HawthorneVillager.com

Was doing some work in the basement and notice the sump pump was not shutting off after I thought it should have and getting fairly warm. Watched it for a little bit and was thinking the level switch has failed. The rod was not going down as it normally would. Is there an easy fix or do I have to replace the sump pump? Any recommendations/comments would be helpful!

Replace it. It's hard to spend more than $200 on a new sump pump.
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Plumbing-Pum ... 5yc1vZbqjx

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No, no. You know who was right all along? The Mongolians. They knew that you just can't wall yourself off from the outside world. Putting walls up never helps anything. Tearing them down brings us together.
-Randy-South Park

Look for some kind of obstruction on the float ball, it could be wedged against the pit wall somehow. When this happened to us, it was the cat's toy soccer ball that got smacked down in there, wedged between the float and pit wall at 3 in the fricken morning. If anything is stored anywhere near the pit, make sure nothing can tip over onto / fall on top of your pump or float.

Search "sump pump" in here, there are a few specific recommendations (with helpful pictures ) posted by HHI and kgbrunn.

These pumps can start fires BTW, not to terrify but it's a thing that can happen.

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This one thing probably never goes away
I think this one thing is always supposed to stay
This one thing doesn't have to go away

^^ Exactly. The float is probably stuck and is not able to shut the pump off.

In Miltons new homes only about 40% of sumps are set up well. The rest just get by and some don't work at all.

The only way to check to see if a sump is working properly and set up properly is to examine how it is installed. There is quite a bit to check but the main thing is that the float in the pit is able to move up and down easily without obstructions.

- The wires should not be able to accumulate in the pit.
- it should be set up in a manner that keeps the water level under the home as low as possible.

All my customers have Andy's special touch with their sump installations.

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For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761

The key to your question is "the rod".

Does the rod move up and down easily ? or is it hitting something ? It's a "Pedistal" type pump. If you do get a new one you might want to consider a Submersible type because they are quieter.

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For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761

Maybe there is a frog under it

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Kelly
Amesbury

A couple of years ago our sump pump kept running. It turns out, for some reason, it could no longer pump the water up the pipe to the outside. Luckily my daughter was in the basement playing and smelled it getting very hot and we were able to shut it off (who knows what would of happened if we didn't!). The only fix for this was to replace it.

Too many local articles on sump pump fires to link to individually it seems. Scary!

Here's the Google array:
http://www.google.com/search?q=inside+h ... s4Mhw1k2Ak

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This one thing probably never goes away
I think this one thing is always supposed to stay
This one thing doesn't have to go away

It's very simple - These fires are mostly the result of faulty set-up as a result of a poor initial installation.

_________________
For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761