How deep is a sump pit?

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How deep is a sump pit?

The typical pit is 30 inches in depth and 18 to 24 inches across. The standard sump pit insert available in home improvement centers is 26 gallons and 18 inches diameter. In many cases the pit needs to be a minimum of 24 inches and up to a depth of 36 inches. But some builders just use a common 5-gallon bucket.

A small pit fills up with water very quickly and the sump pump has to turn on and off frequently, which shortens the life of the pump and of its check valve. Installing a store-sold backup pump in a small basin is impractical because of the risk of its float getting stuck and basement flooding.

In case the sump pit is still too small or crowded, you may need to dig through the bottom of the pail to place the main pump deeper or to cut the concrete and install a full-size sump pit. But many pumps have set turn-on level of 6 to 8" and turn-off at 3" level. Then, making the pit deeper would not affect the short-cycling of the pump. A larger diameter pit will take longer to fill, or install a pump with a switch that turns the pump on at a much higher level.

When the sump pump short-cycles, its thermal overload protection kicks in and shuts the pump down – the basement floods even though the sump pump is not broken and will return back to normal after it cools down.

The Hi & Dry backup pumps will not trip! They are placed well above the pit or the normal water level. Inside the pit, they only need enough space for the suction pipe and a float. And Hi & Dry battery pumps feature a slim-line vertical switch to avoid the risk of entanglement.