 |
| Disassembled Sump Pump & Tools Tally-wacker is at the top, underneath the awl and the screwdriver |
 |
| Utilitech 1/3 HP Pedestal Sump Pump |
I took the sump pump apart yesterday. It was surprisingly easy. The screw heads were rusted, but they were screwed into a plastic body so they came out easily. The Phillips head cross on the head of one of the screws had been completely obliterated. If you looked carefully, you could make out where it had been. I had to use my custom talley-wacker, carved from a genuine imitation war-surplus machete (that got broken in the heat of battle with a stupid tree) to restore the cross. Put the tip of me talley-wacker in the center of the screw, align the blade with one leg of the Phillips head cross and give a wack with my patented cheater pipe (specially flattened to fit the handle of of Craftsman 3/8" drive ratchet). Repeat three more times for the other three legs and I had enough of a cross to turn the screw. Screws-in-plastic is great. With a pump with any kind of metal body, those screws would have been so corroded it would have been an even bet whether you could get them out or they would break off. The plastic parts on this pump made disassembly a breeze.
The motor is connected to the impeller with a plastic drive shaft. It looked like it was secured with a blind roll pin. Roll pins usually go all the way through, but there's always someone looking for a way to cut corners. Only after I tried drilling one out did I realize it was an Allen screw. Where did my shop bifocals get to?
I could have looked for parts, but I suspect it would have been a pain in the neck, they'd have to be ordered from lower Elbonia and take three weeks to get here via FedEx (service from Elbonia is notoriously slow). Or I could just order a new pump with an integrated SWITCH for $60 from Amazon and have it here tomorrow.
Actually, the reason I didn't want to repair the pump is because it had fallen over and I suspect that is what led to its demise. I have a five gallon bucket embedded in a gravel pit in the pump room. There is a french drain that dumps into this gravel pit. There used to be water coming in from this drain, but then I got some serious drain control around the front of the house and the water problem diminished considerably. Still, the five gallon bucket is full of water, so I need a pump.
 |
| CRAFTSMAN 36-Tooth 3/8-in Drive Raised Panel Handle Ratchet |
Previously I had used little short pumps with a float attached via a length of power cord. The cord would let the float flop around. There is a switch inside the float. When the float finds itself in the upward position, the switch closes and the pump turns on. When the water level falls, the float falls. When the float is in the downward position, the float opens and the pump turns off. They work fine except the pump is sitting in a five gallon bucket and if the pump shifts it will trap the float against the wall of the bucket and it will never turn off. Burned out two pumps that way.
The bucket isn't much bigger than the pump, and vibration from the motor running was probably enough to cause it to shift position. I don't understand why this last pump fell over. Normal operation shouldn't cause that. Poltergeists, I suppose.
 |
FLUENTPOWER 1/2HP Sump Pump |
Anyway, bought this one from Amazon. The integrated switch is new. Didn't used to exist. Ask Amazon for a 'sump pump with an internal float switch' and it gives me pages of such pumps. Click on the first one and it looks good, but where's the switch? There is no mention of a switch anywhere in the description. Drove me nuts. I asked for a pump with an integral switch, but there's no switch here. WTF Amazon? Only much later did I realize it's an 'automatic' pump, 'switch' is too technical a term. Packaged for your protection and it only costs $10 more. Same marketing technique as Honda, Apple, Sony and now Tesla. Make up new, fuzzy names for elementary technical items that half the population can't seem to grok.
No comments:
Post a Comment