sump pump install

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Electron_Sam78

Senior Member
Location
Palm Bay, FL
Anyone have any ideas on how to install a circuit for a sump pump that is outside and too far away from the house to reach a receptacle mounted on the wall? No posts allowed to stick up as it is in the middle of a yard area where people will be walking and kids running around. It's 10 feet from pit to side of house and the pump is 5 ft down. I was thinking about cutting off the plug end and doing a waterproof splice and making it a hard wired unit so I could run it in conduit underground to the house. I could legally use a flexible cord to do it according to code since it is a piece of equipment that has to be removed occasionally correct?
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
Anyone have any ideas on how to install a circuit for a sump pump that is outside and too far away from the house to reach a receptacle mounted on the wall? No posts allowed to stick up as it is in the middle of a yard area where people will be walking and kids running around. It's 10 feet from pit to side of house and the pump is 5 ft down. I was thinking about cutting off the plug end and doing a waterproof splice and making it a hard wired unit so I could run it in conduit underground to the house. I could legally use a flexible cord to do it according to code since it is a piece of equipment that has to be removed occasionally correct?
IMO, your only option is to install an outlet at the pump. You certainly can make it strong enough and worse case install a large plastic jb and put the recep. in there so the kids can't play with it.
 

Buck Parrish

Senior Member
Location
NC & IN
Anyone have any ideas on how to install a circuit for a sump pump that is outside and too far away from the house to reach a receptacle mounted on the wall? No posts allowed to stick up as it is in the middle of a yard area where people will be walking and kids running around. It's 10 feet from pit to side of house and the pump is 5 ft down. I was thinking about cutting off the plug end and doing a waterproof splice and making it a hard wired unit so I could run it in conduit underground to the house. I could legally use a flexible cord to do it according to code since it is a piece of equipment that has to be removed occasionally correct?

I have seen outlets on the inside of the tank.
But the best way to go is to either have an outlet mounted on a post with bushes around it or the outlet on the house. With the connectors you have described .

They do make pumps with long cords.
 

e57

Senior Member
An outlet in a christy box underground.... So long as the conduit were above the water level. - Fed by a GFI device somplace else...

But I'm also not opposed to lopping the cord end off - and using an appropriate seal-able strain relief sized for the cord to a box above grade or in a cristy box. - Fed by a GFI device somplace else...

If it were a fountain - Then to a submersible junction box w/ potting compound right there in the fountain - fed by a GFI device somplace else... But of course that is gonna cost some money.... :D
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
But I'm also not opposed to lopping the cord end off - and using an appropriate seal-able strain relief sized for the cord to a box above grade or in a cristy box. - Fed by a GFI device somplace else...

I don't like messing with the UL listing of a product, however, I know an EC who cut the plugs off the pumps for a septic pump system. What he didn't know was that one of the cords was designed with a breather cord. Not sure what that did other than take toxic fumes out of the tank.
 

Volta

Senior Member
Location
Columbus, Ohio
If
... it is a piece of equipment that has to be removed occasionally ...
then 400.7(B) won't allow us to go around
... lopping the cord end off - and using an appropriate seal-able strain relief sized for the cord to a box above grade or in a cristy box. - Fed by a GFI device somplace else...
But if the question is
How did you run the cord? In conduit underground? Was there a plug on the end that had to go through conduit?
then a 2" conduit and a long cord should allow the plug to pass through.
 
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