction of it? All parts of the sump pump play a vital role in making sure your basement stays dry whenever it rains or snows.

How many parts are there? Below, we discuss these parts so you know exactly how each part of the sump pump works together:

Part 1: The Sump Liner

Creating a sturdy home for your pump is critical for it to function properly. If you place it in a muddy hole on the floor, it will get clogged. If you place it in a five-gallon bucket, it will "short-cycle" (go on and off quickly) and the bucket may overflow since, in terms of water seepage and flooding, five gallons is not a lot.

A good, solid sump pump liner should contain small inlet holes, allowing it to accept ground water, as well as a larger inlet hole, allowing for your drainage system to empty into it. The liner should contain around 100 smaller holes about 3/8-inch wide, be 2 feet deep, 18 inches wide, and have a rim that accepts a sealed cover.

Part 2: The Airtight Sump Lid

An airtight sump pup lid serves three vital functions:

• To prevent water from evaporating into your basement, creating a moist environment
• To stop stuff from falling and clogging the pump
• To quiet the system

Having a carefully engineered system is vital for you, your home, and your waterproofing system.

Part 3: The Pump Stand

The main role of the pump stand is to elevate the pump above the bottom of the sump liner. This allows for any sediment, mud, debris, gravel, or dirt to settle to the bottom without affecting the pump itself.

It also keeps the check valve (a one-way valve that prevents backflow) and the discharge pipe (pipe through which water is removed from the basement) clean.

A check valve is essential to be installed on all sump pump discharge lines so that, when the sump shuts off, the water doesn't flow back into the sump hole to be removed again on the next cycle.

Part 4: The Floor Drain in the Sump Lid

This is your best friend when it comes to plumbing leaks. Having a perimeter drainage system is great, but what if a sudden plumbing leak dumps water onto your basement floor? You'd want your sump pump to drain the water out, but without a floor drain the water will fill up your basement. This is why our sump lid's contain a floor drain.

"But wait... won't a sump drain in my sump pump allow water to evaporate into my basement?" Not with our carefully designed sump lids. Our floor drains contain a specially designed cup and ball underneath the floor drain, which allows water to go down, but doesn't allow ait to come up.

Part 5: The Pump Alarm

Let's say your sump pump fails and you were in danger of being flooded. How would you know? Well, you'd know when your basement is already flooded... This is why we have a pump alarm attached to our sump lid.

This battery-powered alarm sounds automatically when the water reaches a level above the point where the pump(s) should normally turn on. Since each pump contains a float, water rising above this float will activate this alarm.

Our patented WaterWatch alarm system lets you know when this happens, giving you a chance to do something about it before your basement floor gets flooded.

Conclusion:

Each part of your sump pump works together to keep your basement dry year round. By having a sump pump that contains each of these parts, your basement will remain dry year round and will be prepared for whatever mother nature throws at it.