Whole house sewage ejection

[Brandon Whitmore]

Anyone have any good sites to point me towards, that will show a proper installation of a whole house sewage ejection system.

This is a first for me. The home is located within the city limits, but the sewage must be pumped uphill to the sewer main. The sewer line runs out to the side yard and into the basin (sealed), where it then get's pumped into the sewer main.

Of course, I couldn't find any markings on the system, so I can't Google the name of the pump system.

[Scottpat]

Originally posted by Brandon Whitmore

Anyone have any good sites to point me towards, that will show a proper installation of a whole house sewage ejection system.

This is a first for me. The home is located within the city limits, but the sewage must be pumped uphill to the sewer main. The sewer line runs out to the side yard and into the basin (sealed), where it then gets pumped into the sewer main.

Of course, I couldn't find any markings on the system, so I can't Google the name of the pump system.

The are also called "grinder" pumps, this is the most common name. In some cases the city is responsible for them, but not most of the time. You want to make sure it has an alarm so the owner knows that it is not working properly! Outside of checking their basic operation, I disclaim and defer to a septic tank company. Too many nasty things in that tank that I'm really not being paid enough to get into!

The state of Maryland has some good information on them

http://www.wssc.dst.md.us/INFO/grinderpumpqa.cfm

[Jim Katen]

You might also remind your customers not to run any water or flush any toilets during a power failure or the sewage will back up into the lowest fixture in the house.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Brandon Whitmore]

Thanks guy's

Jim-- this was in Yamhill on Olive St. , which is downtown if you can call it that. Do you see whole house ejection pumps very often?

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by Brandon Whitmore

Thanks guy's

Jim-- this was in Yamhill on Olive St. , which is downtown if you can call if that. Do you see whole house ejection pumps very often?

No. I can't remember having ever seen one on a public sewer system. I've seen them on septic systems a few times and I've seen them on outbuildings that were lower than the house, but never to serve the entire house. There must be a backwater valve in the system somewhere, no?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[hausdok]

Hi,

I have a friend who had one but I can't tell you a whole lot about any companies that make them. His house was built on a very steep slope at least three stories below the nearest street. There was a huge plastic in-ground tank downhill of the house and a big grinder pump with a huge sump in a closet on the daylight basement level. Everything in the house went through that masceration pump and was sent out to the holding tank. When the tank filled to a certain point, a second pump inside the tank would come on and send the whole thing uphill to the city sewer. There was an alarm and disconnect switch in his garage. The system worked flawlessly for as long as he owned the home. It's been a few years but I suppose it's still working now.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Erby]

They're very common around here outside the city. I have one.

About 30 inches in diameter, 12 feet deep with a grinder pump in the bottom.

Most common failure is in the electrical contactors at the control panel.

At one point I had a bunch of info on it but can't find it now and danged if I remember the name.

Pretty painless. Just kinda sits there and does it's thing.

[ghentjr]

There should be a check valve on the main outlet, and a smaller pipe connected to a vent line in the house. You should run water till the pump cycles and listen for a thump when the pump stops and the check valve closes. If the valve has failed or is stuck you will hear water going back into the tank. Make sure you tell them about no power, no poopie pump.

[hausdok]

Hi Erby,

That sounds quite a bit different from my friend's. I saw his tank when they were putting it into the slope behind and below his house during construction; it was a big tank of some kind of polymer wrapped with what looked like fiberglass or carbon fiber; probably 6ft in diameter about 8 - 10ft. long with a bolt-on man-sized access cover on top and a big pump in the bottom. The grinder pump in the sump inside the house is about 2-1/2 to 3ft in diameter and about 3ft. deep. Large PVC discharge pipe plus a check valve and an air vent coming off the sump well inside the house. The pump in that exterior tank has to be pretty robust because it's pushing that effluent uphill about 6-7 stories.

For me, the weirdest thing was that the property overlooks a cul-de-sac with a street about 40ft. lower than the tank that is buried in the back yard and there is a sewer below the street in the cul-de-sac. Seems to me, it would have made a whole lot more sense to run the waste line from his property down into that cul-de-sac and connect it to the city sewer than to have to spend what it cost to put that system in on that hill.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Brandon Whitmore]

There must be a backwater valve in the system somewhere, no?

I sure hope so. All I could do was recommend that they ensure permits were pulled/ signed off to ensure the system was "properly'' installed. Can't really inspect the system since it is sealed.

As far as I can remember, this is my first one of these found on an inspection.

You guy's would have loved the 1960's style single wide enveloped with an addition down the street[:-bigeyes

[msteger]

The are also called "grinder" pumps, this is the most common name. In some cases the city is responsible for them, but not most of the time. You want to make sure it has an alarm so the owner knows that it is not working properly! Outside of checking their basic operation, I disclaim and defer to a septic tank company. Too many nasty things in that tank that I'm really not being paid enough to get into!

I see these a few times a year. I also refer the client to a septic company as I don't want anything to do with these things.

[Mike Lamb]

Around here these are usually added to combat all-gravity drains and their sewer back-ups. The overhead system can be done in a basement like the diagram below or outside in the yard.

The few I have seen outside had real heavy steel lids over the pits that I could get off with a pry bar.

Download Attachment: Overhead Sewer Illustration.doc

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