If Your Sump Pump Trips the Breaker Often, Repair is Necessary

 

This is one of the most common problems associated with a sump pump. If your sump pump shares an outlet with another appliance or electrical item, your pump may receive too low an amount of voltage. When this happens, it nceeds to draw a higher amount of amps to run; which, in turn, causes it to run too hot.

This leads to a vicious cycle. When your pump is too hot, it is more prone to failure. As with any electric motor, if your sump pump’s motor has to run too much, its lifespan will be greatly reduced. In order to minimize the chances of this happening, you need to make sure your pump has its own dedicated circuit, and is plugged directly into an outlet. You should never use an extension cord if at all possible.

In addition, your pump should be connected to a ground fault circuit interrupter, or GFCI. A GFCI is a safety feature that helps reduce the risk of an electric shock.

Why Your Sump Pump May Cause Breaker to Trip

1. Water gets on the cord and/or the float switch connector: This happens sometimes with a GFCI-type breaker. Take the pump plug from the switch plug and dry it out with a hair dryer. Then, take the cord connector from the top of the pump and use a cloth or hair dryer to dry that out as well.
2. Impeller becomes stuck or obstructed due to debris: Take the screen from the bottom of the pump and remove any debris if you see it. A jammed impeller will eventually trip your breaker.
3. Malfunctioning float switch: Plug the pump directly into the outlet to see if it runs without blowing a fuse or tripping a breaker. If it does, but then pops a fuse or trips a breaker when it is plugged into the float switch, then the switch needs to be replaced.

 

In order to stop your sump pump from tripping the breaker, you will probably need to have the pump repaired. Our team here at Pompeii’s can help with that. Call us today!