I came out of my shower this morning to find my basement flooded because my ejector pit overflew. I tried unplugging and plugging my Zoeller pump in, but nothing.
I JUST had this pump installed maybe a month ago after my Ridgid pump from Home Depot that I installed in January crapped out.

I have one theory: a plumber friend of mine came to look at the pit cover after the pump was installed and jammed some old rags around the pipes because the pit was exposed. Is it possible that a rag fell into the pit and clogged the pump? How easy/hard is this to fix? Is my pump broke? Please give me some hopeful news :-(

You have to figure out exactly what's wrong first before you can repair it.
Does the pump hum? Have you checked the breaker box to see if the breaker got opened? Have you opened the pit and checked to see if the pumps inlet's blocked?
Check and get back with the results. Good luck, Tom

Hi Tom,

Well, I am a 22 year old female and have no clue how to check any of this. The pump doesn't even hum. There is no noise coming from it.

How do I check the breaker box? I tried opening the pit cover, but the water is not clear (obviously, since it's a sewage pump). I can't see anything. If I knew where this "inlet" was, I would try to stick something down there to see if there's a block.

Any advice? I really do appreciate your help.

Open your breaker box and look for any switches that look half out of position with a red indicator showing. Reset the breaker. If it throws out again you're hafta get down and dirty and check the pumps inlet located at the bottom of the tank.
Now about those exposed pipes. They're letting sewer gas into your home that's harmful to your health. Have those openings sealed at once. Tom

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the advice. I checked the breaker and that seems fine. I think a rag might be stuck. How can I check the inlet if it's located at the bottom of the tank and the tank is full? If a rag did get stuck, do you think it broke my pump?

For the pipes, none of the pipes are exposed, it's just the pit cover does not cover the pit entirely around the pipes, so a plumber used a couple rags to stuff around the pipe just to prevent the smell from the pit coming into my basement. Is this still harmful?

Thank you again.

How can I check the inlet if it's located at the bottom of the tank and the tank is full?
You're going to love this! Ya bite the bullet, put on rubber gloves, hold your nose and bucket out the crap in the pit until you can see the pump inlet. Let me know what you find down there.
As for those pipes that allow "smell" to drift up from the pit. Thar smell is sewer gas and yes, It's harmful to your families health. Have those pipes sealed off right away. Good luck, Tom

Tom,

Thank you so much for all this advice. I actually ended up calling the plumbing company that put the pump in. Turns out a rag did get sucked up through the bottom of the pump. Luckily, the motor did not burn out. I didn't tell the plumber that my friends used the rags to seal the pit; he is under the impression that someone threw a rag into the toilet. Anyway, the nice guy didn't even charge me. You plumbers are good people.

Thanks again for the help. No more rags will be used... and we're going to get the pit sealed!