Sump pump question

[Denray]

I disclaim sump pumps, but it's nice to learn something about them. Isn't there supposed to be a vent on this unit?

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[hausdok]

Hi,

Are you sure that's not a waste grinder? Can't see any reason to seal a drainage sump but there's good reason to seal a waste sump and if it's a waste sump it should have a vent on it.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[John Kogel]

Yep. Mike nailed it. That installation sucks. []

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Sewage Ejector Pump, most likely, for a basement bathroom.

[Denray]

The client nor I knew what it was. He said the bathtub would not drain correctly sometimes and this thing would make it work OK? It was just outside a crawl space and it didn't really seem like it was uphill to a city drain, but maybe it was.

Thanks for getting back to me on this.

[Mike Lamb]

Is that outside? If it is, these are installed because of sewer back-ups into the house. They are creating an overhead sewer in the yard. Besides letting a little air into the pit I'm not sure what exterior vent requirements would apply.

[hausdok]

So,

When that pump kicks on the bathtub drains OK? Then it's a waste grinder/ejector pump and its job is to liquify the waste and send it up to the city sewer. If it's outside a vent pipe with a goosneck on top and a screen on the inlet to keep out bugs is all that's needed. You'll want a vent on the tank. You don't want the thing causing the system to suck traps dry.

There should be an alarm system installed on that sucker to warn them when the tank isn't pumping out so that they'll know to stop using the sinks, toilets and baths. Otherwise you end up with a tank like the one below that's clogged with - Yuk, condoms and sanitary napkins and such.

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ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[asihi]

Are you guys sure it's a sewage pump? It's really hard to tell from the picture, but the discharge line looks like 1 1/2". I don't remember ever seeing a sewage pump without a 2" discharge.

Tony