Monitor and control sump pump

Other Devices & Integrations Lighting & Load Control
1

Some Background: I am looking for a solution to monitor my sump pump usage and to also control its run time. We just recently moved into this house (built in 1952) and it has a crawlspace with a sump pump. Last week we had some very heavy rains and the sump pump was kicking on about every 30 seconds to pump out around 2 gallons of water which only took about 10 seconds. I had just cleaned out the sump bucket and it is quite small only holding around 2.5 gallons or so. The entire crawlspace of our 2,500 sq ft home is below grade and our soil is very permeable so during heavy rains it is normal to have this type of water inflow to the crawlspace…hence the sump pump.

Now to my question: I did not like the pump to run so often for such a short period of time, is there a way to use a smart plug to create a program to allow a minimum time between runs of say 10 minutes? I think this would be more efficient as the pump would run for a longer period of time to pump out more water and it would also still achieve the end goal of keeping the crawlspace dry. A secondary goal of the smart plug would be to log when the pump runs so I could easily check to make sure that it is running.

I have not done any programming on Vera so I’ll try to write the code in paragraph form:

If pump watts does not equal 0 then
Start Timer1 = 1:00
Start Timer2 = 10:00
If Timer1 = 0:00 then
Switch power off
If Timer2 = 0:00
Switch power = on

This code would limit the run time to 1:00 but…it would never run that long anyway unless the float malfunctioned or we had a major flood…in either case I have a different problem! In this code I think that if the pump kicked on it would start the first timer and allow the pump to run for 1:00. It would also start the second 10:00 timer. The pump would probably run for 10-20 seconds and automatically kick off based on float position. After the 1:00 timer runs out then the switch power would go off and the pump could not run. Then 10:00 timer would continue counting down until it reached 0:00 and then it would turn the switch power back on. If the sump needed to run again then it could start based on float position and the cycle would repeat as necessary.

Smart plug:
[url=http://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-DSC06106-ZWUS-Z-Wave-Energy/dp/B007UZH7B8/ref=pd_sim_60_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=31WSTKH0jvL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1N991FA3WVNNVNMGVEDJ]Amazon.com

Reference post:
http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,27946.msg199491.html#msg199491

2

Theoretically, such a scenario could be accomplished fairly easily, especially if you used PLEG. But, from a practicality standpoint, this is sure to make matters worse. Vera/Z-Wave communication is too flaky and this just begs for the switch to be turned off and not come back on, causing flooding.

The better and much more reliable solution would be to use a larger sump. Depending on your specific installation, you might be able to get by with just moving the float higher.

The other consideration is that your concerns are unfounded. The short cycling pump may be just fine. Do you have any knowledge about how reliable or problematic this system has been in the last 63 years?

3

Thanks Z-Waver. This is good advice that I had not considered.

Installing a larger sump or adjusting the float higheris not a good option IMO because it could leave more water in the sump bucket which could lead to moisture issues.

I have no knowledge of previous issues.

4

On my sump pump you can control both the high and low set points for when the unit turns on and off. I would think this would be typical for most units. By controlling when the unit turns off you can minimize any standing water left in the sump pit and yet still change the on set point so that the unit runs longer and is on for less time. My float has a metal rod that runs through the switch with two rubber bumpers, by moving these either up or down it controls when it is on or off. There are different types though and you mileage my vary. I only have a z-wave water sensor in the pit so that I know when the sump pump fails to pump out water. the contact is just above the height where the pump would turn on. I go through a pump every 3-4 years because of the huge amount of water flowing into my basement. So it is nice to have the alarm set so that I don’t come down to a foot of water covering the floor (happened a few times before Z-Wave sensor and the pump had failed).