# Weep hole



## rwh (Dec 17, 2014)

I am curious on other members thoughts on the weep hole that is recommended on sump pump discharge piping. Necessary, not necessary? How high do you like to put it? Can it be placed below the waterline?


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## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

Some of the manufacturers say it is. Customers consider it a pita. But, don't put it in and there goes the warranty. A tip I got many years ago was to drill the hole on a angle upward so that the discharge would go downward and not splash so much.


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## The Dane (Feb 19, 2015)

Drilling the hole on an angle is actually in the installation guide.


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## Debo22 (Feb 15, 2015)

The Dane said:


> Drilling the hole on an angle is actually in the installation guide.


He said it because nobody reads the installation guide


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## rwh (Dec 17, 2014)

Debo22 said:


> The Dane said:
> 
> 
> > Drilling the hole on an angle is actually in the installation guide.
> ...



I have read my share of installation guides. The zoeller m53 does not say to drill at an angle, that I can recall. I think it says to drill below top of pump. Ion directions also unclear. Says 4" above pump discharge. Elsewhere says below check valve, which is obvious. Can I drill just above mip? Submerged


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

rwh said:


> I have read my share of installation guides. The zoeller m53 does not say to drill at an angle, that I can recall. I think it says to drill below top of pump. Ion directions also unclear. Says 4" above pump discharge. Elsewhere says below check valve, which is obvious. Can I drill just above mip? Submerged


A few years back I had this one....now one who reads directions and as you said it states" below check valve", common sense might tell you when they say below the check valve that it would also mean,,IN THE SUMP.......so when the pump , pumps its no spraying crap water onto the floor...one would hope..ah, but stupidity comes through in flying colors..and yes I got a call for that..but home owner refused to name the guilty party...I could only guess...and from the looks of the rest of the work..guilty party was present...Hint( and it wasnt me)..:laughing:


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## plungerboy (Oct 17, 2013)

I believe liberty pumps have that built into the pump.


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## paultheplumber1 (May 1, 2014)

plungerboy said:


> I believe liberty pumps have that built into the pump.


I believe you are correct


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## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

Debo22 said:


> He said it because nobody reads the installation guide


Couldn't have said it better myself.


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## dhal22 (Jul 30, 2010)

plungerboy said:


> I believe liberty pumps have that built into the pump.


Good idea.


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## PLUMBER_BILL (Oct 23, 2009)

rwh said:


> I am curious on other members thoughts on the weep hole that is recommended on sump pump discharge piping. Necessary, not necessary? How high do you like to put it? Can it be placed below the waterline?


Here is another reason on how to place the weep hole. We had a sewer pump [not a grinder] always would block up. Reason grand-children using too much paper lucky the pump had a piggy back switch. We got tired of pulling the pump a cleaning the float{s} off. Aimed the weep hole at the floats ... Automatic float cleaner  Don't forget the previous topic about extra hose clamps with a piece wire clamped so a check cannot blow apart.


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## SHEPLMBR70 (Feb 25, 2016)

If you drill it in the right spot, it helps clean off the float many times.


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## Michaelcookplum (May 1, 2011)

I was taught to drill hole 1" above pump. I've only installed zoeller 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Buddy (Oct 25, 2009)

*weep hole*

I called zoeller a few years ago and was told the reason for the quarter inch hole even with the top of the m53 pump was because the pump could lose its prime or something to that effect.I actually went to a home where the pump was running but not discharging any water so i pulled pump,drilled the hole and it works fine now.You can get good info from calling Tech support and they are eager to help


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## dhal22 (Jul 30, 2010)

Michaelcookplum said:


> I was taught to drill hole 1" above pump. I've only installed zoeller
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Zoeller only for me as well.


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## RichardBull (Jan 7, 2021)

The weep hole helps prevent pump cavitation.


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## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

*Pump cavitation (good thing to brush up on)

what happens and what causes it?*
Pump cavitation is the phenomenon that in a moving liquid the local pressure becomes lower than the vapor pressure of the liquid. Where otherwise a liquid only vaporizes at 100 °C, this now occurs at a lower pressure, at a lower temperature.

Liquids in impellers can flow at high speeds. According to Bernoulli’s Law, a pressure reduction occurs where the velocity increases. This will create vapor bubbles that can forcefully implode when they enter an area where the pressure is higher. The implosion generates a shock wave that can be heard as a sound, which can cause serious damage to the impeller and pump. The sound of a cavitating pump is very similar to pumping a liquid with pebbles and is far from pleasant. The local fluid accelerations, determined by the shape of the obstacles like impeller and diffuser vanes, play an important role in controlling cavitation. At higher temperatures the chance of cavitation increases due to the higher vapor pressure. At higher pressures the chance decreases because the margin with the vapor pressure increases.


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> A few years back I had this one....now one who reads directions and as you said it states" below check valve", common sense might tell you when they say below the check valve that it would also mean,,IN THE SUMP.......so when the pump , pumps its no spraying crap water onto the floor...one would hope..ah, but stupidity comes through in flying colors..and yes I got a call for that..but home owner refused to name the guilty party...I could only guess...and from the looks of the rest of the work..guilty party was present...Hint( and it wasnt me)..😆


A couple of times I almost put my foot in my mouth by making comments about previous work which I hadn't realized yet had been done by the homeowner, but luckily I was still reserved enough in my remarks that I've been able to recover. Sometimes the guy is good natured about it even if the wife is ribbing him, so I'll go along, but I feel bad for the guys whose wives are really beating them down for screwing up. I've gone out of my way to praise what he did do right and minimize what he didn't saying it's a confusing fix if you've never done it, some plumbers screw it up too, etc. One guy was so embarrassed that he disappeared into another part of the house after his shrew of a wife really tore into him and wouldn't let up, and I never saw him again. It was really minor and the service call to fix what he did didn't cost any more than if they called me out for it at the start. I can't imagine having to live with something like that. Yeah, he needed to grow a pair, but still.


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