What makes a good sump pump pit?
It is rather surprising to me how little information there is available on sump pumps and more specifically on sump pump pits. We find two basic kinds installed in homes. One is just a water collection box where perimeter drains flow and a pump then lifts the water up and away from the house. The second, sometimes combined with the first, is designed to relieve water pressure from below the foundation where basements are placed over a high water table. In most of these cases, the high water is not a permanent situation but more likely related to spring run-off and high near-by bodies of water or rivers. One of the operational rules that applies to all sump pumps is that the water should be allowed to rise in the pit before the pump goes on. Then the water drops to a certain level before it goes off. If it were to pump as soon as a small quantity of water arrived in the pit, the pump would be cycling on and off constantly. There needs to be a few inches of margin where it fills then it
