Ask Me Help Desk

Ask Me Help Desk (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/forum.php)
-   Plumbing (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=259)
-   -   Problems with Sewage Lift Pump (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=622821)

  • Dec 28, 2011, 02:52 AM
    charlestreppajr
    Problems with Sewage Lift Pump
    I have a sewage lift station in my by level home. At the current time the downstairs portion is not completed so the only thing that runs through the lift pump is the washing machine discharge. Approximately 2 weeks ago I was switching a light fixture and shut off a bunch of breakers to do so. While trying to figure out which fuse belonged to the area I was working I accidentally shut the one off for the lift pump. I immediately turned it back on, but since then I have had a soapy water back up in my basement twice which is coming from the lift pump (drainage from washing machine). When this happened I immediately turn to the breaker box and find that it has not thrown the breaker and should still be functioning... However I reset the breaker and the lift pump begins to operate sucking the extra water from the washer back where it should have went to begin with. My home was built in 2008 and I am doubtful that the pump would be defective after 3 years and extremely light use.

    Any suggestions would be helpful.

    Thank you, Chuck.
  • Dec 28, 2011, 05:49 AM
    speedball1
    This is the second complaint in a week about a ejector pump choking up when a washer's involved. I can only wonder in the pump has a problem digesting the lint produced by the washer. Let me do some checking and I'll get back to you. Regards, Tom
    While I can't find anything telling me you can't discharge a washer into an ejector pit I question whether the grinder pump's equipped to handle lint. Grinder pumps are designed to grind up fecal mater and toilet paper. Lint can bunch up and clog the gears. Try this and see if it doesn't help. Tie a silk stocking or panty hose over the washer hose to catch the lint before it gets into the pit. Let me know if that works for you. Good luck, Tom. PS, You do know that if there's a sink installed a separate vent will have to be installed for both fixtures. However, they can be combined into one vent. Also the pit vent MUST be a dedicated vent with its own terminal. You can not tie the pit vent back into the house vent system. Good luck, Tom
  • Dec 28, 2011, 08:13 AM
    hkstroud
    Please provide some additional information and clarify a couple of things.

    Is the lift pump on a circuit by it self?

    Please describe what you did in changing out the light fixture. Changing out a light fixture can be as simple as disconnecting the fixture wires from a single house cable in the fixture box or it can mean disconnecting several wire splices in the box. In other words, describe the wiring in the box and what you had to do to change out the light.

    You said.
    Quote:

    I accidentally shut the one off for the lift pump. I immediately turned it back on,
    Does that mean you inadvertently turned it off and then back on? Or does it mean you turned it off, later discovered was off and turned it back on. When you turned it back on did the lift pump start? If so, was the washer used during the period the breaker was off?

    Your association between replacing the light fixture and the failing lift pump may or may not be valid logic.

    You said.
    Quote:

    When this happened I immediately turn to the breaker box and find that it has not thrown the breaker and should still be functioning... However I reset the breaker and the lift pump begins to operate sucking the extra water from the washer back where it should
    Many, if not most, circuit breaker do not move to the true off position when tripped. Common advise is to feel the handle to determined if a breaker has tripped. Pushing it toward the on position. If it feels solid it has not tripped. If it feels spongy it has tripped. It is also common advise to say turn the breaker off then back on, to be certain it has not tripped.

    It certainly sounds like your lift pump failing because the breaker is tripping. The question now is what is causing it to trip. It also sounds like you can not determine if the breaker has tripped by looking at it, you need to feel it.

    So I guess I'm saying that your association between changing the light fixture and the failing lift pump may not be correct because the breaker may have been tripped previously, that you did not inadvertently turn off, only discovered that it was off and reset it.
    You association between replacing the light fixture and the lift pump may be valid however. It is possible that even if the lift pump is on a circuit by itself, if wiring goes through the light fixture, you could have made some error in disconnecting and reconnecting the wiring that is now causing the breaker to trip.

    Circuit breakers do wear out and can fail, but that is rare. In many years of home repair jobs I have only found one faulty circuit breaker. One way to test for not only a faulty breaker, but also a fault in the entire lift pump circuit is to get a heavy duty extension cord and plug the lift pump into another circuit.

    Your assumption that since the lift pump is only 3 years old it would not be faulty, may or may not be correct. Plugging the pump into another circuit would help confirm or eliminate that possibility.

    So, please describe in detail the wiring in the light fixture box and what you did. Confirm that the only thing on the lift pump circuit is the pump. Let us know whether not the washer was used during the time the breaker was off and whether the pump came on when the breaker was turned back on.

  • All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:37 AM.