Install a tee 2 feet below the tee that froze and a a small tubing back to Sump PIT. This would be a weep hole. When your pump Is running some water will go back to the pit, this Is normal. However, when your pump stops, the water will drain into the pit, so that no water will be in the pipe above this tee. Close up your hole and insulate our pipe from tee up. This should work for you....Jim PS....you can install a 1/4 turn ball valve in this weep line, then you would open during the winter and close during none freezing temperatures. Tag this valve with an explanation of what it’s for.
I live nearby in Chatham. First spray foam that round vent closed that is letting cold air into your cold room from the outside. It's not needed and actually helps your pipes freeze. Trust me , I had 2 of them. Best thing I ever did. Second get a stronger pump and make that your main pump. That pump should be at least 1/2 hp and should have no problem clearing that line.
Hi I saw your video and was wondering was your freezing the result of the pipe freezing on the inside of the house or a blockage at the exit pipe from the outside the house?
The pipe was frozen at the top of the U, as it exited the house. There was no blockage beyond that, as any water that had made it beyond the U fell away from the house. Consequently, I could melt the blockage by applying heat to that U-section from inside the house, as shown in the video. It would have been harder to do it from the outside, as the outside air was much colder than the inside air, and the blow dryer may not have been able to heat that colder air sufficiently to warm the pipe and melt the ice block inside.
Please explain where the water from the sump pump is discharging. I just had a pump installed and it is discharging at the front of the house. I now have a perpetually wet front walkway which is hardly desirable.
Put a winter check valve bypass into the pipe . It's just a piece of U shape pipe with a ball valve that let the water return to the pit in winter instead of sitting in the pipe .
Mike, I have had the same problem several times with my sump pump system. Last time the blockage was so bad I had to wait for the spring thaw to fix it. I have 4 sump pumps and I ended up just removing the check valve from each system, thus allowing the little bit of water remaining in the pipe to flow back into the pit but preventing water accumulation in the pipes. W What are your thoughts about just removing the check valve like I did??
This is exactly why I decided not to put a check valve in when installing a new sump pump in my house....Lets the whole line drain thus reducing the chance of frozen water because there is none to freeze!
that's a great idea , my problem is that what I manually press on my chec valve it has pressure on it , Like air pressure , so I'm thinking I got a bad chec valve or the line is plugged somewhere else
Sorry to hear that. Perhaps it's frozen enough that the valve can't open. Have you tried heating the line directly above the check valve? If the whole standing pipe is frozen, I doubt that will help, though.
It sounds like your pump might be air locked - check in the basin for a weep hole below the check valve. This might be helpful too, it explains the weep hole: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MoLb6YAFbGg.html
This video was very helpful as I believe now that we installed a check valve after 30 years in the sump pump pipe this may be why it was humming as yours was and not pumping out water. The next day when temperature went down it started working again. My question is what is the material of the black pipe you used the blowdryer on? We have a white PVC pipe and wondering if PVC would have the same effect.
The black pipe is ABS plastic instead of PVC. It is typically stronger than PVC but shouldn't be run outside in direct sunlight, as it could get hot and deform. A hair dryer would work on PVC pipe to melt ice in it too.
@@Cynthia_Cantrell Thank you Cynthia. We were wondering if adding insulation around the PVC pipe and the PVC elbow would help prevent water freezing inside the pipe. We tried to get foam insulation around the elbow but very stiff to cut at an angle and have it attach. Not even sure if foam insulation would prevent freezing. Then we thought maybe wrap fiberglass insulation around instead. Any input on this? Thanks
@@gaild9630 Whether or not you pipe freezes will depend on how much of it is exposed outside to cold temperatures. Mine runs mostly underground once it is outside, and usually has very little (almost no) water in it. So I haven't had any problems with it freezing. If your pipe runs above ground that could be a problem, unless you live in a southern climate. If there is just a small section of pipe above ground right next to the house (like mine) you can build a small insulating box with Hardibacker or plastic lumber and fill the insides with insulation. If you keep one side in contact with the house, and the other the ground, that will help keep it from freezing. If you live in Canada though, you might need to add some heater wire for really cold nights. Insulating difficult areas inside the house can be done by stuffing fiberglass insulation into the area, or using a can of the polyurethane spray foam. But that will only keep cold air from getting inside your house - it will NOT keep your pipe from freezing! I hope that helps!
The vent hole is there for air circulation to prevent humidity build-up in your cold room. (Potentially leading to mold). With your weeping tiles and sump pump that room will get very humid without that vent. Your exit line should be insulated, you can also look into plumbing 'heat tape' which keeps the pipe a few degrees above zero to prevent freezing. Unfortunately my sump pump line froze a few weeks ago OUTSIDE the house, underground. Seems the pipe broke down there. Instead I had to cut the line outside the house and run a temporary pipe to the backyard.
