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Sketch of a common sewage grinder pump used in a modern basementBuyer's Guide for Septic & Sewage Grinder Pumps

  • POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about buying sewage pumps and grinder pumps: brands, models, pump supply sources, pump parts suppliers

Sewage pump or septic pump buyers' guide:

This article offers buying advice for Septic Grinder Pumps, Sewage Pumping Stations, & Septic Pump Alarms. We discuss the types of sewage and sewage grinder pumps available and we provide where-to-buy information for sewage grinder pumps: contact information for sewage pump brands, models, manufacturers, and suppliers.

An Environment One Corporation grinder pump schematic sketch is shown at the top of this article.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?

What Brand of Sewage Ejector Pump Should I Buy? - Sewage Pump Selection Guide

Zoeller Shark series sewage grinder pumps models 803/805/807 main parts (C) InspectApedia.com Zoeller.com adapted Above, main parts of a sewage grinder pump, adapted from Zoeller's Shark series 803-805-807.

[Click to enlarge any image]

What's the difference between a septic grinder pump, sewage grinder pump & sewage effluent pump?

The general name for these pumps is sewage grinder pumps if they are intended to grind and move black water or sewage. A sewage grinder pump is synonymous with a septic grinder pump.

If the pump is intended only to move clarified effluent, say from a septic tank to a drain field the proper term to use is sewage effluent pumps.

Defintion: Sewage effluent pumps,

also referred to as sump pumps and dewatering pumps, are designed to move liquid wastewater, not solid sewage waste. Sewage effluent pumps typically use an impeller assembly that can handle small solids up to about 3/4" but not larger solids such as feces.

Toilet paper will probably clog an effluent pump as will large solids. An effluent pump is typically used to lift clarified effluent from a septic tank pumping chamber up to an efflent disposal mound, raised bed, or soakbed that is at a higher elevation.

What can be confusing is that a data sheet for some sewage effluent pumps may include references to both effluent/sump/dewatering applications and [light-duty] sewage applications, but note that the pump models will be different.

Here is what a large pump manufacturer says about effluent/sump/dewatering pumps:

*Effluent systems should specify that pumps should not handle solids exceeding three fourths inch (¾") in order to prevent large solids from entering leeching fields, mound systems etc.

(Model 49 and 70 Series have 3/8" solids capability, 50, 90, 140, 145/4145, 151, 371 and 372 Series have ½", 130 Series has 5/8", 152,153, and 160/4160/180/4180, 373 Series have ¾".)

Where codes permit, sewage pumps can be used for effl uent systems. Nonautomatic pump(s) with external level control recommended for septic tank effl uent applications. - Zoeller (2009)

Definition: Sewage ejector pumps, or sewage grinder pumps,

are designed to pump residential or household sewage or blackwater to a destination such as an elevated septic tank or to a city sewer (for homes whose lower baths are at a depth below the level of their sewer line).

A sewage grinder pump uses an actual grinder blade assembly that is metal, sharp, and designed to macerate solids such as feces and toilet paper: flushable wastes. Note that even a grinder pump may choke on tampons or even dental floss.

More details about types of sewage pumps are

at SEWAGE EJECTOR / GRINDER PUMPS - home

List of well-established & widely-used septic pump & sewage grinder pump brands

Here are the widely-used sewage & septic pump manufacturers and suppliers. Contact information for each of these companies is given further below.

Directory of Producers of Septic Pumps, Sewage Pumps, Grinder Pumps, Effluent Pumps: Contact Information

Several sewage pump manufacturers produce a separate line of commercial or municipal sewage grinder pumps from those used in residential application.

CONTACT us to add pumps to this list. No fees or costs are involved. InspectAPedia.com has no financial relationship with any company, product, or service discussed at this website.

Grundfos Duo Lifting Pump for sewage ejection or sewage pumping cited & discussed at InspectApedia.com ... Grundfos sewage pump installation schematic adapted by InspectApedia.com

 

What Type of Septic Pump or Sewage Pump Should I Buy?

Sewage pump

The type of sewage pump you need depends on how it will be used. The pumps at left may have been a misapplication for this municipal lift station ,which may explain why we found these discarded units on the site. Septic pump systems vary by these parameters:


Duplex septic pump installation

Septic pump manufacturers provide a pump selection and sizing table that is used to guide the installer in selecting the proper pump. We've seen sewage handling systems where the wrong type or wrong capacity of pump was installed, sometimes as an attempt to "save money."

Two types of sewage pumps are used in residential applications, sewage grinder pumps or sewage ejectors pumps, and non-clogging sewage ejector pumps.

