Talk:Sump pump

purpose of sump pump
Why have a sump pit to begin with? If sump pits can flood the basement, what is the purpose of having them? The article refers to them as an "intentional leak" but doesn't say what they are for. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.251.84.28 (talk • contribs).


 * There are two purposes for a sump pump:
 * If basement flooding is a sump pump can be installed to allow water to collect in it, where it takes the water that accumulates in that area, and pumps it somewhere where it won't flood.
 * If the basement of a home is below the municipal water table, then a sump pump can be used to collect the wastewater in the basement, and pump it up to the water table level


 * Maybe this could be more clear in the article. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to add them in. McKay 05:02, 18 October 2006 (UTC)


 * I've done a rewrite, which improves the intro paragraphs, but further editing is welcome - there is still a bit of redundancy.  But I think I've changed the text to address 66's good questions.  John Broughton  |  Talk 13:47, 18 October 2006 (UTC)


 * The sump pit itself doesn't contribute to the flooding of the basement; the basement would flood anyway even if it didn't have a sump, because the water seeps in through the walls and/or the floors when it rains (and/or when the water table rises). Constructing the pit merely allows a place for the pump to sit in so it can do its job of sending the water out elsewhere. It's a more permanent and (usually) automatic solution than bringing in a pump, manually attaching hoses or tubes and hooking it up to a power source each time your basement starts to flood; the sump pump is supposed to preemptively prevent this. 173.16.124.196 (talk) 08:13, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Sump Pump Guide
I found this guide, kind of commercial but has a lot of good info about sump pumps. --Masterplumbersocal 16:08, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * The problem is that they're floating around over all in the Web. Take a look at the edit history of the article - you'll find a lot of other commercial links that have been removed, most of which did have text and diagrams as well as ads.  And there really isn't any way to select just one or two to post.  Plus, per WP:NOT, Wikipedia isn't an instruction manual.  John Broughton  |  Talk 18:28, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Sorry, wasn't clear on the above - putting a link to that site (in the article) isn't a good idea. If someone wants to use the content of the guide to help improve the article (without violating copyright law), sure, feel free.   John Broughton  |  Talk 18:29, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Request photograph

 * Several Sump Pump Photographs can be found here:
 * Manual Sump Pumps
 * Automatic Sump Pumps
 * --216.70.141.161 17:19, 20 August 2007 (UTC)


 * The problem is that those photographs have standard (very restricted) copyrights; we can't use them. We need a photograph taken by someone who is willing to release it as free content.  -- John Broughton  (♫♫) 13:48, 10 August 2008 (UTC)
 * I have added a picture that I took that has a clear license, so this has been resolved Hustvedt (talk) 03:17, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

sump pump instruction
The definition is well written; the highlighted words are helpful, as are the included explanations for many of the steps. Easier to comprehend than a typical encyclopedia. Diagrams would be welcomed. Speedycat 21:18, 3 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Keeping WP:NOT in mind (Wikipedia is not an instruction manual), I agree that diagrams would be helpful. The issue is finding free use diagrams (or, if you will, someone creating them and uploading them as free images).  -- John Broughton  (♫♫) 23:45, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

How long is a sump pump life?
Question; I have a sump pump that has worked good and a lot for 5 years. How long do they last?For $80.00 I would like to put a new one in and keep the old one for standby. Good idea? 64.24.48.3 (talk) 19:08, 4 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Since you've not got any answer here, you probably should try the reference desk. -- John Broughton  (♫♫) 13:49, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Keeping an old (but working) pump as spare (so long as it is not in the operational environment) would be prudent. A pump warranty does not assure that failure will not occur within the warranty period. A reliability engineer would tell you that a new (even old) pump can die the next day, or that it could last 100 years. The probability of failure is initially high (especially for for a pump with a manufacturing defect - this is called "infant mortality"), stable during normal use, but increases over time as the pump is utilized (called "wear-out"). There is no definitive answer on when anything can fail, as it is based on probability. There are engineering factors that can improve long-term reliability - but no amount of engineering investment can prevent something from eventual failure. If you are concerned about this, you should consider backup pumps in your system - redundancy, battery backup, municipal water-pressure pumps, generators for backup power, etc. as well as follow various monitoring and maintenance activities. There is a cost to this, of course. --71.82.64.203 (talk) 01:17, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

Other countries
This article is very U.S.-centric. Referenced information regarding sump pumps in other countries would be welcome. (Are they even called that elsewhere?) Edison (talk) 01:35, 24 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Looks like they are in fact called "sump pumps" in the U.K. as well: ] Edison (talk) 01:39, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Not Encyclopedic
I barely even begin reading this "article" before I become overwhelmed with the idea that this article is not at all encyclopedic. Someone needs to rewrite it. Unfortunately I am not well versed in the subject or I would consider it... that is why I came, to learn. 108.2.116.114 (talk) 23:59, 28 January 2011 (UTC)


 * I have restructured and rewritten parts of the article, but there's still room for improvement. At least, I have gotten rid of the implicit assumption that sump pumps are installed only in residences. Reify-tech (talk) 02:42, 2 March 2023 (UTC)

When was it considered acceptable to drain to the sewer??
1900s? 1800s? Some time frame is necessary. 2604:3D09:D78:1000:F76E:3144:D9C0:35F4 (talk) 18:41, 26 May 2023 (UTC)