Sump Pump for Garden Drain

Ray Palmer

I have a problem with pooling on my driveway as the drive tilts towards the house. I want to put a drain in with a sump pump to pump the water to the drain channel that is above where the pooling is. I can't seem to figure out what size and kind of pump I should buy.

I did get a quote from a guy and he wants to charge €350 per person for 2 people for 2 days work. In fairness that is for going to the back drain about 10 m away in concrete. Still seems excessive along with €600 for materials and removal of debris.

cruizer101

Do you need a pump? Could you drain into a soakaway pit which then just drains into the surrounding ground.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118111573#Comment_118111573

I would prefer to use a pump for a number of reason but the mail reason is if I just use a soakaway it would go under the foundation of the garage and wall where it was a problem before.

10-10-20

I could be wrong here- I'm only guessing, but don't you just need a "dirty water" sump-pump with a float which is mounted into an enclosed AJ at the end of the drain channels? Or is there more to the question?

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118111684#Comment_118111684

I looked at the ones on screwfix but they seem to be much larger than needed and not actually sump pumps for permanent fixture, I could use one a dig a much bigger sump pit. It is rain water so not "dirty water" which is crystal clear when pooled and just bad construction of the drive ways compounded by the way people added walls where fences were before. I can see the various fixes neighbours have dealt with it but each drive is different so the same solutions don't work for each. I have a drive that slops down to the road in part and then slops toward the house and also away from the garden to pool in the corner of the drive by the garage and neigbhouring wall. There was a simple drain that never worked as it saturate hence a soakaway wouldn't work and recent works made the issue worse.

10-10-20

These pumps here are the real-deal.

https://www.screwfix.ie/c/outdoor-gardening/water-pumps/cat840680

You could go get a stainless-steel version of a well-type pump, but really this is how it's normally done.

https://www.tanks.ie/water-tanks/water-tank-accessories/pumps-controllers/c287

These are the professional options (€€):

https://www.tanks.ie/direct-pumps-tanks/b31

And it is "dirty water" which you would be dealing with as these pumps have a pre-filter and typically a larger tolerance for particles which will get washed into the water flow.

I'd sink a reasonable sized plastic container or make up a tank using AJ's:

https://brooksonline.ie/wavin-sewer-adjustable-gully-hopper-u92633

https://brooksonline.ie/wavin-sewer-waj-sewer-risers-u92620

...with a WAJ at the bottom with both ends capped.

https://brooksonline.ie/wavin-sewer-4-110mm-waj-1-u92637

...and drop the pump in. But I'm a DIYer.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118112251#Comment_118112251

When I read up on the screwfix pumps and their own Q&A they say they are not fit for the purpose to use in a drain(see first question). These are larger and more powerful than I need. I will probably go that route as it stands just wanted to see what the other options are and where to get a proper sump pump. The other site seems to have what I need but more expensive than I would have thought

10-10-20

Yeah, large pinch of salt required for some of these Q&A's:

https://www.screwfix.ie/p/karcher-sp3-350w-dirty-water-pump/4181k

Specification: "...Not suitable for continuous use in fish ponds."

Q&A:

Q: "can this pump be used on a duck pond waterfall?"

A: "yes the SP3 machine can be used as a pond pump. Thanks, Karcher UK."

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118113313#Comment_118113313

That was where I was concerned. I will go this route as they are in stock. Might actually pump it to a water tank on the garage roof. Thanks for the help