No Water In Sump Pump Pit? (washer, drain, leaking, warm) - House -remodeling, decorating, construction, energy use, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, building, rooms - City-Data Forum

Jedi5 · 01-23-2010, 01:49 PM

Odd question here...

So my sump pump recently gave out. Since it wasn't working, I unplugged it.
Now at the time there was water in the sump pump pit, pretty full actually. Basement didn't flood at all entire time sump pump was unplugged.

Now for the few days the pump was unplugged, somehow the water drained completely. The pit is dry.

Is that normal for the water to drain without the sump pump being connected?

And is it normal for the pit to still be empty and dry?
We're going on a few weeks now of no sump pump and no water in the pit.

I live in outside of Chicago and while it has been freezing weather, it is also starting to warm up where snow is melting.

No leaks anywhere in the basement. No water no nothing coming in.

On a side note, I do live on higher ground as we have a walk out basement.

Thoughts?

iceshots · 01-23-2010, 02:01 PM

Sump pits will dry out when the ground around them is dry, and there is no new water draining into the pit. Since you have had freezing weather, the ground has dried out. As the snow starts to melt the ground will become saturated again and your sump pit should start to fill up.

If you have had water in the pit in the past, you will get more water in there in the future. Whether or not your basement will flood depends on where the water was coming from. Is it the local water table rising, or is it simply run off from the saturated ground when it rains.

I would get your pump replaced. The fact that the water that was in the pit when the pump died has drained out just means that you were at the end of a cycle. The rate of incoming water had declined or stopped. If your pump had given out a few days earlier when the rate of incoming water was increasing, you would probably have had some kind of flooding around the area of the pit. When the snow starts to melt, you will get water filling the pit again.

sj08054 · 01-23-2010, 07:57 PM

Get the sump pump replaced ASAP. There is no point in having a sump if you don't have a working pump inside. $150 saved today could prove to be costly when you get an overflow. Some home do have sump pit that doesn't require a pump because there isn't a history of having lots of water in the sump. If you had a pump in there previously, you want to make sure that there is a working pump there.

Omaha Rocks · 01-23-2010, 08:50 PM

It is very typical for the sump pump hole to be dry during the winter.

However, you WILL want a working sump pump in the hole before spring.

Jedi5 · 01-24-2010, 12:27 PM

Thanks all for the advice.

Sorry for any confusion... I will be getting a new sump pump.
Didn't mean for it to sound like I wasn't.

M_owens · 05-10-2013, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceshots

Sump pits will dry out when the ground around them is dry, and there is no new water draining into the pit. Since you have had freezing weather, the ground has dried out. As the snow starts to melt the ground will become saturated again and your sump pit should start to fill up.

If you have had water in the pit in the past, you will get more water in there in the future. Whether or not your basement will flood depends on where the water was coming from. Is it the local water table rising, or is it simply run off from the saturated ground when it rains.

I would get your pump replaced. The fact that the water that was in the pit when the pump died has drained out just means that you were at the end of a cycle. The rate of incoming water had declined or stopped. If your pump had given out a few days earlier when the rate of incoming water was increasing, you would probably have had some kind of flooding around the area of the pit. When the snow starts to melt, you will get water filling the pit again.

My sump is working and I have TWO : one for sewage /by the washer, and the normal ground water sump. The ground water sump has gone dry now for several months. I am concerned. the sewage pump is working constantly, when it rains, while the ground water pump is silent. What is going on?

nybbler · 05-10-2013, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M_owens

My sump is working and I have TWO : one for sewage /by the washer, and the normal ground water sump. The ground water sump has gone dry now for several months. I am concerned. the sewage pump is working constantly, when it rains, while the ground water pump is silent. What is going on?

I thought a sewage pit had to be sealed. I'd guess either it's leaking and it happens to drain the water before the other pit fills high enough to trip the pump, or somehow runoff water is getting into your sewer drain.

Darald · 03-30-2017, 10:01 PM

and what diff. does it make what city it is LOL

Darald · 03-30-2017, 10:12 PM

my sump pump well is dry ( NOT BECAUSE IT IS WINTER ) but because the water don't get to the well.The water is coming up through a crack in the floor, why don't the water go into the tile under the wall and go to the well? My back yard is floodedand can't get to to the well why? can you please help me.

Coldjensens · 03-31-2017, 02:01 PM

You drainage tile is probably plugged up.