Sewage Ejector Pumps/Systems - Plbg.com

I live in a new 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home which sits about 2 feet below street level and the house sewers are slightly below the level at which they would flow out via gravity. Therefore, the house was built with a sewage grinder/pump which serves the whole house. No pump means no sewage.

In a year and a half, we have had to have 2 pumps replaced - one by the builder and one on our own by a plumber. The pumps were all Myers SRM4 and the plumber tells me that he puts these in frequently and has typically seen them last for 5-10 years. We don't put anything more exotic than toilet paper into the sewage system so are a bit puzzled as to why this is happening.

I am planning to buy a spare pump and store it in the garage for when the next failure occurs. But I am wondering if I should buy the same pump or whether there is something better and more reliable. I am also wondering about a duplex system - which I saw mentioned on this forum. My plumber doesn't seem to know about them.

Cost is not an issue for me. Sewage is! I would appreciate any advice you may have. Thanks.

Dave

Goto Anhui Tian jian to know more.

Houses that rely solely on a pumping system to handle waste discharge should have a duplex system installed with an alarm to alert you when there is a problem with the system. I'd suggest hiring another Plumber that is more familiar with sewage ejector systems.

As for that particular brand, never heard of it. Around here, Zoeller and Little Giant are mainly used for residential ejector systems.

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This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

You should have had a duplex system originally so you did not have to depend a one pump not going bad, but it is seldom easy to retrofit a t duplex system unless the pipt was sized for it and there is duplex coverfor it. I only use Zoeller pumps. Any plumber who does not know about duplex systems, when they are needed, and the bells and whistles that they should have, should not be installing ejector systems.

Myers SRM4 is a 4/10 hp pump. it should be 1/2 hp at the very minimum.
as hj suggested, to retrofit a duplex system would require changing the basin to a larger size and altering the underground piping.
if price is truly not a serious considerous, do as i and others are suggesting. install a duplex system.
single pump systems are for applications where there is a basement bathroom that needs to be pumped while the rest of the house drains by gravity.

Thanks for the replies so far.

Unfortunately, the construction standards I have seen in this area ( north of Tampa) are very poor - basically, the cheapest thing the builder can install. In this case, a cheap pump in a can designed for less crucial applications.

It would be extremely helpful if a plumber could send me the exact specs for what equipment would be recommended for this application and a ballpark cost for doing this retrofit - so I have some idea where to start as I deal with plumbers here. I may need to lead someone to the right solution.

Thanks again. Dave

You should have a duplex system.

The failures of your exising pumps could have several causes. They may be set where they short cycle having too many starts per hour and cook the motor. Each motor start uses about 150% of the run current which causes overheating and short life. You also may have a bad check valve which can also cause excessive starts. Another possibility is the circuit providing power to the pump has a bad connection which lowers the voltage supplied to the motor causing overheating.

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1. A basin sized for two pumps with a duplex cover.
2. An alternating controller so the pumps operate in sequence.
3. A high water override so that if the lead pump fails, or the inflow is too great the idle pump will be activated.
4. An alarm to indicate when condition #3 occurred.
5. A high water alarm to indicat that neither pump has operated and an overflow condition is imminent. This alarm should be interconnected with;
6. A electric valve on the water supply to prevent water usage when the pump is inoperable such as poor maintenance causing both pumps to fail at the same time or a power outage which would incapacitate the pumps.

one considerations as to whether you could retrofit would be whether the doorways are large enough for the basin to pass through them.



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Thanks for the reply. Helpful.

The current pump is buried in the yard outside of the garage - hence, the plumber has to dig it up each time it fails. No basement in most Florida homes.

I do have an alarm which indicates pump failure and a propane/electric generator which provides power even when the electricity is out. So, the weak link has been the pump.

How large a basin would typically be installed in an application like this? The current single pump has a 25 gallon basin, I think.

Any idea of ballpark cost of the equipment - excluding installation?

Dave

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Commercial Sewage Lift Station Pumps. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

You must install a duplex sytem. If in fact you have an exterior lift station then I find it diffult to believe that code allows for what you have described although every plumber has seen their share of code inadequacies
We have serviced and maintained residential. commercial, industrial and municipal lift stations and I have never seen an application like this except in residential septic systems.

In response to the cause of premature failure , all the mentioned causes is possible as well as inadequate wiring.

Thanks again for your replies.

The system pumps into a pipe that I think is 2". The pipe runs about 80' out to the sewer connection at the street. The total rise is very slight - I'm guessing 3' at most. I was hoping that I wouldn't need a lift station and would have paid to raise the house up if the builder had given me that option.

As to the installation, as I said previously, standards here seem very low. This is a fairly pricey neighborhood of homes 0-7 years old and about 150 homes have installations that look just like this one. I haven't found a better one yet, although I obviously have not asked everyone. Still, my builder is the largest and best reputation in this area.

You can see why I need advice on pricisely what to install - even brand names and spec numbers would be helpful because I am looking at installing a duplex system that is almost unknown here. Go figure.

Any further advice is appreciated.

Dave

I would recommend having an electrician check the circuit to the existing setup to see if that may be the problem why you are cooking pumps even before the next failure and installation of a new system... protect What you have before it fails!

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4/10hp for such a short lift is plenty. No need to buy more horsepower.

As stated, have the electrical checked, a good check valve, make sure there is an air bleed, and buy a Zoeller or Little Giant pump.

Since money isn't number one then I agree, go with an alternating duplex system with alarms and have a backup pump and backup generator as well.

If your current plumber doesn't know what a duplex system is then I suggest getting a different or more experienced plumber who also might notice something else that is causing the premature pump failures.

At the actual 3' lift 80' run with 2" plastic pipe with 2 90 degree elbows, check valve, and a gate valve.

1/2 horsepower Zoeller 266, 287, and 268 models will pump 67.07 GPM with a total Dynamic Head of 12.79'

4/10 horsepower Zoeller 264 will pump 55.59 GPM with a total dynamic head of 10.6'

4/10 horsepower Zoeller 211 will pump 54.28 GPM with a total dynamic head of 10.37

Plugging in your figures would require the use of the Zoeller 292 which will pump 86.35 GPM at a total dynamic head of 21.45'

Now if we want to use your oversize figures and they are oversized I would say dig up the yard and install a 3" pipe to the city line that will drop you back down to the 1/2 horsepower 266 - 268 series pumping 90.68gpm with a total dynamic head of 9.82'

All of the pumps listed will work!

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I already knew that the 4/10 hp pump would work. I would just be interested in it continuing to work for a long period of time even when hair is wrapped around the impeller, sludge has lined the inside of the pipe, and after water hasn't been run in a couple of weeks and 20' of semi hard sewage sludge is sitting in the pipe resting against the check valve.

A 1 hp pump only costs a couple hundred bucks more than the 1/2hp and I don't see why having more than you need would be resisted like this. Especially when the whole house is depending on it.

Thanks (seriously) for the info though, because I have little knowledge of fluid dynamics (borrowed from another post) without looking at a book.

This link will turn you into an expert!
[www.zoeller.com]

Funny thing though if they ran 3" to the city line the 4/10 211 series pump would do 72 gpm with around 9' tdh

Back to Tampa Daves original problem If you have a 30" dia. minimum pit you can install a duplex system in it by adding the controls and some repiping in the pit.

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Yea its just a user name, password, name & zip code registration. You can then store your jobs & proposals there at Zoeller for future retrieval.

BTW the maximum HP that the program comes up with is 1/2 because of the limiting factor of the 2" pipe. The Total Dynamic Head reaches a point where the added horsepower is just deadheading into the pipe... This is equally bad for a pump!

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