Sump pump tipping over

[R.]

I have a sump pump in the basement directly below the master bedroom. I have tried everything I know to keep this sump pump from falling over or jumping upon on and off so that it slips and gets hung up. I am afraid someday it is going to tip over and keep running so long it will start a fire. I have tried tying it into place, putting it into place with a lid, putting rocks in the pit to anchor it. I have tried a combination of these things. Nothing seems to work. It eventually works its way to tipping over or getting hung up. I can't keep it unplugged because then the basement would flood. As it is, I can only hear it running when I walk into the master bedroom.
Does anyone have any possible solutions or even advice for a type of alarm I could get that could be heard throughout the home when it does get hung up? That won't help when I'm not in the house, but at least I would be more aware of it when I am home.

[RachAnn in NW Okla]

dont know much about sump pumps but can you run it just when you can keep an ear out for it????

like if you unplugged/turned it off for say a couple of hours then does the basement flood??? cant you just monitor it?

[The Paw]

you can buy a submersible sump pump that sits underneath the water, and is triggered by a float switch that is wired to the pump, but not mechanically attached like the bulb type are.

This arrangement is not prone to binding or tipping over.

[MELOC]

i have the same crappy plastic based pump. i remember when thy used make them from metal. my only suggestions would be to construct a frame that you could quasi-suspend the pump from. allow the pump to sit where it is, but support the weight from the constructed frame. another option would be to use rigid pipe for the drain and allow the pipe to hold it down.

[ricky]

use pcv pipe to sturdy it all up or hard plumb it otherwise then use the black pipe

[R.]

Originally Posted by The Paw

you can buy a submersible sump pump that sits underneath the water, and is triggered by a float switch that is wired to the pump, but not mechanically attached like the bulb type are.

This arrangement is not prone to binding or tipping over.

Thanks for this tip. I'll have to look for one. Do you know the approximate price?

[The Paw]

The Home Depot in Canada sells submersible sump pumps ranging from 1/4 horsepower to 3/4 h.p. with the cheapest being $99 and going up to $250.

By way of comparison, the economy pedestal version (which is what you have now), run $70.

So, you can either convert to US Dollars, or just reckon that the submersible is going to run about 30% more.

[R.]

Well, After looking at the available models at Home Depot, I found a sump pump that works for me and doesn't need constant monitoring. It has a cast iron bottom and a float that is on a stationary rod. It all stays in place. Thank you for your help.