Septic & Sewage Pump Runs Intermittently

Sewage ejector grinder pump runs for no reason

Sewage Pump Runs Intermittently or for No Reason FAQs

Why is our septic pump running for "no reason" ?

Hello, I bought a home 1.5 yrs ago and in the basement it had 2 rooms and a full bath. the grinder pump looks old but seemed to work fine. recently the person who was staying there left and in the past 2 days we have had a lot of snow melt and rain.

The pump started turning on and off (3xs) within a 24hr period with no one introducing water into it. I am assuming that all my waste water goes straight to the septic from upstairs and the downstairs due to the height to get to septic is using grinder/lift pump.

also my toilet upstairs after fill the level drops a little. so what I am wondering is could ground water be seeping in? and also what do I have to do to keep pump in working order down there?

Should I run water by flushing into it so it doesn't go dry? and is this normal for ground water to enter it?

also the pump is extremely loud when discharging and shakes the house it does not seem to be secured in any way pipes go straight up to main discharge into septic system...any help would be greatly appreciated. On 2017-04-05 by Dan

by (mod) -

Dan

Smart guess: I suspect that there is snowmelt leaking into the sewage grinder/ejector pump basin. IF that's happening it's not normal nor proper.
We might indeed pump groundwater out from under a building using a sump system to reduce basement water entry but we would not, in most communities, dump that water into a septic or sewer system.

Sewage pumping and groundwater pumping are usually kept separate to avoid overloading (or ruining) a septic or sewer system.

Another possibility is a stuck or failed checkvalve on the seweage pump outlet line.

It ought to be easy to diagnose this by opening the cover to see what happens at the end of a pump cycle.

If you see wastewater flowing back into the basin through the pump bottom then the checkvalve is bad.

If you see water flowing into the pump basin from its bottom or sides - not from a waste exit or pump-out line - then the basin is leaking both into and out of itself ( depending on season and water levels in the ground)

If you see water flowing into the pump basin from the house drains then a toilet is running or some fool routed drainage into the house DWV system.

Keep me posted

by Dan

So how can I tell what kind of container it is??the reason is this cover is very old looking and has bolts around the lid but looks like if I take the cover off I'm going to have to replace it

Which is o.k by me but there is no markings on it anywhere I can see and would like to order a new cover as this 1 is definitely past time to replace. and would I be better off replacing the barrel also?

rather than trying if the barrel is cracked or something to repair it?? I've never ever had 1 of these till now so I'm not really sure which one I would need how can I get that information such as are they all the same or are there different styles to fit different needs. any information you can give I would really appreciate it and A BIG THANKS FOR ANSWERING ME!! :)

by (mod) -

Dan you may have to remove the cover, but pumping chambers are usually steel in older installations or plastic/fiberglass in newer ones; on occasion I've found home made pumping chambers of concrete, concrete block (bad), and for sump pumps even plastic joint compound buckets.

 

Our Septic Grinder Pump Starts up for No Apparent Reason

Sewage grinder pump that start by itself?

I have a sewage grinder pump that work well all year long in a finished basement for years.

However, in spring, the pump is sometimes working without any tap or toilet 'input'.

How is it possible? Is is possible that water from the outside get access to the grind pump holding tank (a crack by example)? (Nov 23, 2015) Jean Picard

Explanation by Moderator:

Jean:

Before replacing the float switch and assembly that turns the grinder pump on and off, open the cover to the pumping chamber and

Watch out: you could have ground water leaking into the system or you could have a running toilet or other drain source that you'd not noticed.

A detailed diagnostic procedure for grinder pump running when it should not can be read

at SEWAGE PUMP INTERMITTENT CYCLING

Why does the sewage pump run for no reason?

I have a 20 year old ejector pump in my finished basement. It runs and performs well when called for (running water seems to work the float just fine) .

It is clear and obvious when the pump turns on and finishes its cycle (you hear that common clunk at the end of a cycle). The problem I have is that for some reason, I hear the pump making a humming noise for a few minutes then turn off, almost like it is cycling on and off but not pumping anything.

It is not pumping water/waste when it does this, just like a motor trying to engage a pump but not engaging it. If i turn on water to get the float switch kick in, it does so like expected. Is my pump going bad and needs to be replaced? Ever seen this before? On 2020-03-11 b by Doug - W

by (mod) - look for leaks into the sewage pumping pit or chamber

Doug

Yes I've see quite a few cases of a sewer pump or septic pump and even some sump pumps "run for no apparent reason".

There are a couple of possibilities but the first and most likely one is that there's water entering the ejector pit either by groundwater leaks or by back flow through the eject piping because of a leaky check valve.

Once you've eliminated those possibilities by observation I would be tempted to disconnect the float switch or even replace it.

Why does my macerator pump for the basement toilet run when we run the shower?

I have city water. I also have a macerator for my upflush toilet in the basement.

I have a shower and my laundry room in the basement as well. Shouldn't my washing water and shower water and sink water go through the city plumbing?

I ask because when I'm hearing the washer or shower run also I can hear my macerator running and making it sound at the end. Why would that be? On 2019-11-12 by Christina

by (mod) - Shouldn't my washing water and shower water and sink water go through the city plumbing?

Christina I'm a little confused here so perhaps if you straighten me out I can give a more-useful answer to your question.

1. You say you're on city water: that means your water SUPPLY comes from your city. IT mentions nothing about your wastewater disposal or sewage and has nothing to do with that latter topic.

2. Your sewage disposal might be to a city sewer system or to a private septic system; perhaps you can tell us. In any case an up-flush basement toilet served by a macerator pump would be doing so because the toilet is below the level of the building's main sewer drain pipe (headed for either city sewer or private septic).

3. So what about wastewater from a basement laundry and shower? Those wastewaters area referred to as "gray water" which is a bit different from "black water" or sewage (containing toilet waste).

Depending on the country, city of location and age of your home and its surrounding land, there is a possible explanation for why your shower and laundry do not pump up via the ejector pump and thence onwards and outwards to the public sewer or private septic:

The graywater waste may drain into a local private drywell - see DRYWELL DESIGN & USES

There are two reasons a drywell may have been built:

3.1. THe home was originally on private septic system and the builders were concerned that the septic couldn't handle the added wastewater volume from basement shower and laundry so they disposed of that graywater into a drywell - reducing load on septic tank and drainfield

3.2 The basement shower and laundry were added to the home later, after original construction and the piping location and routing to get those to drain into a septic system was simply too difficult, remote, long runs, or the drains were too low (as with the toilet) so someone avoided the expense of the sewage grinder pump and just dumped the graywater into a drywell. (Which you can't do with a toilet or the drywell clogs quickly)