Sump pump and furnace

Our sump pump has been making weird vibration noises. We had ME Flow come out Friday and sure enough it was a switch needing replacement. They told us there is no way these switches go bad after two years, which is how old our house is, but we have no way to hit VM for it GRRR......

Then our furnace stopped working over the weekend, and we had to call ME Flow back out. It was the igniter (saw postings on this in earlier thread). Another $200. This is a common replacement. Anyone know how to find out how to do the install on your own on this? I have a Irving model in SW.

And to boot, our ME Flow van got hit at Waxpool and Claiborne from a car that went through the Four way STOP!!! This happens way too much.

 

hberg -
I had to replace my sump last year. I did it myself and was very surprised to find about a half can of garbage at the bottom of the pump. An ugly job. I guess the contruction workers didnt feel like cleaning out the bottom of the sump and it was something the inspector failed to check. Anyway, in about a year I would bet that that your sump is going to go out on you - so keep on top of it. I am in a VM too, and guess what? - they put the bottom of thie line sump pump in there.
Interesting post because my upstairs heating unit is not igniting the switch to turn on the gas burner.

 

So you all broke the seal on the sump pump. Ours is caulked all the way around. Our home inspector did not check the sump pump because of this. He told us to have VM look at it if we were conserned because it is sealed and he did not have the tools with him to re-seal it. So far we have not had an issue with it. Of course I never hear it. I assume if it was not working we would have water in the basement.

We also have had our ignigter go on the furnace. It happened when we turned our furnace on for the first time this past winter. Luckily the heating company still saw our house as under warrenty (even though it was about a month out) and they fixed it free of charge. I watched them fix it. There was not much to it other than removing a screw and connecting a connector. I think the issue would be finding the right one for the system.

 

After $275 - fixing the igniter, turns out it now cycles on then off, on then off, same problem we had the first winter we were there. So the warranty company came out and guess what - Igniter is a warranties item for first 5 years!!! We wasted $275! I am so mad right now. Of course, they have no idea why our system is now cycling on and off and can't get the repair pros out until a week from now when we are on leave, so looks like it won't get fixed for like two weeks. Grrr........

 

I'm having the problem with our upstairs furnace cycling on and off on and off, all night...They keep telling me there are no problems...Did they say what your issue was the first winter?

 

Yea they said that the ignigter can sometimes crack if there is a lot of dust, if someone touched with their hands while installing it, etc, etc. Apparently these things are very very fragile. At least that's what I got from my conversation with the heating guy.

We also had a problem with our upstairs furnace about 3 months ago. We had them out again and they took a look at it. One day our furnace just did not function. It acted as though there was no power getting to it. No sound, no nothing. They took one look at it and the guy knew exactly what was wrong. A cloged hose that leads into the system that is part of the saftey controls. He showed me how to fix it (would probably be to much to explain here without showing it) but it was not that difficult.

These systems seem to be pretty touchy.

 

The furnace igniter died on me after 26 months. The thread is here: http://hoa.broadlands.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1443

The part was covered in the 5-year warranty but labor is only covered for the first year. At least that's my understanding.

Email me if you want pics.

 

I'll have them check that at my one year walk through...they told me to keep changing the filters..

Thanks for the tip!

Joe

 

I'm not sure this is a problem since I've never looked in the sump pump well to see how big it is, but my sump pump is cycling about every 10 minutes and it comes on for only about 30 seconds. I'll check the sump pump sell tomorrow but anyone else have their sump pump cycle so often for such a short burst of pumping? It seems wrong.

 

With all the rain, you're probably getting some water collecting in the sump. It doesn't take that long for the pump to drain that water either. Here are some things to look for:

1. Check the 'trigger' mechanism of the pump, it may be too low.
2. Clear out any debris ... there is probably some construction debris in the sump.
3. Reseal the sump. Many of these sumps are also used as a simple radon collector and they vent to the roof.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Another thing our home inspector told us was to "manually" empty the sump pump after a few good rains. Hopefully I can explain this right since I don't have all my sump pump lingo down Most sump pumps have two plugs, if you unplug the "connector" piece, and then just plug the cord directly into the wall and just listen for it to empty (it doesn't take but a few seconds). You don't want to run it too long, but this does seem to help. Just a thought.

 

I see what you're talking about.

The 'connector' is the power source of the water level detector, and turns the pump on and off, based on the level in the sump. By bypassing this connector, you're running the pump directly, and then forcing the pump to run and empty the sump completely.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

More ongoing saga...
So now the warranty company is saying they may have to replace whole unit (Furnace)! We have a humidifer with industrial sealant on the side of the furnace (Installed last year after 1year, with ME FLOW). They are going to destroy it by having to take it off (they already told us this), does that mean we have to pay for another humidifer (ours is less than 6 months old!) or should VM have to do it since this was an original problem with the furnace to begin with?

And why did ME Flow charge us for a part (igniter) still under warranty? I have a phone call to make....

 

They should not have to 'destroy' it when removing it from the system. If I were you, the day before they show up, I'd take it down myself in order to have it reinstalled. Industrial sealant is no different than other sealants, possibly stronger. It can be removed using a good putty knife and alot of sweat.

I can't give you any advice on whether VM will do anything or not, their subcontractor probably handles the mechanicals, and as such, will only replace what was orignally on the system. Anything you added afterwards is probably going to be your responsibility.

As to why ME Flow charged you, I can only guess. Were they called out by the warrantee company orignally, or did you call them ?? If the system were still under the one-year warrantee, the mechanical subcontractor should have been the one to contact, they would have replaced it under the warrantee.






Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

No it was under the 5 year parts warranty. So ME Flow should not have charged us for the part but just for labor.

The warranty company that came out for the larger problem, said "no way this will come down with this sealant". Since it was an ongoing problem from our 1 year, I feel they should pay for anything they damage in the process. We are fighting with VM about it right now.

 

Anything will come down with the right tools and care ... however, good luck on your discussions with VM.

Neil Z.
Resident since 1999