# sump pump alarm going off, but working. what gives?



## RiparianRanger (Nov 18, 2015)

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## snagless-1 (Oct 26, 2014)

Look up the brand you have on internet they should have tech support and question and answer section.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Is your back up battery fully charged?
Brother had a sump pump with a battery backup and his alarm would go off if the battery would get discharged.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

Maybe give the float a few shakes?


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

Back up sumps usually have a low battery alarm that beeps. Check the battery.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

I don't have Zoeller but I do have a back-up and here's how mine works.
The back-up alarm can be triggered for several reasons one of which is Loss Of Power or it could be triggered by Main Pump Failure. I also believe battery failure can send out several codes.
Loss of Power is an obvious problem.
(For your problem I would suspect this) Main Pump failure and it is easy to figure out also. I had this problem and it was caused by a problem with the float switch sticking on the main pump.


RiparianRanger said:


> While the water does appear elevated, the sump kicks on and expels it.


If the water level in the pit is higher than normal then this is probably because your main pump quit working and the water is raising above the normal level and is being pumped out by your battery back-up pump. If your back-up sump is activated it will sound an alarm to let you know your main pump is having a problem.
(on my system) When I pushed that button to quiet the alarm it will activate the back up sump, drain the water and quiet the alarm. (again on my system) Since my main sump problem was a failing float switch on the main sump, the problem may or may not repeat itself during the next pump cycle. That main pump switch could work for 5 cycles or 5 days before failing again. It was frustrating to figure out. I live in a fairly wet area and my sump pump is active year round so I have to make sure it's working properly.

I took my sump apart several times to try to fix the problem (I had a Wayne pump) and every time I'd pull it out I could not get that float switch to fail by activating it manually. So I'd re assemble and put it back in the sump but eventually it would fail again. In looking on the internet I did find that Wayne made a replacement float assembly for the float switch. I don't remember the cost but it was ridiculous so I opted to just buy a new sump since the other one was 4 years old and like I said, it runs daily.
IMO sump pumps are very basic systems are pretty easy to fix and maintain.
The internet is your friend here and I'm no expert but I don't think you need to be. Anyone with an active sump should have a battery back-up system.
I hope this helps


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

I will add if you look at a battery back up sump system you will have 2 floats.
On the main pump the 1st float will activate the pump as the water rises to maybe 8" (just a guess). If that sump pump fails to activate with that switch for any reason (bad switch or loss of power), the water will continue to rise in the sump pit until it hits the next float switch for the back up sump which is set at let's say 14".
Now once that water level reaches 14" it's going to activate the back-up sump and sound an alarm to let you know you have a problem.


hardwaterfan said:


> Maybe give the float a few shakes?


As a temporary fix this just may work and in my case it did but the problem returned again and again. I could stand at the pump with a stick and push the float down and let it pop back up and it would work again for a little while, maybe a week or maybe a month.
If this works it's your warning of things to come.

I think I saw somewhere that they also make a 12v/120v sump that are capable of running on battery in event of a power failure. IMO I wouldn't buy one of these. Sump problems are fairly common so I want a complete separate system as a back-up.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

Are there 2 pumps or one?

Ok if the op is defacto using the back up sump as the "primary" sump then an alarm is perfectly normal. At work in that case systems are usually set up to alert that the primary pump can't keep up and two pumps are needed. Then if both pumps can't keep up then there is a high water alarm. I'm used to big, industrial type sumps. Never been around home systems. 

One other thought, if its just 1 pump, will the alarm eventually turn off by itself? Maybe the pump isn't pumping as fast as it should, maybe the impeller area is getting gunked up and blocked up and needs cleaned out. if the alarm goes off on its own I'd pull the pump and clean it and try to clean out the sump.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

On residential systems there are 2 different pumps. 1 pump is 12 volt and operates off of a battery, this is the back up sump. The other pump is 120 volt, this is your primary pump that operates under normal conditions.
Most of these battery operated sumps will only run for XX amount of hours under a power failure. Continuous running maybe 5/6 hours. Intermittent running may be a week, just depends on how often it cycles on/off.
Since the OP stated his water level seemed high, I would have to assume his primary pump is failing. My guess would be the float switch is causing the problem.
The OP didn't mention a power failure either that would signal an alarm. Assuming there is no power failure the system could keep up with the incoming flow of water since the battery will continue to charge from the onboard charging system.
Generally trash in the system in not too much of a problem unless more than just basic ground water is entering the system. If water is also coming in from exterior drains and it's carrying some debris then that could be an issue also.