We describe these at Septic Pump DUPLEX SYSTEM DESIGNS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

 

Parameters used to Select the Proper Septic, Sewage, or Sump Pump Type

Sewage pump (C) Daniel Friedman

The distinction among sewage pumps or septic pump types is important when installing or repairing a septic system that uses pumps since choosing the wrong pump can mean a short operating life for the pump, an unreliable septic system, and unnecessary expense.

The following are the basic paramaters you need to know before choosing a sewage, sewage grinder, effluent or septic pump or sump pump type, capacity, and model or design.

Articles & Tools for septic or sewage pump selection:

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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Reader Question: Inline Sewage Grinder Pumps

I purchased a modular home 14 years ago, it's 66 ft long and I don't feel that the drop angle of the drainage pipes from the home to the septic is right. Is there a inline ejector pump available? - B.K. - 3 Aug 2013

Reply

A competent onsite inspection by an expert usually finds additional clues that would permit a more accurate, complete, and authoritative answer than we can give by email alone. You will find additional depth and detail in articles at our website. That said I offer these comments:

I'm not sure I correctly understand what you are asking about with the term "inline ejector pump" but I am guessing you want to know if there is a sewage pump that is placed horizontally in line along the route of a drain system.

A problem faced by simple residential sewage grinder pumps is that we need a way to know how to turn the pump on and off when needed - manufacturers solve this problem with a modest plastic reservoir chamber; sewage or wastewater flows into the reservoir; when the wastewater level reaches a level high enough to justify a pump-on cycle, a float switch turns on the pump which grinds and pushes sewage to an outlet plumbing line.

Indeed there are types of "in line" sewage grinder pumps available from severasl manufacturers listed in our

article SEWAGE PUMP BUYERS GUIDE & MANUALS including Crane.

A quick search of inline grinder pump products returns first high capacity municipal sewer system pumps that are not intended for residential use.

For example, and quoting from Crane, include pumps handling flows up to 1,200 gpm and fitting pipe diameters with a 1-4" discharge. Inline pumps are available in both vertical and horizontal pipe hookup models, and some industrial models are indeed intended for sewage pumping such as

JWC Environmental's Muffin Monster

The Muffin Monster sewage grinder has proven itself over the last four decades in the most demanding wastewater solids reduction applications including pump stations, sludge lines, receiving stations, fish processing facilities, prisons, jails and more. - jwce.com

Some smaller inline sewage pumps as well as larger municipal equipment include

Watch out: not all of these are intended for sewage pumping:

Deming Inline Pumps feature a space saving, back pull-out design which allows versatile applications in a wide range of industries. Available in 11 size configurations. ANSI pumps meet the dimensional requirements of ANSI B73.2. - Crane Pumps and Systems

Weinman In-line pumps are specifically designed for heating, air conditioning and industrial applications. Suction and discharge nozzles are located 180° apart on the same centerline for mounting directly in a pipe line.

This eliminates critical pipe alignment for ease of assembly and minimum pipe strain. The need for costly foundations is eliminated, which guarantees minimum space requirements.- Crane Pumps and Systems - cranepumps.com

I offer these suggestions to address your concern for possibly inadequately -sloped building drain piping that is resulting in clogs and backups:

1. before buying and installing a grinder pump, inline or reservoir type, it makes sense to get an accurate diagnosis of the actual problem. Indeed my cousin's bragging about the great deal he got on the price of a house in Phoeniz was mitigated by the discovery that when he flushed toilets sewage came up through the first floor bathtub drain.

An investigation by a savvy plumber included some elevation measurements easily made by checking the depth and elevation of the drain line at various cleanouts. He found that the builder had installed a long nearly-flat building drain line between the house and the sewer line. The fix was not easy nor cheap and would have involved excavating to re-set the line.

But more often recurrent sewer line clogs and backups are due to a more localized problem such as a partly broken, cracked, root-clogged, or otherwise impeded section of a drain line.

If a plumbing drain camera inspection of your drain system discovered that this is the problem at your building it might make more sense to open and fix the bad drain section than to try to keep forcing sewage past a recurrent clog point that may in time become a solid clog - a section of piping that ultimately has to be opened and replaced or reparied, wasting the prior cost of the grinder pump.

2. At SEWAGE PUMP BUYERS GUIDE & MANUALS we list a number of companies offering a large variety of sewage pumps - give some of these folks a call to see what products they recommend.


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Continue reading  at SEWAGE PUMP DAMAGE & REPAIR or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

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Suggested citation for this web page

SEWAGE PUMP BUYERS GUIDE & MANUALS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to SEPTIC SYSTEMS

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