Another thought, if the float switches in the outside pit are not set correctly, the upstairs drainage pipe could sometimes be filled with water, and this might also cause your problem.
Ghostly plumbing in Knoxville
- Thread starter Billythegrape
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The slam you are hearing is the check valve closing, that's normal.
Your upstairs plumbing shouldn't be flowing into this pit, just the downstairs. It's below the sewer so it needs to be pumped up.
I wanna see how/where this ties into the main building drain, something isn't adding up, or I'm just not understanding correctly. The sink wouldn't just discharge the trap dry unless there was vent issues
I think this is the system you have outside.
http://www.eone.com/sewer-systems/regions/us/product-catalog/2000-series.html
Not familiar with those.
http://www.eone.com/sewer-systems/regions/us/product-catalog/2000-series.html
Not familiar with those.
Last edited:
here's what I think.
Original plumbing on upper floor is hub and spigot lead joint cast iron.
Lower level plumbing was added and an ejector system was added to pump waste up to existing system.
PVC looks like 2" therefor the upper level ,like Frodo, said does not drain down into the lower ejector system.
The secondary outside system may not be discharging the fast enough to keep ahead of the lower pump system.
Original plumbing on upper floor is hub and spigot lead joint cast iron.
Lower level plumbing was added and an ejector system was added to pump waste up to existing system.
PVC looks like 2" therefor the upper level ,like Frodo, said does not drain down into the lower ejector system.
The secondary outside system may not be discharging the fast enough to keep ahead of the lower pump system.
Billythegrape
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Great so what do I do to improve waste expulsion?
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i would pull both pumps to get nomenclature information.
size motor
gallon per minute pumps
then we can compre pumps, see if the house pump is bigger than yard pump
if it is,,you wil have to get a bigger pump for the yard
or smaller for house
size motor
gallon per minute pumps
then we can compre pumps, see if the house pump is bigger than yard pump
if it is,,you wil have to get a bigger pump for the yard
or smaller for house
Both pumps would have to be running at the same time and system full of sewage for that to be plausible.
Is the pump out in the yard a sewage pump, or effluent pump?
Is the pump out in the yard a sewage pump, or effluent pump?
Billythegrape
Member
Ok I'll get on it. Gonna be a bit, so I'll get back here in a couple of days.
Billythegrape
Member
Ok back was feeli n g better so I had the wife pull the grinder out. The only thing I could find wrong was that the L1 and L2 had been wired incorrectly causing the run light to stay on in the box and the manual run button to be nonfunctional. I rewired it correctly and now those things are working as they should. I rotated the pump by hand and it didn't seem too bad, so I flushed it with water and my wife reinstalled it. No change in bubbling. The pump turns on and stuff.
Billythegrape
Member
In answer to all of the above, the pump outside is a sewage grinder, kinda like a giant garbage disposal for turds. The piping for effluent water is black iron. The toilet for the upstairs bathroom t's into this piping via pvc. The downstairs pump goes directly into the black iron at a 90 degree angle, which according to frodo could be am issue. The other thing I discovered is that there is an old y branch in the piping near where the downstairs pump enters. This y has a u bend for a toilet in a room that has no toilet. This room used to be the old bathroom.
I am going to cut into the tiny room downstairs that houses the pump. I will update with pics. Does anyone have any thoughts about the sewage grinder outside? It functions, how do I tell if it's functioning how it should be? Should I snake the iron piping? Should I pull the manhole cover in the street and check stuff there? Should I burn the house down and collect the insurance money?
I am going to cut into the tiny room downstairs that houses the pump. I will update with pics. Does anyone have any thoughts about the sewage grinder outside? It functions, how do I tell if it's functioning how it should be? Should I snake the iron piping? Should I pull the manhole cover in the street and check stuff there? Should I burn the house down and collect the insurance money?
Burn it and post a video.
My Opinion;
That grinder pump wasn't designed to handle the kind of water volume that is being discharged from the basement sump.
maybe if you install a similar type of system in the basement.
A grinder pump with a smaller discharge rate
or adjust the pump switch to cycle more often producing less volume between cycles.
That grinder pump wasn't designed to handle the kind of water volume that is being discharged from the basement sump.
maybe if you install a similar type of system in the basement.
A grinder pump with a smaller discharge rate
or adjust the pump switch to cycle more often producing less volume between cycles.
Billythegrape
Member
So you're saying to change the float level or something on the basement pump to make it cycle more frequently?
If possible. Yes. But it may not make a difference. But that would be the least expensive thing to try first.
That discharge line above the check valve will be holding waste water so be careful.
Don't be that guy who disconnected the drain without de-energizing the pump.
That discharge line above the check valve will be holding waste water so be careful.
Don't be that guy who disconnected the drain without de-energizing the pump.
Billythegrape
Member
If possible. Yes. But it may not make a difference. But that would be the least expensive thing to try first.
That discharge line above the check valve will be holding waste water so be careful.
Don't be that guy who disconnected the drain without de-energizing the pump.
Hahaha yeah... so... how do I de-energize the pump?
Unplug it.
Looks like you have a piggyback switch. the one that is plugged into the outlet is the float switch and the one plugged into the piggyback is the pump.
if you remove the piggyback switch and plug the cord with a typical looking end into the outlet, the pump will run continuously.
The piggyback plug has an open circuit until the float is inverted by the water level. then the float closes the circuit and send power to the pump via the 2nd cord plugged into it.
do a search for float switches
