I have no idea what I'm doing: plumbing edition

[WickerBill]

This morning, my grinder pump started kicking on and off, running for 30 seconds, then off for 5, then on for 2, then off for 10, then on for 20... you get the idea. It hasn't stopped. The tank is sealed so I haven't cracked it, but I do hear water -- not a lot -- going up the pipe every time it runs. The sump pump next to it is quiet.

I'm figuring, potentially wrongly, that if the switch had gone bad, it would just run continuously -- or not at all. Anyone have any ideas before I go spend lots of money?

[pfc_m_drake]

I don't have a lot of experience with grinder pumps (ok, really I don't have *any*), but does the switch work on the same 'float' type of principle as a sump pump? If so, maybe something on the float has gone caddywumpus and it's kicking on 'too late' and kicking off prematurely (thereby getting the 'cycling' behavior that you're seeing).

Only other guess is that an (electrical) relay might have gone bad.

And of course per Murphy it happens in the winter time :flaming: :shakehead: :(

[WickerBill]

I believe it does work with a float, like a sump pump, but the cover is bolted into the concrete and I haven't yet removed it.

Hey, it's only poo water, what could possibly go wrong?

[KLang]

What the heck is a grinder pump?

[WickerBill]

I don't feel qualified to even answer this... but it is a pump that moves any water used in a basement (think bathroom, sink, water heater overflow) from the basement and out to the sewer/septic system. This involves a pump because it is moving uphill, and a grinder because of waste.

[Napoleon]

I don't feel qualified to even answer this... but it is a pump that moves any water used in a basement (think bathroom, sink, water heater overflow) from the basement and out to the sewer/septic system. This involves a pump because it is moving uphill, and a grinder because of waste.

I grew up in a house with both well water and septic (and a sump pump), which my brother and I had to sell while in our 30s, and I do not recall it having a pump for the waste water. I recall the front yard being dug up for the well pump, and of course the septic tank to pump it, but nothing else. Do all septic systems have one?

[KLang]

Do all septic systems have one?

Had septic in the house in Houston, don't recall any discussion of a grinder pump. But in Houston there are no basements so no need to pump anything up.

[pfc_m_drake]

I believe it does work with a float, like a sump pump, but the cover is bolted into the concrete and I haven't yet removed it.

Hey, it's only poo water, what could possibly go wrong?It might be worth it to unbolt the cover and have somebody in the house turn on some showers and flush some toilets while you observe its behavior. If it is indeed a float gone bad somehow, then you might be able to observe that.

The advantage would be that even if you didn't want to tackle the repair yourself, you could talk intelligently about what you did and what you believed the problem was - and the repair person might be less inclined to rake you over the coals as a result.

Look at the bright side: In a couple of short months you'll get to open up your pool again...

[cameraman]

You might not want to open it if there is waste in the system higher than the level of the cover or you might have a very unfortunate flood.

[nrc]

Wikipedia sez:


Grinder pumps should not require preventive maintenance. However, grinder pumps that use floats to sense the level in the holding tank are prone to grease buildup that may turn the pump on unnecessarily, or not turn on the pump at all, causing the tank to fill up and sewage to possibly back up into the home or yard. To prevent this, grinder pumps that use floats are often hosed down to remove the grease from the floats.

[nrc]

I don't feel qualified to even answer this... but it is a pump that moves any water used in a basement (think bathroom, sink, water heater overflow) from the basement and out to the sewer/septic system. This involves a pump because it is moving uphill, and a grinder because of waste.

Just the basement plumbing or does everything go through it? Curious because it looks like these pumps are used when homes are downhill from the sewage line but I suppose it could also be used if your main sewer line higher than your basement plumbing.

Just hope your check valve doesn't fail. :eek:

[KLang]

If this is part of the sewage system I'd be calling a plumber soon. The risk of a mess would be too great for me. :yuck:

[cameraman]

They are used in basement plumbing in the old homes around here that were built prior to indoor plumbing. It's the only way to get it up and out of a sandstone foundation. Those pumps are expensive and seriously gross after a few years of pumping sludge. It is one of those cases where I would happily pay a plumber.

[SteveH]

My brother had one blow up in his face. Wasn't injured but.... :yuck:

[TravelGal]

Since the boss brought in Wikipedia i am emboldened to ask if you have put this on youtube. You never know what someone else has decided was film-worthy.

[Tifosi24]

I also vote for a plumber. There is a reason they make so much per hour. I have already dealt with enough poo changing diapers.

[Napoleon]

Had septic in the house in Houston, don't recall any discussion of a grinder pump. But in Houston there are no basements so no need to pump anything up.

My parents house had no bathrooms in the basement, only the clothes washer and couple of sinks. Now that I type this at least the utility tub next to the washer and the washer emptied into the sump pump well, so it would have been pumped out of the house separate from the septic flow (it pumped maybe 200 feet back from the house and emptied directly into a creek), and what do you want to bet that the other sink in the basement also emptied into it, so the water in the basement was pumped to grade by the sump pump and all the sanitary waste from above ground just used gravity.

[cameraman]

Yeah youtube

1tWtGPWV5_E

The guy isn't Tom Cruise by any stretch but is has all you would ever want to know about grinder pumps and probably much more.

[WickerBill]

Plumber called. Plumber here. Pump bad. $1500.

Who needs a new mattress, anyway? I'd rather spend it on the poop dispenser. :rolleyes: