Occasionally flooding cellar - Looking for a pump

[gbyng]

Hope someone can help. My cellar (during very heavy rainstorms) leaks in with 1-2 inches of water on the floor.
Doesn't really do any damage (it's an old victorian cellar - brick walls & quarry tiled floor) and we only store non-damp damageable stuff down there.

Usually a mop & bucket does the job in an hour or so, but I was wondering if anyone knows of a suitable pump I could use to suck up the water and pump it up the stairs to the kitchen drain? No idea what sort of pump I need... Any ideas?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Machine Mart sell Clarke summersible pumps in various sizes. You need to dig a sump at the lowest point (or with a trough from the lowest point) to get the best from these

 

[gbyng]

A these look like they sit quite high off the ground. I was wondering if there is anything that'll just sit on the floor (without the need to dig a sump). Water level is only usually 1-2 inches at worst.

 

[joe-90]

A wet and dry vacuum.

 

[TheVictorian]

Mine flooded last night with the storms, hardly suprising as my road was on the news with 2 foot of water going down it!

I have also considered a pump, but I only get about an inch over half the floor in really bad rain so probably not worth it. The floor is concrete with a DPM under it but the water is forced through the walls.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

A these look like they sit quite high off the ground. I was wondering if there is anything that'll just sit on the floor (without the need to dig a sump). Water level is only usually 1-2 inches at worst.

As Joe says - wat and dry vacuum! Anything with a float sensor and capable of lifting volumes of water is going to need a sump of some description. They're quite common in basement conversions

 

[gbyng]

Thanks guys - I didn't even think about a wet n dry vacuum. I've got an old orange Vax knocking around somewhere that might do the trick. Going to get a dehumidifier too just to help with tthe general dampness.

 

[Gibboncore]

Don't know if your still looking at this or not but I thought I'd just chip in a few thoughts.

If you dig a sump in your cellar it could help solve the problem but before doing that you might want to look at tackling the possible causes http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/gemare/gemare_002.cfm.

I moved to Belgium about three years ago a country with high rainfall, a high water table and where most houses have cellars.

Lots of Belgian houses feed all of the rainwater into a central putt buried under the back yard, garden or garage and then use the rainwater to water the garden, flush the loos and feed the washing machine.

These things are pretty big 3 - 4KL and as everyone has them it stops the drains getting overburdened and cuts down on flooding in the street and also cuts down on your water bills. Obviously this has more costs to it and requires a pump and compressor to run your new system... plus a bit of upheaval!

If your downcomers don't run directly into the drains it might be worth looking at this as a potential solution... or simply try connecting them up to the drains.

Another possible option is a French Drain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_drain which just directs the water elsewhere...

 

[mattylad]

Dont forget figuring out how to pipe the water out.

I had to drill a hole through my 22" wall that comes out just on street level +4".

(yes I know your not supposed to divert water onto the pavement, but it was the highway depts water at the time and I was just returning it).

My cellar is now dryer than it ever was because I cured the reason for the flooding. Although I still intend to dig a deeper sump (currently washing up bowl depth).

 

[foxhole]

A small boat sump pump for about £15 quid , 3inch in diameter and will shift water to a 6ft head easily, I use one on the hot tub [with a 12volt battery] to clear areas that don't drain easily.