sump pump problem: how to open the lid of the pit?

[fengyuwuzu]

I have two sump pumps in my basement. Please see the pictures. I guess pump1 is the primary pump, located in the big room with AC/furnace/boiler, and pump2 is the secondary pump2 located in a small room.

Recently sump pump2 has some water on top of the pit lid. I saw the water on 12/24/2022, when there was strong wind and we lost power a few times. Power was back in a few seconds and every time we got power back we heard very noisy alarms.

The water has been there for over one week and I guess the pump is dead (the house was built in 2011 so the pump has been 11 years old). There is power in the wall plug-in. I unplug and plug back in and there is no reaction. I am not familiar with the sump pumps; how do I open the lid of the pit? Shall I clean around all the screws and remove these screws if I want to open the lid, check the pump and replace it? I checked youtube videos and all the sump pumps there are like the sump pump1.

 

[breplum]

It is Liberty brand. Small access cover i think is just for access to the float and you'll want a submersible pump to pump out what is in there to work on it and water will of course be coming down from pipes above.
https://www.libertypumps.com/

 

[dmmsr]

Do you have a bathroom in the basement? Pump 2 is not a sump pump it is a sewage pump. The pump has 2 plugs the first one is for the float second one is for the pump. When the float comes up it closes the circuit so power will go into the pigtail - float plug, allowing the pump to receive power. Unplug the to from each other and plug the pump directly into the outlet. See if it comes on.



If it does then allow it to pump the pit down. If not notice if it hums. If it hums someone flushed something down other than waste and toilet paper. Paper towels, flushable wipes and feminine products will get jammed. If it hums remove pump and take out whatever is in the bottom of the pump. Plug pump back into pig tail and lift float up to check for operation. If it works when lifted up and shuts off when you drop it reinstall. If not replace float.

If it does not turn on when plugged directly in then the pump needs replacing. But before assuming it needs replacing unplug the pump for 5 to 10 minutes. If it is jammed and trying to run the oil in the pumpb will heat up and cause the pump to trip internally until it cools down. Once it's cool then it will try and kick on again. This allows the pump not to overheat and burn out. Now if it cycled this way enough it may have burned out. Not often but sometimes it does.

 

[fengyuwuzu]

Thank you for your replies. Yes I realized pump2 is a sewage ejector pump, and it is the same as the one in breplum's picture. I separated the two plugs and plug the pump directly into the outlet, and it worked. So probably the float is bad.