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A Guide to Septic Grinder & Sewage Ejector Pumps InspectAPedia®  -     How to buy, install, inspect, & maintain Septic tank pumps, septic grinder pumps, septic effluent pumps Sewage ejector pumps Sump Pumps Sewage Pumping Stations Septic Pump Alarm Septic Alarm demo video

Advice is given for septic tank effluent or sewage pump selection, installation, maintenance, inspection, and use. Septic pumps used for pumping air in aeration systems and septic pumps used to move effluent in a drip dispersion system are discussed under the appropriate septic system type which are outlined at SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN ALTERNATIVES.

This article explains the differences between and gives installation and maintenance advice for Sump Pumps, Sewage Ejector Pumps, Septic Grinder Pumps, Sewage Pumping Stations, & Septic Pump Alarms. Citation of this article by reference to this website and brief quotation for the sole purpose of review are permitted. Use of this information at other websites, in books or pamphlets for sale is reserved to the author.

Technical review by industry experts has been performed and is ongoing - reviewers welcomed and are listed at "References." This document is a chapter of Inspecting, Testing, & Maintaining Residential Septic Systems an online book on septic systems. Sketches are from the Environment One Low Pressure Sewer Systems Grinder Pump catalog. © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

What is a Sewage Ejector Pump? Where are they used?

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). Even if a building is nearly at the same level as its septic tank or sewer line, if the geography of the site prevents sewage from flowing fast enough on its own (two-feet per second) then a sewage grinder or sewage ejector pump is needed. A typical application of a sewage ejector pump is in a home where a basement bathroom is located lower than the height of the sewer line which leaves the home. The sewage ejector pump lifts waste from the basement bathroom up to the sewer line where it flows out to a septic tank or community sewer. A sewage or septic grinder pump, (there is more than one grinding method) reduces sewage to a finely ground slurry of waste and water which can then be pumped or forced to its destination. In the sewage grinder pump photo shown at above left, the number of wires and pipes at the tank tells us that this is a duplexed or two-pump system with two grinder pumps, two drains, and a tank alarm as well (the center wires). If your building's drain system is at a level below a municipal sewer line, or if your septic drainfield or tank and fields are uphill from the building, you need a sewage grinder pump and a forced-main sewer system. If your home is connected to a community sewer line which itself uses a pumping station to move wastewater and sewage from the community sewer to a public sewage main, see our discussion of commercial-type sewage grinder and pumping systems found at at Septic Pumping Stations.

What Does a Sewage Ejector Pump Look Like?

The sewage ejector pump photograph at above left shows a typical plug-in sewage ejector pump used in a home basement. The photo at above right is a small pre-packaged wastewater ejector pump suitable for serving a sink or clothes washer; it's not a grinder pump.

In the right hand photo at lower left you'll see a small white plastic water alarm that the office manager left on the floor in this area in order to detect a plumbing supply or drain leak.

Frankly, a consumer unfamiliar with these products may have trouble telling the difference by a simple exterior inspection - it's reliable to observe the product name and number and then inquire of the manufacturer about the pump's intended application and its installation requirements. But in the cases above, the overall size, location, and nearby plumbing fixtures defined the probable application of each pump even for a novice inspector and where view of the septic pump was limited.

In their most common usage, packaged septic pump systems are sold in a plastic "can" which contains the grinder pump, a float control to turn the pump on and off, and watertight fittings that permit connection of the system to the building electrical system (to supply power to the pump) and to the building drain waste vent system.

The pump manufacturer will provide a table of pumping capacity needed to overcome specific head or lift requirements and length or pipe run from the pumping station to its destination.

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

SEPTIC SYSTEM PUMPS
  Sewage Ejector Pump Grinder Pump
    What is a Sewage Ejector?
  Free-Standing Sewage Grinder Pump
  Septic Pump Alarm Systems
  Septic Pump Buyers Guide
  Septic Pump Duplex System Designs
  Septic Pump Inspection & Maintenance
  Septic Pump Installation Guide
  Septic Pumping Stations
  Sump Pumps

SEPTIC SYSTEMS HOME
SEPTIC INFO ARTICLES
HOME BUYERS GUIDE to SEPTIC SYSTEMS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS ONLINE BOOK
SEPTIC PUMPING REPAIR
SEPTIC TREATMENTS
SEPTIC CONSULTANTS
SEPTIC AUTHORITIES
SEPTIC SYSTEM BOOKS REFS CODES
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN MANUAL - Online
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN BASICS
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN ALTERNATIVES

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

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More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• The Septic System Information Website home page for this topic
• Septic Systems Inspection, Testing, & Maintenance- online textbook. Detailed how to inspect, maintain, repair information
• The Home Buyer's Guide to Septic Systems
• Septic Tank Pumping Guide: When, Why, How to pump the septic tank
• Home & Outdoor Living Water Requirements
• Septic Tank Capacity vs Usage in Daily Gallons of Wastewater Flow, calculating required septic tank size, calculating septic tank volume from size measurements
• How Big Should the Leach Field Be? - table of soil percolation rate vs. field size
• Septic System Drainfield Absorption System Biomat Formation - what leads to drain field clogging and expensive drainfield repairs
• Table of Required Septic & Well Clearances: Distances Between Septic System & Wells, Streams, Trees, etc.
  Pennsylvania State Fact Sheets relating to domestic wastewater treatment systems include
  
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-161, Septic System Failure: Diagnosis and Treatment
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-162, The Soil Media and the Percolation Test
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-l64, Mound Systems for Wastewater Treatment
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-165, Septic Tank-Soil Absorption Systems
• Document Sources used for this web page include but are not limited to: Agricultural Fact Sheet #SW-161 "Septic Tank Pumping," by Paul D. Robillard and Kelli S. Martin. Penn State College of Agriculture - Cooperative Extension, edited and annotated by Dan Friedman (Thanks: to Bob Mackey for proofreading the original source material.)

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