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deeda145 · Oct 18, 2006, 06:51 AM

We bought a brand new home 15 months ago. After heavy rain, the basement sump pump smells like sewer gas. This smell pretty much permeates through the whole house (ranch style). The crock is sealed but the odor is still coming through the plastic. We are connected to city water and sewer. The builder just had a guy over who put a camera through the sewer line out to the street and he said it was clean. There is no bathroom or laundry in the basement. The builder seems to want to work with us by putting a blower on one of the pipes from the sump to outside (a pseudo radon mitigation system) but that just seems to be masking the problem. Any ideas? Thanks for any and all help.

iamgrowler · Oct 18, 2006, 07:26 AM

Originally Posted by deeda145

We bought a brand new home 15 months ago. After heavy rain, the basement sump pump smells like sewer gas. This smell pretty much permeates through the whole house (ranch style). The crock is sealed but the odor is still coming through the plastic. We are connected to city water and sewer. The builder just had a guy over who put a camera through the sewer line out to the street and he said it was clean. There is no bathroom or laundry in the basement. The builder seems to want to work with us by putting a blower on one of the pipes from the sump to outside (a pseudo radon mitigation system) but that just seems to be masking the problem. Any ideas? Thanks for any and all help.

Is the ejector bucket vented?

Is there a check valve on the discharge line?

A picture of the top of the bucket with the lines coming out would be helpful.

deeda145 · Oct 18, 2006, 07:38 AM

There are three pipes coming out of the sump. One for overflow water which is ejected outside onto the side of the house. Another, long pipe, coming out the side of the house as well which I'm sure is a vent. And yes, there is a check valve on the third pipe which goes to the storm sewers.

iamgrowler · Oct 18, 2006, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by deeda145

There are three pipes coming out of the sump. One for overflow water which is ejected outside onto the side of the house. Another, long pipe, coming out the side of the house as well which I'm sure is a vent. And yes, there is a check valve on the third pipe which goes to the storm sewers.

I have never heard of an overflow on an ejector system.

Have you ever seen water drain out of this overflow?

If you have, then the pump isn't doing it's job -- Or it is undersized and incapable of discharging the volume of water entering the ejector bucket.

deeda145 · Oct 18, 2006, 07:59 AM

I have never seen water come out of it but the mulch in that area has been washed away so I'm assuming there has been water coming out of it. I will try to send you a picture in my next post but I'm not too savy at it. Thanks

deeda145 · Oct 18, 2006, 09:04 AM

Well, as usual I'm having a little trouble with the pics. Apparently the long pipe outside is considered a back-up sump and the shorter vent is the one they want to put the radon system on. I can try to post the pics later on this evening if you're around.

iamgrowler · Oct 18, 2006, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by deeda145

Well, as usual I'm having a little trouble with the pics. Apparently the long pipe outside is considered a back-up sump and the shorter vent is the one they want to put the radon system on. I can try to post the pics later on this evening if you're around.

Well, it sounds like your ejector system has two pumps in it.

The "back-up pump" should kick on only if the main pump fails or is unable to keep up with the inflow of water.

Given the evidence you see outside at the termination of the 'back-up' pumps outfall, it would seem that the primary pump isn't doing it's job.

The 'back-up' pump should either sit higher than the primary pump in the ejector bucket, or the mercury float switch is set higher than the primary pumps mercury float switch.

In any case, my guess would be that the primary pump isn't doing it's job, either because it burned out, the mercury float switch is defective or the mercury float switch is hung up on something.

If that is the case, then what you are smelling is moldy, brackish water that is always sitting just below the 'back-up' pumps mercury float switch.

There should be a rubber grommet on the lid of the ejector bucket where the electrical cords go in, pry this up and shine a flashlight inside to see how much water is inside the bucket, you can also measure this by putting a yardstick inside all the way to the bottom.