Installation Quality ?

[Client]

I had a complete de-watering system insatlled by Pioneer approximately 1.5 years ago. With the drought conditions the system never operated until recently with all the winter precipitation.

1) What I'm noticing is that the pump cycles excessively and some of the ejected water flows back into the sump pit.
Question: why didn't the installation crew put in a check valve? They only cost about $15 and increase pump life. From what I read almost everyone recommends the use of a check valve.

2) I'm also noticing that sand, from under my foundation, is contaminating my sump pit. It comes in through the holes in the liner. I scoop out some of the sand daily but can't keep up. I'm worried this will undermine my foundation in the long term as well as cause pre-mature pump failure.
Question: why didn't the installation crew, when excavating the hole to put the liner in, dig & remove enough soil so that several inches of stone could be placed all around the liner? This surely would help filter the sand (keeping it out of the liner) and improve pump life. And again, from what I read it is a recommendation by many.

[stevea]

Dear Client,

First the sump pump does have a check valve which is part of the male adapter that is screwed into the base of the pump. Zoeller pumps have a pin hole designed to squirt some water into the basin when the pump is working in order to protect the pump from sucking air and then becoming air- bound. This is normal.

As far as sand coming in the basin, our sump liners are not drill at the base, you will notice the holes are appox. 8 inches up from the bottem of the basin. I would recommend a service technican perform a cleaning of the sump and basin. We also have a product called pump stand which raises the pump appox 6" to help out the sand problem. When the crew did install the basin they did surround it with 3/4" crushed stone. However since sand is smaller particles than crushed stone, water will wash some thru that crushed stone. Please call me at my office at 1-800-649-6140 or e-mail me at stevea@pioneerbasement.com and I will arrange for a serviceman to do a maintenence cleaning and to install a pump stand for you.

Sincerely Yours,

Steve Andras

[stevea]

When a system is first installed you will get some debris in the sump liner. I always recommend a maintenance service to clean the liner from this sand, soil, small stone, etc. WE have recently come out with a new and improved pump stand to help keep the pump off of the bottom of the Liner. If any of our existing customer's would like to have one of these pump stands just ask your service tech when he does your next annual cleaning and he will be glad to install one for you for $45.00.