I have two sump pumps in my basement. (1) is the main and the (2nd) is back up. I had them replaced 6 months ago. We have had a lot of precipitation as of late and the pump is cycling every 15/20 seconds. Even when we had dry weather....the cycling was still frequent. When being discharged, it looks as though it is being discharged to the higher elevation to the home therefore coming back through the french drain back into the system. When the check valve is triggered, the vibration can be heard two levels above the basement. Is this something I just have to live with? Will the pump be overused thus requiring me to get new ones more ofton?

If the water keeps draining back to the foundation, you need to both A) change the grading around the property so that water flows away, and discharge the water further away from the foundation.

Do your neighbors have the same issues with waters returning to their basements. Are you living on low grades of land? If this is truly a wet issue, have you considered a drain engineer to help determine the best resolve. An onsite inspection is needed.

Best Wishes

A key ingredient in effective sump pump installation is proper disposal of the discharge. The discharge must flow away from the house--all of it. Any residual discharge that does flow back underground will shorten the life of the pump due to excess wear.