Environment
2008-08-01 09:35:00
Sump pumps, drain tiles, and blower motors
QUESTION: If my sump pump fails, will my basement fill up with water?
ANSWER: You just described a “worse case scenario” regarding sump pumps! People who have a functional sump pump in their homes will tell you they wouldn’t try to do without one. Sump pumps are installed customarily at the time of construction, and are generally located in the basement, usually in the same area as the other mechanical equipment is found. A sump pump will have “drain tiles” connected to it, which run beneath the floor of the basement, as well as around the outside perimeter of the basement walls. The drain tiles are perforated, and designed to allow water to enter them, flow to the sump pump, and be pumped away, keeping your basement dry. This system is for the purpose of handling water from rainwater runoff that can stand against the outside of the walls, or the water that may come up beneath your basement floor, and which can, absent the drain tiles and sump pump, due to hydrostatic pressure, come through the cracks in the floor into your finished or unfinished areas of the basement. Like many other home appliances, a sump pump requires maintenance. Knowing how to clean and maintain your sump pump to ensure its long life can be a very good thing.
It is often recommended that you do not clean the sump pump yourself but leave that task to someone who is qualified. However, you can pour white vinegar through the unit, which will help eliminate any build-up in the system. Sump pumps have screens or openings where the water enters the pump. These sometimes get clogged and require cleaning by a professional. Some sump pump manufacturers recommend the sump pump be run and tested every two to three months, while others recommend that a yearly cleaning program be completed before the rainy season hits. If you follow the maintenance guide given by the manufacturer, your sump pump should last you a very long time.
Here are some helpful tips regarding sump pump maintenance that might be good to pay attention to. First, fill the sump pit with water, and raise the float switch to make sure the pump is working properly. Then, go outside to check that the pump is actually discharging water, because sometimes the pump will run but it won’t pump any water out. Check that the operation of the float is not restricted. Check out your “check valve”. Clean the air hole in the discharge line. Listen for any strange noises coming from the motor. Finally, replace the battery on the back-up sump pump every second or third year. If you do a good job of maintaining this pump system properly and regularly, you’ll extend its lifespan by quite a bit. Coming home to a basement full of water is devastating! If a water hose on your washer breaks, that sump pump might be the only thing keeping your basement from filling up with water before you get back home.
Now, while you’re making sure your sump pump is doing what it’s supposed to be doing, you might also want to check out the blower motor fan in your furnace. This is the fan that moves the air through your home, year round, whether it’s for heating or air conditioning. The same fan motor does double duty, and lots of folks think that the outside unit for the AC is what is moving the air through their home. When you have the heating and air conditioning tech out in the spring and/or fall to make sure your units are performing as they should, he’ll be able to tell you if your fan motor is getting weak, or should be replaced for the upcoming season.
Blower motor fans in modern furnaces are usually a squirrel cage centrifugal air moving device. This fan configuration will move large volumes of air with relative quiet. They will also use less energy than the paddle type fan blades.
Most fan motors have bronze sleeve bearings but can be ordered with ball bearings. Sleeve bearings will normally last many years, but a ball bearing motor can last even longer (decades) especially in severe applications where the equipment runs continuously. Most motors with sleeve bearings will have a set of removable plugs where you can oil the motor shaft. We recommend a few drops of SAE 20W non detergent oil every year. 3 in 1 oil in the blue can is good, but not the red can. Some OEM (original equipment manufacturers) motors do not have oil ports. If you replace a motor and it has oil ports, try to place them between 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock to make future oiling more simple for yourself. There is a device available that will extend the oil ports so that you can reach the rear port on the direct drive blowers. Never, ever use WD 40 to lubricate a motor or bearings, since it has little or no lubricating properties for bearings, and will wash out the heavier oil. Not good for bearings at all. WD 40 is good for getting stuck shafts off, un-sticking rusted parts, etc, but is not good for this type of lubrication.
To replace a motor it is necessary to remove the blower wheel or fan blade from the motor. If the fan or blower does not come right off (sometimes it will) the best way to do this is to use a puller that will pull the hub off of the shaft. Don’t use a hammer to try to drive the shaft though the hub, as you will just distort the shaft to the point where you will have to saw the shaft off, or end up having to buy a replacement fan blade for your new motor if the fan blade is in bad shape. If you have an electrical failure where the motor smokes or stinks it is probably telling you you’re getting ready to buy a new fan motor. If the motor gets hot, it will usually shut off, because it has a thermostat inside to protect it. A motor that was normally running ok and then suddenly gets hot may have a bad run capacitor. The run capacitor is a round or flat silver can rated at 5 to 7.5 mfd’s (micro farads) for most 208-230 volt motors. You can test a motor run capacitor using a 100 watt light bulb and a digital ac volt meter, but never an ohm meter. To test motor start capacitors you will need a 200-300 watt bulb depending on the size.
If you don’t have an ac volt meter, or even know what an ohm meter is, you might just want to call the heating and air conditioning tech to drop by. He will be fully knowledgeable and will be able to diagnose what the problem is, and have you back up and running in short order. Most folks don’t think about these things until something breaks or quits running. Prevention is the best cure for just about anything, and having a checkup in the spring and/or fall of the year is just a great idea. Ask anyone who didn’t do it, and has a breakdown in one of their systems as a result. Not fun, anytime of the year. Some information was researched from the world wide web...More next month…
