This past summer I had a new patio installed. Unfortunately, the top of the new patio is higher than the PVC pipe where water is expelled from my sump pump (the old patio was lower and designed by the last occupant with a retaining wall that curled the water out and into my neighbor’s yard).
So I bought a pair of PVC elbows to get the pipe over the top of the new patio, letting the water pour out again over the surface of the patio into the garden. As you may expect, water collects in the elbow after each expulsion (and, I surmise, in the short length of PVC extending from the house), and this winter I’ve had to go out there and thaw it more than once (either by removing the elbows and thawing ithem inside, or by pouring near-boiling water into the opening and onto the pipe).
I expected that, and it’s not a big chore to thaw the pipe, but now I’m more worried about my sump-pump. It tries to expel water thru the frozen-over pipe and may run blocked for quite a while before I catch it, unfreeze the elbow, and start it up again. So I’m probably doing long-term damage to the pump. I guess I didn’t really expect much water to flow into the ground when temps were well-below freezing, but my sump pump has been busy this winter
Anybody have any ideas here about how to work around this problem (come Spring)? The PVC from the pump is cemented into the wall of the house; I can’t raise it without breaking up a good part of the exterior brick wall, and I don’t know what I might find. It comes out into a foot-wide flower bed that separates the wall from the patio, so could I just turn the elbow and have the water dump into the flower bed, or dig a trench, lay a pipe, and direct the water flow back into the ground? My fear with this option is, with the water dumped so close to the house, it would immediately fill the hole for the sump pump, and I’d be cycling the same water over and over (or worse, the pipe still gets frozen, and now it’s underground).
How about if you drill a small hole in the pipe so that when the pump is off, it drains the remaining water out into your garden? Drill the hole part way up the diameter of the pipe, when the pump is off, the water will drain down, so that there is at least some headspace for new water to flow when the pump goes back on. If the hole is small, you won’t get a torrent in the flowerbed when the pump is on.
So you’ve got something that looks like this and water collects at the bolded elbow?
W +-------------
A |PATIOPATIOPATIO
L-------------**+**
L
If so, the water collects there because the outlet pipe is not level. Otherwise the water that doesn’t make it out to the patio would flow back down to the pump. Can you level the outlet pipe? Or do I have the diagram wrong?
You might want to get some heater cord type stuff. Wrap it around the pipe and plug it in. Maybe put some pipe insulation around that. That should keep it melted. That’s what we do with our cooler drains at work.
You have it. Leveling the pipe is problematic (concreted into the wall), but now I wonder if bending it upward at the wall (or sim.) is possible; is this feasible with PVC pipe?
Why wound’t you be able to? BTW if there isn’t enough clearance, just drill from the top all the way through to the bottom. A hole on the top won’t hurt anything. I would use a a pretty small bit though. It has to be big enough to drain the water before it freezes but small enough that the majority of the water doesn’t drain though it before it gets to the end of the PVC.
In the picture there’s a gap between the house and the patio, is that really there? If it is, you’d probably be better running the PVC along the side of the house (at or below the level where it comes out of the house) until you can get the water away. Is that feasable?
How about this? Put a Y fitting somewhere in the low garden area, with the open end sticking backward. The flow of the water away from the open end will keep most of the water going forward, and it will easily drain backward when the flow stops. Maybe put a cap on the open end and put a hole in that for drainage.
How far does the pipe extend from the wall? You could cut it off near the wall and add a new length which is level. I would even put a bit of a slope on it to ensure that the remaining water flows back to the pit.
I have to say, it appears my sump pump line does have a check valve. When the water is frozen, it’s right at the top of the elbow piece. Even if the piece from the wall were sloping downward, I wouldn’t expect the water to remain that high in the elbow unless somewhere in the wall there’s an upside-down trap higher than the patio (and why that would be there I have no idea).
As for drilling a new hole for the right level, the pipe is 1 1/2 inch in diameter, it would involve breaking into a brick wall, and I have no idea what I might find in there (e.g. the entire pipe assembly could be encased in mortar). Would short-term solutions line the small-hole-drill be OK long term?
And a general question: I know you want the water to be moved away from the house, but how bad would it be to have it dumped in the flower bed next to the house? It might be nice to have a leaky hose buried in the flower bed, and have the sump pump water the flowers there…
Dumping it next to the house would defeat the purpose of having it as alot of the water would probably come right back in.
I think the hole will do a fine job. If it doesn’t work, fill the hole with caulk and you’re back at square one, nothing lost.
Also, like I said before, if there really is a gap between the house and the patio, have the PVC make a hard right or left turn and then run it along the side of the house (with a downward slope) until it’s a few feet away from the house. That would really be the best option.