Gurgling Sump Pit

[Steven Hockstein]

I inspected a house the other day and there is a radon ventilation system connected through the sealed sump pit cover. There has been a lot of rain recently and there was a lot of gurgling as the air was being pulled through the water in the pit. Should I report this as a defect or just note this unusual condition?

[Gerry Beaumont]

Hi to all,

Steven, I would report this as a potential problem, my guess is that the sump float is set too high, and therefore the high water level is impeeding the radon removal,just a guess but it should be evaluated.

Regards

Gerry

[Steven Hockstein]

Originally posted by Gerry Beaumont

Hi to all,

Steven, I would report this as a potential problem, my guess is that the sump float is set too high, and therefore the high water level is impeeding the radon removal,just a guess but it should be evaluated.

Regards

Gerry

Thanks for the response. After a little more research I came to the same conclusion as you. I recommended that it be corrected.

[Terence McCann]

To expand this discussion a little more.

We built a house back in '96 and it had the perforated perimeter PVC drain piping coming into the sump in the basement. After the Winter was over and the first rain would hit there would be a terrible sewer gas type of smell that would come from the sump. After it would rain for a while the smell would wash away but if we were in a dry spell and it rained again, back came the smell. Never did find the source/cause of it.

More to the point, there was always a steady breeze coming from the drain piping that entered the sump crock(not sure why.) If it was the same as my setup, and the float was set too high, the air coming from the drain pipe might be causing it to gurgle.

Also, the sump crock in our basement was a solid, one piece unit, meaning, no open bottom, just the hole in the side where the drain pipe entered and top access. With this type of setup there would be no way that they could use it for Radon mitigation no? It would just be pulling from the drain tile inlet correct?

[kurt]

Originally posted by Terence McCann, in part

Also, the sump crock in our basement was a solid, one piece unit, meaning, no open bottom, just the hole in the side where the drain pipe entered and top access. With this type of setup there would be no way that they could use it for Radon mitigation no? It would just be pulling from the drain tile inlet correct?

Why wouldn't it depressurize the subgrade soil the same as a "regular" radon mitigation system? The system's I've seen (admittedly very few) just have a pipe extending below the bsmt. floor slab; it would seem a similar setup, no?

[Tom Barber]

The Radon systems that are installed into this type of sump pump will normally work better than the ones that just go thru the slab. The suction is expanded to the entire perimter of the home and thus it will pull the Radon more effectively. If you are hearing a gurguling sound either the float is set too high, the float is stuck or the pump needs to be replaced.

Tom Barber in VA

[Terence McCann]

Originally posted by Tom Barber

The Radon systems that are installed into this type of sump pump will normally work better than the ones that just go thru the slab. The suction is expanded to the entire perimter of the home and thus it will pull the Radon more effectively. If you are hearing a gurguling sound either the float is set too high, the float is stuck or the pump needs to be replaced.

Tom Barber in VA

Having been trained in Radon measurement/testing and not the mitigation portion (we did touch upon methods though)I thought that the mitigation system should go through the slab/lowest point of home.

In the end, I guess, what matters is that the Radon levels drop to acceptable levels.

[Tom Barber]

I am A Radon Mitigation system installer in another life, and normally the bottom of the sump pump should be the lowest portion of the basement. That is where the water and the Radon would normally be found.

Tom Barber in VA

[Bruce Thomas]

Hi Tom,

Me Too.

There has been a lot of rain recently and there was a lot of gurgling as the air was being pulled through the water in the pit.

That's the key, however, it may be intermitant.

Steven,

If the sump lid is sealed down it should be of lexan or at least have a viewing window. If water was flowing into the crock faster than the pump could handle it then water would be pulled up into the pipe. The pipe only needs to be just through the cover by about 1â€

[Steven Hockstein]

I never encountered this condition in the past and after what I discovered in my research I did not want to go down the path of guessing the cause of the gurgling. There are too many variables and since the pit cover was sealed, removing the cover goes beyond my inspection limits because it would tread on altering the radon mitigation system and that could open a whole new layer of problems for me.

I did my job--found the defect- reported that it was a problem- made recommendation to get it corrected.

[Neal Lewis]

Steve,

Any chance that it is a positive pressure radon system and blowing air into the sump pit? Personally, I've never seen one, but I know there are some of these out there.

[Brian G]

New Jersey....gurgling in a basement...hmmm. Could it be Jimmy Hoffa, still hanging on? [:-taped]

Brian G.

Whattayou talkin'? [:-dog]

[Steven Hockstein]

Originally posted by Neal Lewis

Steve,

Any chance that it is a positive pressure radon system and blowing air into the sump pit? Personally, I've never seen one, but I know there are some of these out there.

No, it is definitely a negative venting system.

[Bruce Thomas]

Steven,

You did exactly what you should have.

Bruce