I have a sump pump in my basement that has a tethered float switch. The sump is not deep enough for the switch to turn on so I have to go down there and turn it on manually every time it rains hard. If I put a vertical float switch with a piggyback plug/switch will it turn on the sump pump?
Basement – Vertical float switch for tethered float sump pump
basementsump-pump
Related Solutions
As kkeilman points out, your pump is fully submersible, so that part should be no problem.
You can easily just piggy-back a float switch like this one on your existing pump. It has a special plug that you plug the existing sump pump into (no wiring necessary), and this one in particular handles up to 1/2 HP, which is more than enough for your 0.3 HP Zoeller.
The nice thing about these tether floats is you can adjust the heights depending on where you attach it, and how much tether you give it. Just be sure to test it manually moving up and down to be sure it's at the right heights, and it's not going to get hung up on anything (causing it to either stay on, or not turn on when needed). I highly recommend you secure all the wires going into the pit with zip ties or electrical tape to be sure they're not going to fall down in the future.
You can leave the existing float working, which is fine - it will act as an extra safety to shut it off if the pit is dry, but also be sure this one doesn't get hung up - because both floats will have to be "on" to make the pump turn on -- if either is off, the pump is off.
If you don't want to use the existing float, there may be a way to bypass it internally by rewiring the pump, or you can simply zip tie it "up" so it is in the on position all the time.
A sump is easy enough to install DIY. You need a precast concrete sump well (mostly to keep muck out of the pump,and keep the float switch clear), a pump, a place to dump the water to, and a GFCI electrical outlet. In general the water needs to dump outside, not to a sewer.
In Berkeley CA you likely have heavy clay soils that don't drain quickly. The tides seem an unlikely source of your problem.
As to effect on the home: wet soil expands somewhat compared to dry soil. If only part of the crawl gets wet, that can create differential stresses on the foundation, leading to uneven settling and cracking.
The problem can also be solved with perimeter drains, keeping the water outside in the first place.
One issue you'll face is it's hard to find a good quality sump pump that has low capacity. The smaller (capacity) pumps tend to be cheaper (quality) pumps.
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Best Answer
Try this fix, shorten the tether so the float will turn on/off quicker, or replace the pump with a one that has a vertical mounted float switch. I got rid of my tethered float switch pumps for ones with the vertical switch. They work great with just a short rise in water level.