Some of these systems come together as 1 unit (from 1 manufacture) or the components can be configured using various brands of components. Since parts can fail at different times, I prefer the later and only replace part or pumps as needed.
All of the individual pumps need a check valve but that's another story.
Because sump systems fail so often quite a few new homes are being built with separate 2 sumps. Only one of the 2 pumps will have a back up system installed.

While talking about it there is more than just a battery back up system available for added protection. Some back up systems are activated by the home water supply. So a battery system has a limited running life because of the battery needs to be recharged. The water system will work as long as your water supply is coming to your house. I know a neighbor who has one but I don't know anything else about them.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

Those are called eductor pumps. They're really good for very dirty or debris laden water because there is no impeller. they use water pressure to create pumping suction.


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## RiparianRanger (Nov 18, 2015)

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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

crappiedude said:


> *On residential systems there are 2 different pumps*





crappiedude said:


> Since the OP stated his water level seemed high, *I would have to assume his primary pump is failing*. My guess would be the float switch is causing the problem.


Kind of figured that was the case.

I wouldn't think you'd have a problem using the back up for a few days since you still have 120v electric at the house and the charger should keep the battery charged.
Now if you loose electric keep an eye on that battery, depending on how often it cycles on will depend on how long it lasts. If I ever lost electric and my sump battery began to fail, I planned on using my boat batteries in case of an emergency.
I've seen those primary pumps fail so often, I keep a spare 120v pump in the basement with connectors and pvc attached. It takes about 5 minutes to swap them out.

I'm curious if that float switch failed.


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## BFG (Mar 29, 2006)

I have the water pressure backup system. My guess is that in a major rain event, if my primary failed, that water pressure system would be good enough to allow about an inch of water into my basement, as opposed to 2' of water. It's definitely not as high volume of a pump as the 120v Zoeller below it. Having said that, it is a better option for peace of mind than a battery backup, especially for situations like summer and spring break vacations when big rain events inevitably will occur. The entire thing cost me about $450 to have installed. We are on city water, so the only way it won't work is if we lose water pressure in town. At that point, it won't matter anyway because the basement will be a total claim regardless. 

Previous house I had a battery backup pump that would sound its alarm for the following reason:

1. low battery voltage
2. the backup pump engaged (even if only sporadically or only once)

New battery was around $150 when I replaced it, but that backup pump saved my butt more than once when the primary couldn't keep up in 2013 when we had almost 6" of rain in February over a 2 day period. The alarm had to be manually re-set. I recall coming home from a week of salmon fishing to get out of the truck and walk to the back door, and heard the alarm coming from the crawl space. With one eye closed, I opened the foundation access to find a dry crawl space...but the alarm was going off. Re-set it, but I could tell that there had been significant rain as the "crock" (rubbermaid tub) was clean on all sides...which meant the water had been running high and fast through the perimeter tile at some point. 

I asked the wife....she said..."uh, yeah...about that alarm...did you shut it off because it's been beeping since Monday..."


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## RiparianRanger (Nov 18, 2015)

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## Hammerhead54 (Jun 16, 2012)

mine did that because the water was low in the battery


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## EnonEye (Apr 13, 2011)

Thanx for sharing Ranger... $350 not bad at all to have a pro install... those things are like VERY important, we had a couple inches in an hour here today, a nightmare if the sumps not working for sure


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

I agree, thank for the follow up. It helps us all in the learning.
$350 isn't too bad especially since they did all the work. I think I paid close to $200 for my last pump and I had to do it all.


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