# Sump pump drain into buried downspouts



## Chokingdogs (Oct 27, 2012)

Been looking into this, and based on searching I think I'm OK with the premise....

House has sump pit with the pump discharge just the flex hose from the pit/pump across the floor to a floor drain. I believe the floor drain is part of the sanitary house drain, as it falls in line with one of the main stacks along with a floor clean out in the adjacent room, closer to the street. I believe _THAT_ type of drain is not to code - sump discharge into sanitary sewer system.

What I would like to do is run PVC from the pump well, up the wall, then across the top of the foundation ( tucked in-between the floor joist ), then have it make a 90* and go through the wall outside and tie into an existing downspout that's buried draining somewhere in the back yard with something like the attached photo.


The house is on a slightly elevated lot, with the back yard going out flat about 30 feet, then grading reasonably sharply downhill. So unless there's an issue with the existing downspout drainage, I should not have an issue with pump water getting back into the sump.

The vertical PVC from pump will be about 8 feet and the horizontal run around 10 to 12 feet to the 90* exit. I assume the horizontal run will need a slope to prevent any backfill of water, is there a standard formula for that, or does that depend on diameter of the pipe and pump? Also, where the drain would go through the wall is very near ( around 2 feet or less ) from the main electric service entrance along with the breaker panel. Is there any "standard" code indicating a drain must exit no closer than X inches/feet from a breaker panel? Currently there's an outdoor spigot line running right next to it, along with a myriad of copper for the hydronic BB heating.

The sump rarely fills with water, so it's not like every time it sprinkles it comes on. Actually, after Sandy came through ( house in Hanover PA ), the sump had maybe 1/4" of water. 

Second question has to do with back-up systems. While the sump didn't fill, the house was out of power for a little over 24 hours, so pump was useless. I'm leaning towards one of those city water powered back-up deals. Battery back-up would be "cleaner", but since the sump rarely comes on, I think I'd be replacing batteries before I'd need one. House has great water pressure, so one of those should be fully functional. Are they a worthwhile back-up system?

Thanks


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

I would not suggest connecting the two drains together.
Pretty common to have gutter drains plug up, if it does the water has no place to go.
Since you lucky enough to have a dry basement I see know need to have a back up.
There's suppost to be a check valve near the pump to stop any back flow. If you use one like this it could be disconneted to service the pump if need be.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...8BB006C95B795C8E0E&qpvt=sump+pump+check+valve


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